The California small claims court limit is $12,500 for individuals and $6,250 for businesses and other entities. Those ceilings took effect January 1, 2024, after Governor Newsom signed SB 71 on October 13, 2023, updating the Code of Civil Procedure to reflect roughly a decade of inflation.1California Legislative Information. California SB-71 – Jurisdiction: Small Claims and Limited Civil Case The individual cap was previously $10,000.2Digital Democracy. SB 71: Jurisdiction: Small Claims and Limited Civil Case
Who Can Sue for How Much
Under Section 116.221, if you are a natural person (an individual or sole proprietor), you can file a small claims case for up to $12,500.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 116.221 – Small Claims Court Corporations, partnerships, government agencies, and other non-individual filers are limited to $6,250 per case under Section 116.220, and that cap applies to every case they bring.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 116.220
A separate rule limits larger filings. No party, individual or business, may file more than two small claims cases seeking more than $2,500 in the same calendar year.5California Courts. Deciding Between Small Claims and Limited Civil
If your claim runs a little over the ceiling, you can waive the excess and stay in small claims court. You give up any right to recover the waived portion, so the math has to make sense for your situation.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 116.220
Lower Limits for Guarantor and Surety Claims
Section 116.220 sets different thresholds when your defendant is a guarantor or surety. If you are a natural person suing a paid surety (one that charges for its guarantee services), the cap is $8,125. Suing an unpaid guarantor drops the cap to $3,125. These sit below the general $12,500 individual limit, so check which category your defendant falls into before you file.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 116.220
When Your Claim Is Too Big for Small Claims
If the amount in controversy is more than $12,500 but no more than $35,000, your case is a limited civil case rather than a small claims matter. SB 71 raised that limited civil ceiling from $25,000 to $35,000, using the value of the damages or property at issue, not counting attorney fees, interest, or court costs.6California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 85 Anything above $35,000 is an unlimited civil case, with no cap on recovery and access to the full range of pretrial procedures.
Attorneys Cannot Argue Your Small Claims Hearing
Section 116.530 of the Code of Civil Procedure bars attorneys from conducting or defending a small claims action. The narrow exceptions are when an attorney is personally a party to the case, or when the case involves a partnership or professional corporation whose partners or officers are all attorneys.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 116.530
You can still consult a lawyer beforehand to help prepare your evidence, and you can hire one for an appeal or to enforce a judgment. What a lawyer cannot do is stand up and argue the case at the small claims hearing itself.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 116.530
How to File a Small Claims Case
To start a case, you need the defendant’s full legal name, a current address where they can be served, the exact dollar amount you are seeking, and a clear explanation of why the money is owed. The main form is the SC-100, “Plaintiff’s Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court,” available on the California Courts website or at any county clerk’s office.8California Courts. Plaintiff’s Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court
Describe the dispute in enough detail that a judge can understand what happened without follow-up questions. “Money owed” is not enough. Give the date of the agreement or incident, what the other party promised or did, and how you calculated the damages.
Filing Fees
You pay a filing fee when you submit the claim. California’s small claims fees scale with the amount you are suing for:9California Courts. File Your Plaintiff’s Claim
- Up to $1,500: $30
- $1,501 to $5,000: $50
- $5,001 to $12,500: $75
- Frequent filers (more than 12 cases in the past 12 months): $100
If you cannot afford the fee, you can ask for a waiver on form FW-001. You generally qualify if you receive public benefits, have a low income, or lack enough income to cover both basic household needs and court fees. You sign under penalty of perjury, and the court may ask for proof.10Judicial Council of California. Information Sheet on Waiver of Superior Court Fees and Costs
Serving the Defendant
Once the clerk files your claim and sets a hearing, someone has to deliver the paperwork to the defendant. You cannot do it yourself. Your server must be at least 18 and not a party to the case.11California Courts. Serve Your Small Claims Forms
Personal service is the cleanest option: your server hands the papers directly to the defendant. If that fails, substituted service is allowed. Your server leaves the papers with a responsible adult at the defendant’s home, workplace, or usual mailing address, then mails a second copy to the same address. Substituted service must be completed at least 25 days before the hearing, or 30 days if the defendant is in a different county.12California Courts. Serve Your Plaintiff’s Claim by Substituted Service
You can also hire the county sheriff or marshal using form SER-001. The sheriff charges a fee unless you have a court-approved waiver, and will file a declaration if they cannot locate the defendant after multiple attempts.13California Courts. Ask the Sheriff to Serve Court Papers Whichever method you use, the Proof of Service must be filed with the court at least five days before the hearing.11California Courts. Serve Your Small Claims Forms
Appeals Are Asymmetrical
California’s small claims appeal rules cut differently depending on which side you are on. If you are the plaintiff and lose, you generally have no right to appeal the judgment on your own claim. If you did not appear at the hearing, your remedy is a motion to vacate rather than an appeal.14California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 116.710 Filing in small claims means betting the judge sees it your way the first time.
A losing defendant can appeal. The notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after the clerk delivers or mails the notice of judgment. Miss that window and the appeal is dead.15California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 116.750 The defendant’s insurer can also appeal if the judgment is more than $2,500 and the insurer confirms coverage.
The appeal itself is a completely new trial in front of a different judge. Both sides start over, no jury, no pretrial discovery, still informal.16California Courts. Small Claims Appeals
Collecting on a Judgment
A judgment is not a check. The court does not collect for you, and if the losing side does not pay voluntarily, enforcement is entirely on you. You must wait at least 30 days after the judgment before starting collection, because that is the appeal window for the other side.17California Courts. How to Collect Your Money
The main enforcement tool is the Writ of Execution (form EJ-130), filed with the clerk for a $40 fee. The writ authorizes the sheriff to seize the debtor’s assets.18California Courts. How to Get a Writ of Execution With a writ, you can pursue:
- Wage garnishment, if you know where the debtor works. The sheriff directs the employer to withhold a portion of each paycheck until the judgment is paid.
- Bank levy, if you know where the debtor banks. The sheriff freezes and seizes funds from the account.
If the debtor owns real estate, you can also file an Abstract of Judgment with the county recorder. That creates a lien, which has to be dealt with whenever the property is sold or refinanced.17California Courts. How to Collect Your Money
Two deadlines matter. The Writ of Execution expires after 180 days, so move quickly once it is issued.18California Courts. How to Get a Writ of Execution The judgment itself expires after 10 years, though you can renew it before it lapses. Once the debtor pays in full, you have 14 days to file an Acknowledgment of Satisfaction of Judgment, or you face penalties.17California Courts. How to Collect Your Money
Filing Deadlines Still Apply
Statutes of limitations govern small claims cases the same as any other. Personal injury and wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the injury or death.19California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 Written contract disputes generally run four years, oral contracts two, though tolling exceptions can shift those numbers. Miss the deadline and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case regardless of how strong it is. Confirm the specific limitations period for your type of claim before assuming you still have time.