⚠️ Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.
The figures on this page are general estimates. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for Ohio with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.
This page is built to print. Use your browser's Print command and choose "Save as PDF" for a one-page Ohio reference. Every figure below is compiled from the statutes and state authorities listed at the bottom — the same sources cited on our Ohio probate pages.
Ohio probate fees
| Item | Ohio |
|---|---|
| Court filing fee | Filing fees vary by county (ORC 2101.16(A) sets a statewide base — $15 to probate a will, $35 to appoint a fiduciary — and ORC 2101.16(E) lets a court require an advance deposit for costs capped at $125, while ORC 2746.06 directs that a probate court "shall tax as costs or otherwise require the payment of fees" for a list of items — among them the fees provided for in §§2101.16, 2101.17, 2101.18 and 2101.32 under (A), and fees to computerize the court, provide computerized legal research and computerize the clerk's office under (B) — in addition to any fees under §§2746.01, 2746.02 and 2746.04, and subject to the combat-zone-casualty waiver in §2101.164 and the fee reduction in §2101.20). Certified copies, publication, bond and appraisal are charged on top of those figures; the amounts are set locally and no published schedule for them is cited here. |
| Attorney fees | Attorney fees in Ohio probate are not fixed by statute. Sup. R. 71 of the Ohio Rules of Superintendence requires fees to be 'reasonable' and approved by the probate court. |
| Executor / personal representative fees | Executor/administrator commissions are fixed by Ohio Revised Code §2113.35: 4% on the first $100,000 of personal property received and proceeds of real property sold, 3% on the next $300,000, 2% on amounts above $400,000, plus 1% on the value of real property not sold and 1% on certain non-probate property (excluding joint-and-survivorship), valued as of date of death. |
| Fee basis | statutory |
| Appraisal / referee | Ohio does not use a state-appointed probate referee. Under ORC 2115.06, the executor appoints a 'suitable disinterested' appraiser, subject to court approval. For real estate, the fiduciary may instead accept the county auditor's valuation in lieu of appointing an appraiser. |
Worked example
On a $500,000 Ohio estate (personal property), the statutory commission is about $15,000 (4% of $100k + 3% of $300k + 2% of $100k), plus 1% on any real property the executor doesn't sell.
Ohio thresholds and deadlines
| Item | Ohio |
|---|---|
| Small-estate threshold | ORC 2113.03 measures on "the value of the assets of the estate" and allows release from administration where that value is thirty-five thousand dollars or less, or one hundred thousand dollars or less in either of two cases. Under (A)(2)(a) the decedent devised and bequeathed in a valid will all of the estate's assets to the person named in the will as the decedent's spouse and is survived by that person. Under (A)(2)(b) the decedent died WITHOUT a valid will, is survived by a spouse whose marriage was solemnized consistently with R.C. Chapter 3101 or a similar law of another state or nation, and that spouse is entitled to receive all of the estate's assets under R.C. §2105.06, or by that section operating together with §2106.13(B)(1) or (B)(2). The intestate branch is easy to miss and is the one that applies where there is no will at all. ORC 2113.031 is narrower than a flat five-thousand-dollar test: under (B)(1) summary release is available where the value of the assets does not exceed "the lesser of five thousand dollars or the amount of the decedent's funeral and burial expenses", and only to a person who is not the surviving spouse and who has paid or is obligated in writing to pay those expenses; (B)(2) gives the surviving spouse a separate route. |
| Creditor claim period | Except as §2117.061 provides, all claims must be presented within six months after the death of the decedent, whether or not the estate is released from administration or an executor or administrator is appointed during that six-month period (Ohio Rev. Code §2117.06(B)). A claim not presented within those six months is forever barred as to all parties, including devisees, legatees and distributees; no payment may be made on it and no action maintained on it, except as §§2117.37 to 2117.42 provide for contingent claims (§2117.06(C)). The clock runs from death, so nothing the executor does moves it. A claim is presented by a writing delivered to the executor or administrator or to their identified counsel, by a writing filed with the probate court bearing the estate's case number, or by a writing actually received by the executor or their identified counsel within that period regardless of whom it is addressed to (§2117.06(A)(1)); once a final account or certificate of termination has been filed, presentation is made in a writing to the distributees who may share liability for the claim (§2117.06(A)(2)). |
