Short answer. Yes, if the court authorizes you to litigate as an indigent. On an ex parte application and hearing, a party with no money or property sufficient for food, shelter, and basic necessities can be exempted from docket and other lawful fees, though the exemption can later be revisited.
What the law says
A party may be authorized to litigate his action, claim or defense as an indigent if the court, upon an ex parte application and hearing, is satisfied that the party is one who has no money or property sufficient and available for food, shelter and basic necessities for himself and his family.
Rule 3, Section 21 — Indigent party. Read the full provision →
The standard is genuine inability to meet basic needs
The exemption is not available simply because paying fees would be inconvenient. It requires the court to be satisfied, after an ex parte application and hearing, that the party has no money or property sufficient and available for food, shelter and basic necessities for himself and his family. The focus is on the party's actual capacity to meet basic needs, not merely their capacity to pay court fees specifically.
What the exemption actually covers
Authority to litigate as an indigent includes an exemption from payment of docket and other lawful fees, and of transcripts of stenographic notes that the court may order furnished. This covers a real range of litigation costs, not just the initial filing fee, which matters for anyone worried about the ongoing expense of a case, not only getting through the courthouse door.
The exemption is not necessarily permanent or free
The unpaid fees do not simply disappear. They become a lien on any judgment rendered in the case favorable to the indigent, unless the court provides otherwise — meaning a successful indigent litigant may still end up paying the fees out of what they recover. And any adverse party may contest the grant of such authority at any time before judgment, putting the indigency finding itself back in question.
Misrepresenting indigency has real consequences
If the court later determines, after hearing, that the party is in fact a person with sufficient income or property, the proper fees are assessed and collected by the clerk of court, and if payment is not made within the time fixed by the court, execution shall issue, without prejudice to other sanctions the court may impose. Anyone seeking this exemption should be prepared for their financial situation to be genuinely scrutinized, both at the outset and potentially again later in the case, since the finding of indigency is never treated as final and unreviewable.