Short answer. You pay the full amount of the appellate court docket and other lawful fees to the clerk of the court that rendered the judgment or final order, within the period for taking the appeal. Proof of payment must then be transmitted to the appellate court with the record.
What the law says
Within the period for taking an appeal, the appellant shall pay to the clerk of the court which rendered the judgment or final order appealed from, the full amount of the appellate court docket and other lawful fees. Proof of payment of said fees shall be transmitted to the appellate court together with the original record or the record on appeal.
Rule 41, Section 4 — Appellate court docket and other lawful fees. Read the full provision →
Where and when to pay
Within the period allowed for taking an appeal, the appellant must pay the full amount of the appellate court docket and other lawful fees to the clerk of the court that rendered the judgment or final order being appealed from, which in an ordinary appeal is the Regional Trial Court itself. The same rule applies regardless of which mode of ordinary appeal is being taken, since the fee obligation attaches to the act of appealing itself, not to the particular procedural route chosen to bring the case up. This payment obligation binds the appellant specifically; it does not fall on the appellee, who owes no docket fee simply because the other side has chosen to appeal the judgment against them.
Proof travels with the record
Once that payment is made, proof of it must be transmitted to the appellate court together with the original record or the record on appeal, so the Court of Appeals has direct confirmation that the fee obligation was satisfied before it takes up the case. Without that proof, the Court of Appeals has no immediate way of confirming from the record alone that the fees were actually paid, which can complicate how the appeal is processed once it reaches the appellate docket and may prompt the court to inquire further before proceeding.
Why this timing and this proof matter
Requiring payment within the appeal period itself ties the fee obligation directly to the act of perfecting the appeal, and because proof of that payment travels along with the transmitted record, the appellate court can readily verify, from the record alone, whether this requirement was actually met. These two requirements, timely payment and documented proof, work together to make sure the fee obligation is both met and demonstrably met, without requiring the appellate court to chase down separate confirmation from the trial court, which would otherwise slow down how quickly the appeal can be taken up on the merits.
Related provisions
- Rule 41, Section 4 — Appellate court docket and other lawful fees
- Rule 41, Section 3 — Period of ordinary appeal; appeal in habeas corpus cases
- Rule 41, Section 5 — Notice of appeal