A civil case with a filing fee of $250 and an additional $50 for service of process. If the clerk collects $320, how should the excess be handled?

• A. Post 320 to the proper fee accounts, and treat the overpayment as revenue.
• B. Post 250 to the filing fee and 70 to service of process.
• C. Post 300 to the proper fee accounts, issue a receipt for the $20 overpayment, and apply or credit the excess to future fees per policy or refund per policy.
• D. Refund the full 320 to the payer.

Answer: (C)

When handling court fees, each component of the charge must be recorded into its designated account, and any money received beyond the total due is treated as a credit or potential refund rather than revenue. Here, the total due is 250 for the filing and 50 for service of process, which adds up to 300. The clerk collected 320, so 300 should be posted to the proper fee accounts (250 to filing, 50 to service of process). The remaining 20 is an overpayment and should be acknowledged with a receipt and either credited to the payer’s future fees or refunded per policy. This keeps the funds aligned with their purpose and follows standard overpayment handling.

The other approaches misstate how funds should be recorded or returned: treating the extra as revenue would be inappropriate for overpayments; allocating the entire overpayment to one fee distorts the original charge; and refunding the full amount ignores the portion that properly funds the required fees.