Barbara Villa (asker) May 20, 2022:

I mixed some of your suggestions For what I had, I felt it was safe to say "exempt from the prepayment of court fees".
thank you all

Mark Robertson May 17, 2022:

Costs Costs has two different meanings in a legal/court context:

1. The charges or fees taxed by the court, including filing fees, jury fees, courthouse fees and reporter fees, which are also termed court costs.
2. The expenses of litigation, prosecution, or other legal transaction, especially those allowed in favour of one party against the other, also termed litigation costs. In the UK, and some US states, these include all or part of the professional fees of the successful party's lawyers.
3. The costs in 1 and 2 above are also referred to as legal costs.

See Black's Law Dictionary, 11th Edition, page 437.

In Brazil, the preparo is a payment on account of court costs/fees payable after the trial but before judgment, or after judgment when an appeal is filed.
In Portugal, preparos are interim, or prepaid court fees and paid as the proceedings advance at first instance, and otherwise.

Preparos are therefore best referred to as as prepaid, or interim court costs/fees, in order to avoid confusion with 2 above.