Filing Information

Your claim cannot be for more than $7,500 if you are a natural person. If you are filing on behalf of a business the limit of your claim may not exceed $5,000. You may file as many claims as you wish for up to $2,500 in small claims court but are limited to 2 claims for up to $5,000 each calendar year. If you are suing a guarantor, you may sue for a maximum of $6500 if you are a natural person or $4,000 if you are a business or other entity (or $2,500 if the guarantor does not charge for the service). A guarantor is one who promises to be responsible for the debt or default of another.

Yes. The fee is based on the amount of your claim and the number of claims you have filed in the past 12 months:

If you have filed 12 or fewer claims in the past 12 months:

If you have filed more than 12 claims in the past 12 months, the filing fee is $100 (for any claim amount).

You must file in the right court and location (venue). The right location may be any of these:

• Where the defendant lives or where the business involved is located.
• Where the damage or accident happened.
• Where the contract was signed or carried out.
• If the defendant is a corporation, where the contract was broken.
• For a retail installment account or sales contract or a motor vehicle finance sale: Where the buyer lives; where the buyer lived when the contract was entered into; where the buyer signed the contract; or where the goods or vehicle are permanently kept.

Read Information for the Plaintiff (SC-150).

Fill out and sign the Plaintiff’s Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court (Form #SC-100). Make a copy for yourself and each named defendant. Take or mail your signed claim, all copies, and a filing fee to the Small Claims Court for the proper Justice Center (see table above).

Additional forms you may need:
Other Plaintiffs or Defendants (Form #SC-100A)
Fictitious Business Name Declaration (Form #SC-103)

There are computers (kiosks) available for public use at all court locations for completing the forms to file a claim.

You may file your claim online using I-CAN!™ Legal. There is an additional $4.00 charge for this service.

Examples -

Individual: First name, middle name or initial (if any), last name
Business Owner: John Smith, d.b.a. The ABC Company
Corporation: The ABC Company, Inc. or The ABC Company, a California Corp.
Partnership: The ABC Company, a partnership of John Stone and Mary Hill

If you are suing a person doing business under another name, you may want to contact the County Recorder’s Office to view their Fictitious Business Name Statement. If they are doing business in Orange County, you can get this information at: www.oc.ca.gov/recorder. If you are suing a corporation, you will need to know the name and address of the agent for service. You can get this information from the California Secretary of State at: http://kepler.ss.ca.gov. At your trial, the Judge may ask you to prove the correct agent was served. If you do not name the defendant correctly, you may not be able to collect on your judgment. For more information on naming and serving a business, see Form SC-104C.

You must make sure the defendant finds out about your lawsuit. This has to be done according to the rules or your case may be dismissed or delayed. The correct way of telling the defendant about the lawsuit is called service of process. This means giving the defendant a copy of the claim. You cannot do this yourself. There are four ways to serve the defendant:

1. Service by a law officer. You may ask the Sheriff to serve the defendant. A fee will be charged.
2. Process server. You may ask anyone who is not a party in your case and who is at least 18 years old to serve the defendant. The person is called a process server and must personally give a copy of your claim to the defendant. The person must also sign a proof of service form showing when the defendant was served. Registered process servers will do this for you for a fee. (Process servers are located in the phone book. The court cannot recommend any specific server.) You may also ask a friend or relative to do it.
3. Certified Mail. You may ask the court clerk to serve the defendant by certified mail. The clerk will charge a fee. You should check back with the court prior to the hearing to see if the receipt for certified mail was returned to the court. You can obtain this information from the case register of actions online at www.occourts.org. Service by certified mail must be done by the Court Clerk's Office, not by yourself.
4. Substituted Service. This method lets you serve another person instead of the defendant. You must follow the procedures carefully. You may wish to use the Sheriff or a registered process server. A copy of your claim must be left at the defendant's business with the person in charge or, at the defendant's home with a competent person who is at least 18 years old. The person who receives the claim must be told about its contents. Another copy must be mailed, first class, postage prepaid, to the defendant at the address where the paper was left. This method will increase the time for service by 10 days.

