Yes! You can use AI to fill out Form FW-001, Request to Waive Court Fees (Rev. March 1, 2026)

This check ensures that the financial information on page 2 is filled out according to the reason selected in section 5. If box 5b is checked, sections 7, 8, and 9 must be completed. If box 5c is checked, the entire page 2 must be completed. This is critical for ensuring the court has the necessary information to evaluate the request based on the applicant's claimed reason for waiver. If the required sections are not completed, the form is considered incomplete and cannot be processed.

Validates that the applicant has selected at least one of the primary reasons for the fee waiver request in section 5 (5a, 5b, or 5c). This is the core justification for the request, and without it, the court has no basis to grant the waiver. A failure in this check would mean the form is fundamentally incomplete and must be returned to the applicant for correction.

If the applicant checks box 5a, indicating they receive public benefits, this validation ensures that at least one of the specific benefit checkboxes (e.g., Food Stamps, Medi-Cal, WIC) is also checked. This provides the specific grounds for the waiver under the public benefits category. An incomplete selection prevents the clerk from verifying eligibility and would require clarification from the applicant.

If box 5b is checked, this validation compares the calculated 'Total monthly income and household income' from page 2 against the income limits provided in the table in section 5b. The household size is calculated as 1 (the applicant) plus the number of dependents listed in section 9. This check is crucial to confirm that the applicant's stated income actually qualifies them under the low-income guideline. If their income exceeds the limit, they do not qualify under this reason.

When an applicant checks box 5c, indicating they do not have enough income for basic needs and court fees, this validation ensures they have also checked one of the three sub-options. The applicant must specify whether they are asking the court to 'waive all court fees,' 'waive some of the court fees,' or 'let me make payments over time.' Failure to select a specific request leaves the court uncertain of the desired outcome and makes the application incomplete.

This check verifies that if the 'Yes' box is checked in section 3a, indicating the lawyer has agreed to advance fees, the 'Lawyer's signature' field is not empty. The lawyer's signature is a required attestation for this arrangement. An absent signature when 'Yes' is checked invalidates that part of the form and may require a hearing or rejection of the form until it is properly signed.