What the Small Claims Courts does
Small claims courts decide money disputes up to the state ceiling: unpaid debts and invoices, security deposits, defective goods and workmanship, property damage, and contract disputes within the limit. Procedure is deliberately light — plain-language forms, evidence brought to the hearing rather than exchanged through discovery, and a judge who asks the questions. A claim slightly above the ceiling can usually proceed by waiving the excess. What these courts do not hear — divorce, custody, title to land, and claims against some government bodies with special notice rules — belongs elsewhere.
What it hears
- Unpaid debts, invoices and personal loans
- Security deposit disputes between tenants and landlords
- Defective goods and poor workmanship
- Property damage and minor vehicle collisions
- Contract disputes within the state's dollar limit
Before your first court date
Send a written demand letter first: the amount, the reason and a deadline. It settles a real share of disputes and reads as reasonableness later. Check your state's statute of limitations and its small claims ceiling, both of which differ from your neighbours'. Name the defendant exactly — a business's registered legal name and agent for service, not the sign over the door — because a judgment against the wrong entity is worthless. Be realistic about collection: a judgment is not money, and collecting from someone with no assets is the hard part.
What happens at your first appearance
Hearings are informal and short. The judge has your paperwork, will ask direct questions of both sides, and expects a plain account rather than argument. Bring three copies of everything — one for the judge, one for the other side, one for you — organised in the order you will refer to them. Witnesses must attend in person in most states; a written statement from an absent witness usually carries little weight. Many courts route cases to a free mediator first, and settling there is often better than winning slowly.
What to prepare
- The contract, invoices, receipts and every relevant message, in three copies
- A one-page chronology with dates and amounts
- Photographs of damage or defects, dated where possible
- Independent evidence of value — quotes, estimates, comparable prices
- Your demand letter and any reply
When to get legal advice
This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Small claims is designed for self-representation, and in several states attorneys cannot appear at the hearing anyway. An hour of advice pays for itself on four questions: the limitations date, the right defendant, whether your claim fits under the ceiling, and what a settlement is really worth. Legal Hotline's free line explains the process any hour on 1-844-690-0555, and a one-hour consultation with a licensed US attorney ($195, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.
Where it is
Small claims sits within the state's limited jurisdiction court — named district, justice, municipal or county court depending on the state — usually in the county where the defendant lives or where the dispute arose. Your filing paperwork names the venue.