A filter plate transport device for filter presses has a slide block which can selectively move first and second directions opposite to each other along guide rails by a cable line. The slide block supports a driving pawl which engages behind a pillow block of a from filter plate in a filter plate stack each time the slide block moves in the second direction, and a drop lever is pointed towards the from filter plate each time the slide block moves in the second direction. To increase functional reliability, on the slide block, a control lever is supported which grips under the drop lever and which can be pivoted by the cable line around a horizontal axle between two stops on the slide block. The control lever, reverses the drop lever and driving pawl, which rests on it between a first position during plate transport and an second position during movement in the second direction of the slide block. The driving pawl and the drop lever mesh with a dynamic path of the filter plates when in the second position.