No matter which method of service you choose, the defendant must be served by a certain date or the trial will be postponed. If the defendant lives in the county, service must be completed at least 15 days before the trial date. This period is 20 days if the defendant lives outside the county. Add 10 more days if you used substituted service.

The person who serves the defendant must sign a court paper showing when the defendant was served. This paper is called a Proof of Service (Form #SC-104). It must be signed and returned to the court clerk at least 5 days before your trial.

For additional information about service, see What is “Proof of Service”? (Form #SC-104B) and How to Serve a Business or Public Entity (Form #SC-104C).

The parties present their cases themselves. An attorney may not represent you in court, although you may consult one before or after you go to court. The Judge will listen to both sides of the story. To help tell your side, bring evidence like:

• Witnesses
• Photos
• Bills
• Receipts
• Contracts
• Other relevant documents that support your side

The Judge may make a decision at your hearing, or mail it to you later. Instead of a Judge, you may have a Commissioner or temporary Judge at your hearing. They are both just like Judges. A temporary Judge (called a "Judge Pro Tem" or "Judge Pro Tempore") is a lawyer who hears and decides cases. If you don't want a temporary Judge, you can ask the court to have a Judge hear your case. You may have to come back another day.

You can't appeal if you were the one who filed the claim. If someone else files a claim against you and you lose, you can appeal.

You will have a new hearing. You will have to bring your evidence and tell your side of the story again. This time, you can bring a lawyer to represent you.

You may enforce your judgment after the time for appeal has expired (30 days from the date judgment was entered.) After a judgment is entered, the person who was awarded money is called the Judgment Creditor and the person who owes the money is now called the Judgment Debtor. The following are options you may wish to use:

Application and Order for Appearance of Judgment Debtor

You may request the court to assist in the enforcement of the judgment. The Application and Order to Produce Statement of Assets and to Appear for Examination requires the judgment debtor to appear in court to answer questions concerning his/her assets. To schedule a hearing, complete the Application and Order to Produce Statement of Assets and to Appear for Examination (Form #SC-134) and Judgment Debtor's Statement of Assets (Form SC-133) and take these forms to the Court Clerk’s Office along with the proper fee. You should also serve the debtor with a subpoena for any doccuments you need to see using the pre-issued Small Claims Subpoena Form #L-0520. The clerk will assign a hearing date and return the forms to you to serve on the judgment debtor.

The subpoena (form L-0520), notice of debtor's examination and judgment debtor's statement of assets (form SC-134 together with form SC-133) must be personally served on the debtor by a Registered Process Server or Sheriff. The judgment debtor must be served at least 10 calendar days prior to the hearing, and a proof of service filed with the court.

Writ of Execution

A Writ of Execution is a court order authorizing the Sheriff or Registered Process Server to carry out the Court's decision. A Writ of Execution is commonly used to attach the judgment debtor's wages or bank accounts. Fill out the Writ of Execution (Form #EJ-130). Take the completed form along with the proper fee to the Court Clerk’s Office to have the Writ issued. The clerk will return the Writ of Execution form to you to arrange for service.

Abstract of Judgment

An Abstract of Judgment is a summary of the Court's decision. An Abstract of Judgment is generally recorded with the County Recorder and acts as a lien on property owned by the judgment debtor. Fill out the Abstract of Judgment-Civil (Form #EJ-001). Take the completed form along with the proper fee to the Court Clerk’s Office to have the Abstract issued. Take or mail the issued Abstract of Judgment to the County Recorder's office in the county where you believe the debtor owns real property (contact the County Recorder’s office to find out the fee for recording).

Where Can I Get More Information?

Legal Resources: For more Small Claims information, such as Forms, Serving a Claim, Counter Claims, Enforcing a Judgment, Appealing a Decision, Obtaining a Continuance, and other valuable assistance, please refer to the following Legal Resources:

California Courts: Self-Help
Legal Aid On-Line Resources
Small Claims Court Advisory Program