| Statutory floor (creditor period) | Except as §2117.061 provides, all claims must be presented within six months after the death of the decedent, whether or not the estate is released from administration or an executor or administrator is appointed during that six-month period (Ohio Rev. Code §2117.06(B)). A claim not presented within those six months is forever barred as to all parties, including devisees, legatees and distributees; no payment may be made on it and no action maintained on it, except as §§2117.37 to 2117.42 provide for contingent claims (§2117.06(C)). The clock runs from death, so nothing the executor does moves it. A claim is presented by a writing delivered to the executor or administrator or to their identified counsel, by a writing filed with the probate court bearing the estate's case number, or by a writing actually received by the executor or their identified counsel within that period regardless of whom it is addressed to (§2117.06(A)(1)); once a final account or certificate of termination has been filed, presentation is made in a writing to the distributees who may share liability for the claim (§2117.06(A)(2)). |
| Simplified real-property transfer | Ohio has no separate small-estate affidavit limited to real property, but the 'release from administration' procedure under ORC 2113.03 may include real estate if total probate value is within the $35,000 / $100,000 thresholds. Real estate held in survivorship tenancy, transfer-on-death designation, or trust passes outside probate entirely. |
| Transfer-on-death deed | Ohio allows a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit for real estate under Ohio Revised Code §5302.22. The owner records the affidavit naming a beneficiary; the property transfers at death without probate. |
Note on the creditor-claim clock. The period above does not start on the same event in every state — depending on the statute it can run from the date of death, from the date letters are issued to the personal representative, or from first publication of notice. The Ohio trigger is stated in the row above, as written in the statute.
What passes outside Ohio probate
These transfers are not part of the estate the fees above are calculated on:
- Beneficiary designations — retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death accounts.
- Joint ownership with right of survivorship.
- Transfer-on-death deed — Ohio allows a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit for real estate under Ohio Revised Code §5302.22. The owner records the affidavit naming a beneficiary; the property transfers at death without probate.
- Assets titled into a funded living trust.
Sources for this sheet
- Statutes: Ohio Revised Code §2113.35; Ohio Revised Code §2113.36; Ohio Revised Code §2113.03; Ohio Revised Code §2113.031; Ohio Revised Code §2115.06; Ohio Revised Code §2117.06; Ohio Revised Code §2746.06; Ohio Rules of Superintendence Sup. R. 71
- State authority: Supreme Court of Ohio (supremecourt.ohio.gov)
- Executor fees: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2113.35
- Small-estate procedure: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2113.03
- Court filing fees: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2746.06
- Statutes: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-2113
- Creditor claim period: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2117.06
Compiled August 15, 2026 from the sources listed above. Fee schedules, thresholds, and court costs are amended by legislatures and courts — confirm each figure against the cited statute or the Ohio court before relying on it.
The full Ohio guides
- How Much Does Probate Cost in Ohio? — the full cost breakdown.
- How Much Does an Executor Get Paid in Ohio? — the fee rule in detail.
- How Long Does Probate Take in Ohio? — the timeline and its statutory floor.
- Executor Deadlines in Ohio — inventory deadline, creditor-claim period and outer bar, each quoted from the statute.
- How to Avoid Probate in Ohio — the transfers that pass outside it.
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Ohio? — execution requirements and pricing.
Fee sheets for other states
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This sheet sets out Ohio probate figures as published at the time of compilation. It is not legal advice. Figures and statutes change and their application depends on the specific estate. Confirm current figures with the Ohio courts or a licensed Ohio attorney.