Meaning & use
statutory fees
Last updated
Meanings
nounplurallegallaw
Charges that a law says must be paid, for example for a license, a court filing, or a public record.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun; the singular form is 'statutory fee' when you talk about one charge.
Patterns
- pay statutory fees
- charge statutory fees
- statutory fees for something
- statutory fees apply
The agency charges statutory fees for every copy of a birth certificate.
Buyers must pay statutory fees before the property transfer is recorded.
Our budget for the year includes statutory fees for three separate licenses.
nounplurallegallaw
The official amounts fixed by law that a court or public office collects from people who use its services.
Grammar: Takes a plural verb: 'The statutory fees are listed online.'
Patterns
- statutory fees are set by law
- the statutory fees for filing
- statutory fees and costs
The statutory fees for filing the claim are printed on the back of the form.
Judges cannot reduce the statutory fees unless the law allows it.
She checked the statutory fees before deciding whether to appeal.
Word forms
| singular | statutory fee |
|---|
Common combinations
- pay statutory fees
- You have to pay statutory fees when you register the company.
- statutory fees for something
- The statutory fees for a marriage license went up in January.
- set statutory fees
- Parliament can set statutory fees for these public records.
- statutory fees apply
- Statutory fees apply to every late submission.
- statutory fees and charges
- The invoice lists both service costs and statutory fees and charges.
Synonyms and how they differ
- official charges
- A looser, everyday phrase; it does not make clear that a law fixes the amount, so it fits less well in legal writing.
- legal fees
- Usually means money paid to lawyers, which is not the same thing; use it only when lawyers' charges are meant.
- mandatory fees
- Emphasizes that payment is required but says nothing about who fixed the amount, so 'statutory' is more precise.
Word family
- statute noun
- A written law passed by a legislature.
- statutory adjective
- Required or created by a law rather than by custom or agreement.
- statutorily adverb
- In a way that is required by law.
Commonly confused: statutory fees or statuary? statutory fees or statue?
statutory fees vs statuary
Statuary means statues as a group or the art of making them; it sounds almost the same as 'statutory' but has nothing to do with law.
statutory fees vs statue
A statue is a carved or cast figure; 'statutory' relates to statutes, that is, laws.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'statutory fees' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Statutory fees' are amounts fixed by law for official services, so the permit example fits. Option 0 describes a lawyer's own charges, which are not set by law; option 2 is a restaurant tip; and option 3 wrongly suggests the fees are optional, since 'statutory' means required by law.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “statutory fees”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.