Small Claims Court in California: Limits, Filing and Serving Your Claim

Small claims court in California is built for disputes over money that people can bring without a lawyer. It is faster and cheaper than a regular civil case, and it comes with its own limits: on how much you can ask for, on who can stand beside you in the courtroom, and on who can appeal. This post follows the steps in the courts' own small claims guide and the Code of Civil Procedure: checking that your case fits, choosing the right county, filling out and filing the claim, and having it served on time.

What small claims court handles

Small claims court lets you sue a person, a business or a government agency that you believe owes you money. The self-help guide says a small claims case is generally about money, not about ordering someone to do or stop doing something. If you would accept money instead, for example the cost of the damage a neighbor's fence causes rather than an order to remove it, small claims can still work.

Some limits apply to everyone in small claims:

• You can ask a lawyer for advice before you go, but a lawyer cannot represent you in court.
• If you win, collecting the money is up to you. The court does not collect it for you.
• If you started the case and lose, you cannot appeal; the judge's decision is final. The person who was sued can appeal, and so can a plaintiff who loses on a claim the other side brought back against them.

How much you can sue for

The court's page on checking that your case fits small claims sets out the money limits:

• An individual can generally sue for up to $12,500. That limit comes from Code of Civil Procedure section 116.221, which applies to actions brought by a natural person.
• If you are suing on behalf of a business, the limit is $6,250, the general limit in section 116.220.
• You can sue for more than $2,500 only twice in a calendar year.

Some laws allow penalties on top of the amount owed, such as in certain security deposit cases. The guide also flags a recent change: as of October 1, 2025, a landlord can no longer sue in small claims court for unpaid COVID-19 rental debt above $12,500.

Special rules apply if you are suing an attorney about fees, the State of California or a local government, or a healthcare provider. The guide warns that if you don't follow them, you will lose the case.

Where to file

Each county has its own small claims court, and choosing the right one is called venue. The court's page on where to file your small claims case says you usually must file in the county where the other side lives or does business. Some cases give you more options. For a car accident or injury, you can also file where it happened; for a broken agreement, where it was broken or was to be carried out, among other places. If you file in the wrong county, the court may dismiss the case and you would have to start again in the right one, a real problem if the deadline to sue has passed by then.

Filling out the claim: form SC-100

A small claims case starts with the Plaintiff's Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court (form SC-100). According to the court's page on filling out forms to start a small claims case, the form tells the court who you are, who you're suing, why, how much you are asking for, and why you're suing in that county. Two details matter most:

• The defendant's proper legal name. If you don't use it, you might not be able to collect the money if you win. For a business, that means its official business name.
• The court and the reason for venue. You write the address of the court where you'll file and check the box with the legal reason you can sue in that county.

Some cases need attachments, such as form SC-100A for extra plaintiffs or defendants, and some courts require local forms. Make one copy for yourself and one for each person, business or agency you're suing.

Filing the claim and paying the fee

The court's page on filing your Plaintiff's Claim lists the filing fees:

• $30 if you are suing for up to $1,500
• $50 for over $1,500 and up to $5,000
• $75 for over $5,000 and up to $12,500
• $100 if you have filed more than 12 small claims cases in the past 12 months

If you can't afford the fee, you can ask the court to waive it. When you file, the clerk gives you a case number and a court date, stamps the forms, keeps the original and returns the copies. You can file in person or by mail (send the original, two copies, the fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope), and the guide notes that some courts allow e-filing. The guide says the trial date is typically one to two months after filing.

Our courts page lists the small claims courts you can e-file in through Legal Hub Group and what each one accepts. The general steps of an online filing are in How to E-File Court Documents in California in 7 Steps.

Serving the claim

Once the claim is filed, the other side has to receive a copy of the filed forms. The court's page on serving your small claims forms and Code of Civil Procedure section 116.340 set out how.

Who can serve. You can't serve the forms yourself. The server must be 18 or older. That can be someone you know, the county sheriff in some counties, or a professional process server you pay.

How. Personal service, handing the forms to the other side, is how forms are usually served. Substituted service means leaving the forms with an adult at the other side's home or work and then mailing a copy to that same address; section 116.340 allows it in small claims without first trying personal service. Some courts also offer service by the clerk through certified mail for a $15 fee, which the guide says often works for a business's agent for service of process and often fails for others. For a business or government, a specific person must be served, not just any employee, as form SC-104C explains. Our posts on how to serve someone in California, substituted service and serving a corporation through its agent cover the methods in more depth.

The deadline. Service must be completed at least 15 days before the court date, or at least 20 days before if the person you're serving lives outside the county where you filed. To count, start with the day before the court date as day 1 and count back; if the last day lands on a weekend or court holiday, keep counting back to the first day the court is open. The guide adds that substituted service has to happen 10 days before that deadline, so serve as soon as you can.

The proof. The server fills out and signs the Proof of Service (form SC-104), recording how, when and where the forms were delivered. Section 116.340 requires the proof to be filed at least five days before the hearing; the guide says to file the original and a copy, and the court keeps the original and returns the stamped copy.

An example

Take a fictional tenant, Dana Whitfield, whose former landlord kept a $2,000 deposit. Dana files an SC-100 in the county where the landlord lives and does business, pays the $50 fee, and gets a court date seven weeks out. A friend over 18 hands the claim to the landlord three weeks before the hearing, then signs an SC-104 that Dana files the following week, about two weeks before the hearing.

When the person you need to serve is hard to reach, Legal Hub Group offers process serving in California. For the filing itself, California e-filing through Legal Hub Group is $14.99 per filing plus court fees, with every fee shown before you pay, and Lexary by Legal Hub Group is free with every filing, with no limit: it flags missing signatures, dates, addresses and case details and fixes file formats before your papers go in.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Keep reading

• Who Can Accept Served Papers?
• How to Serve Someone Court Papers Without an Address
• Can You Serve Someone Yourself?
• What Happens If You Are Not Properly Served?

MoreAll guides & answers · Filing guides · California court forms