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Filing a civil rights case without a lawyer? Start here.

Plain-language guides and free tools for people taking a case to federal court on their own. Written by someone who has done it.

Read the guide Find your court

Legal information, not legal advice. We can't tell you what to do in your case, but we can show you how the process works.

The path, step by step

  1. Pick your routeAgency complaint, lawsuit, or both
  2. Check your deadlineSome are measured in days or weeks
  3. Find the right court94 districts, every county mapped
  4. Build your filing packetComplaint, cover sheet, summons, fee waiver
  5. Pay or ask for a fee waiver$405, or file without prepaying
  6. File and serve90 days to serve every defendant

Free tools

Built for people doing this on their own

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us.

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Filing packet builder

Answer the official form questions once. Get the real U.S. Courts forms filled in with your answers (complaint, fee waiver, cover sheet, summons), plus a cover letter to the clerk and a filing checklist.

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Court finder

Pick your state and county to find your federal court and courthouse, how it handles filings from people without lawyers, and free help nearby.

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Deadline calculator

Count deadlines the way federal courts do, add them to your calendar, and look up the § 1983 deadline for every state.

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Fee waiver helper

How to ask to file without paying the $405 fee, which form your court wants, and a private worksheet for your numbers.

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E-filing guide

Paper, email, upload or e-filing? The rules for people without lawyers, court by court, plus how PACER registration works.

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Get help

Free federal pro se clinics, legal aid, civil rights lawyer directories and resources for people in prison.

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The full guide

Routes, deadlines, forms, filing and service, step by step, for a civil rights complaint to an agency or a federal court.

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Who made this

Written by a pro se litigant, not a law firm

Andy Smigelski filed his own federal case without a lawyer in the Southern District of Ohio: on paper, by mail, with a fee waiver application and a summons for every defendant. The case was dismissed in 2026. Court Yourself puts what he learned in one place, with a source for every rule.

No ads for lawyers, no lead forms, no tracking.

About this site and how we check facts

Three things to know first

  1. Deadlines are unforgiving.A missed deadline usually ends a claim, however strong it is.
  2. You're held to the rules.Judges read pro se filings generously, but you still follow the court's rules and local rules.
  3. Free help exists.Some federal courts have free clinics, and legal aid can often help with part of a case.
Not legal advice. Court Yourself explains how federal civil rights complaints generally work. It isn't a law firm, it isn't a substitute for the advice of an attorney, and using it doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your situation, contact a legal aid office, clinic or lawyer.