California Form SC-109, Authorization to Appear, is the document you file when someone other than the named plaintiff or defendant needs to speak for a party in small claims court. You download the current version (revised January 1, 2026) from courts.ca.gov, complete the checkbox that matches your statutory basis for appearing, sign the declaration under penalty of perjury, and file it with the small claims clerk at or before the trial date. The form handles two situations: confirming you are already authorized to appear under Code of Civil Procedure Section 116.540, or asking the judge for permission to assist a party who cannot properly present their own case.
Who Can Use the Form
Small claims court normally expects the plaintiff and defendant to appear themselves. Section 116.540 creates specific exceptions, and the checkboxes on SC-109 map directly to those categories. Pick the wrong one and the judge can refuse the authorization.
Business Entities
A corporation, partnership, LLC, government agency, or other non-individual party sends a regular employee, officer, director, or (for partnerships) a partner. Representing the entity in small claims court cannot be that person’s only job duty. Someone hired purely to handle small claims hearings crosses into unauthorized practice of law.
Sole proprietorships have a tighter rule. A representative can appear for a sole proprietor only when the whole dispute reduces to business records, such as an unpaid invoice, with no other factual issues. The representative must be a regular employee who can testify about how those records were created and kept.
Individuals Who Cannot Attend
Several categories of individuals qualify to send a representative:
- Active-duty service members who are stationed more than 100 miles from the courthouse, or who cannot attend because of military duties. The representative must serve without pay (unless employed by the U.S. or California government) and cannot have appeared for other people in small claims court more than four times that calendar year.
- Parties held in a county jail, a state prison, or a juvenile facility, who may submit declarations as evidence or authorize an unpaid representative within the same four-appearance annual cap.
- Defendants who own California real property but live out of state, for claims related to that property. The representative must be unpaid and within the four-appearance limit.
- California property owners who employ a property manager, when the dispute involves the managed property.
- Associations managing a common interest development, which can send an agent, a management company representative, or a bookkeeper.
- A spouse or registered domestic partner, when both are named on the same claim and the court approves.
If none of these fit, Item 4 on the form lets you ask the judge for permission to assist a party who cannot properly present their own claim or defense. The judge rules on that request at the hearing.
When an Attorney Cannot Use the Form
Section 116.530 bars attorneys from most small claims appearances. A lawyer may appear only when the attorney is personally a party or is suing or defending on behalf of an all-attorney partnership or professional corporation. An attorney who happens to be a regular employee of a business can qualify under the business-entity categories, but only if their job duties extend beyond small claims representation. Otherwise, lawyers are limited to advising a party before or after the hearing, testifying as a witness with personal knowledge, handling appeals, or enforcing judgments.
Filling Out the Form
SC-109 is two pages. Each field matters, because an incomplete form gives the judge grounds to refuse the authorization.
Court and Case Information
At the top, enter the name and street address of the Superior Court of California for the county where the case was filed. Then enter the case number and case name exactly as they appear on the original Form SC-100 (Plaintiff’s Claim and Order to Go to Small Claims Court) or any other filing in the case. A mismatched case number is the fastest way to create confusion at the clerk’s window.
Item 1: Your Information
Enter your full legal name, mailing address, and your job title or relationship to the party you are appearing for. “Office manager at XYZ Corp” or “property manager for defendant” is the level of specificity the court expects. “Friend” is vague and will prompt follow-up questions.
Item 2: Who You Are Appearing For
Check whether you are appearing for a plaintiff or a defendant and write that person’s or entity’s name. If the case has multiple plaintiffs or defendants, identify the specific one.
Item 3: The Authorization Basis
This is the core of the form. Check the box that matches your statutory category. Each checkbox contains a built-in declaration: by checking it you are stating under penalty of perjury that the description is true. For most business-entity categories, you are also declaring that representing the entity in small claims court is not the only duty of your job.
Representatives appearing for a service member, incarcerated party, or nonresident property owner must also declare that they are not being paid to appear and that they have not appeared in small claims court for other people more than four times in the current calendar year. Government and military employees declare instead that they are not being paid to appear beyond their regular government compensation.
Skip Item 3 entirely if you are asking the judge for permission to assist someone rather than appearing under one of the pre-authorized categories.
Item 4: Request to Assist
Use this section only when none of the Item 3 checkboxes apply. Here you ask the judge to allow you to help a plaintiff or defendant who cannot adequately present their own claim or defense. Approval is not automatic; the judge decides at the hearing whether the party genuinely needs assistance.
Signature
The bottom of the form is a declaration signed under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California. You, the person who will appear, sign and date it. The party you are representing does not sign SC-109, but a written authorization letter from them, even an informal one, helps if the judge questions whether the party actually consented.
Filing the Form
The form’s instructions say to file it with the small claims clerk at or before the trial. You have two practical options.
File in advance by bringing the completed form to the clerk’s office before the hearing date. The clerk attaches it to the case file so the judge sees it before calling the case, and you have time to fix any problems the clerk flags.
Or present it at the hearing by handing the original to the clerk or judge when the case is called. This is common when the need for a representative arises close to the hearing, but the judge reviews the form on the spot and may ask more questions.
Bring the original plus at least two copies: one for the court file and one for the opposing party. The other side is entitled to know who will speak and on what authority. No separate filing fee applies to SC-109; the filing fees were paid when the case was originally filed on the SC-100.
What the Judge Looks At
When the case is called, the judge reviews SC-109 to confirm it meets the requirements of Section 116.540. Expect the judge to verify that the checked box matches the representative’s actual role. A corporate employee may be asked to describe their job duties to confirm that small claims appearances are not their sole responsibility. A service member’s representative may be asked to confirm they have not exceeded the four-appearance annual limit.
If the judge finds the form deficient (a missing signature, an incorrect category, or a representative who does not actually qualify), the judge may continue the case to a new date rather than proceed. A continuance beats a dismissal, but it means another trip to the courthouse. In rare cases where a plaintiff’s representative is denied and the plaintiff has no valid excuse for not appearing, the judge could dismiss the claim.
Mistakes That Get the Form Rejected
Most SC-109 problems fall into a short list of preventable errors:
- Checking the corporation box when the entity is actually an LLC, or the sole proprietorship box when there are factual disputes beyond business records. Each description contains specific qualifying language; read it before you check it.
- Being paid to appear for a service member, incarcerated party, or nonresident owner. Even an informal payment arrangement disqualifies the representative.
- Exceeding the four-appearance annual cap. Unpaid representatives who are not government employees cannot appear in a fifth small claims case for a different person in the same calendar year.
- Sending an attorney who does not fall within one of the narrow Section 116.530 exceptions.
- Leaving the declaration unsigned or undated. An unsigned form is not a valid authorization.
- Mismatching the case number or case name against what the court has on file. Check against the SC-100 or any notice you received from the court.
Form SC-109 is free from any small claims clerk’s office in California or from courts.ca.gov.