Divorces, layoffs… You now have to pay a 50-euro tax stamp to take legal action

Since March 1, a 50-euro stamp has been required to contact a judicial court or industrial tribunal in first instance. This compulsory contribution, established by the finance law for 2026, applies to most everyday disputes: divorces, dismissals, neighborhood conflicts, alimony, etc.

“Failure to pay this contribution, the request will be declared inadmissible,” specifies the Ministry of Justice. It “applies to all new procedures introduced from March 1, 2026”.

When filing the request or summons, you must now attach proof of payment of the tax stamp (purchased online) to your file. The stamp is valid for 12 months and it is possible to have it refunded within 18 months after purchase if it has not been used.

A measure which “undermines the principle of gratuity”

For Julie Couturier, the president of the National Bar Council (CNB), which represents 76,000 lawyers in France, this measure risks “restricting access to law and justice” and “undermines the principle of free access”.

“There is a real distrust of justice, with an extremely high number of disputes”, and this contribution risks “cutting off even more access to the institution which must have a role of regulation and social pacification”, she believes.

This stamp duty was put in place to finance legal aid, indicates the Ministry of Justice, a system which allows people with low resources to access justice.

Only beneficiaries of legal aid – partial or total – and certain specific procedures, “such as those brought before the guardianship judge, the children’s judge or the liberty and detention judge”, are exempt.

A contribution already tested between 2011 and 2014

A measure which is part of a “particular budgetary context (…) of shortage (…) and even if the justice budget has increased in recent years, it remains behind”, recognizes Julie Couturier.

In 2014, Christiane Taubira, then Minister of Justice, removed this 35 euro tax stamp introduced in October 2011, then considered “unfair”.

This contribution notably caused referrals for disputes involving small amounts to drop by 13%, according to the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. However, since 2015, a 225 euro stamp is required to appeal a judgment.

“There are already contributions elsewhere, but what is striking is that it is put in place at first instance and with an extremely general scope of application,” summarizes the president of the CNB.