Cal. Gov. Code § 68631

An initial fee waiver shall be granted by the court at any stage of the proceedings at both the appellate and trial court levels if an applicant meets the standards of eligibility and application requirements under Sections 68632 and 68633. An initial fee waiver excuses the applicant from paying fees for the first pleading or other paper, and other court fees and costs as specified in rules adopted by the Judicial Council, unless the court orders the applicant to make partial payments under subdivision (c) of Section 68632, subdivision (d) of Section 68636, or subdivision (e) of Section 68637. Under circumstances set forth in Section 68636, the court may reconsider the initial fee waiver and order the fee waiver withdrawn for future fees and costs or deny the fee waiver retroactively. At the end of the case, the court may recover fees and costs that were initially waived under circumstances set forth in Section 68637.