Courts & Tickets
Small Claims, Start to Finish
How a US small claims case actually moves — the demand letter, filing fees, serving the defendant, the hearing, and the part nobody warns you about: collecting.
Small-claims limits by state
Every state sets its own ceiling on how much you can sue for in small claims court. Across the 50 states and DC the caps run from $2,500 (Kentucky) to $25,000 (Delaware and Tennessee), and the most common figure is $10,000, used in 16 of the 51. Pick a state for its current limit, the court that hears these cases and the official page the number comes from — or scan all of them in the table below.
Not legal advice. General information about court limits, checked against official sources in September 2026. Full disclaimer
All 50 states and DC
| State | Limit | Court | Notes | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $6,000 | Small Claims Docket, District Court | Same cap for individuals and businesses; any party may appear with or without a lawyer. | Code of Alabama § 12-12-31 (Alabama Legislature) |
| Alaska | $10,000 | District Court (small claims procedure) | You can file a larger claim in small claims only by giving up anything over $10,000. District court's formal civil procedure handles claims up to $100,000. | Alaska Court System — Small Claims Information Sheet (SC-95) |
| Arizona | $5,000since September 26, 2025 | Small Claims Division, Justice Court | Raised from $3,500 by SB 1022 (2025). Small-claims decisions can't be appealed, and lawyers may appear only if both sides agree. | Arizona Revised Statutes § 22-503 (Arizona Legislature) |
| Arkansas | $5,000 | Small Claims Division, District Court | Covers contract, property-damage and personal-property claims. The district court's regular civil docket hears claims up to $25,000. | Arkansas Judiciary — District Courts |
| California | $12,500since January 1, 2024 | Small Claims Division, Superior Court | Businesses and other entities: $6,250. No one may file more than two claims over $2,500 anywhere in the state per calendar year. Lawyers can't appear for parties at the hearing. Lower caps apply to some claims against guarantors. | California Courts Self-Help Guide — Small claims in California |
| Colorado | $7,500 | Small Claims Division, County Court | Colorado Judicial Branch — Cases for $7,500 or Less (Small Claims) | |
| Connecticut | $5,000 | Small Claims Session, Superior Court | Up to $15,000 for claims over home-improvement or new-home-construction contracts with licensed contractors. A tenant's security-deposit award (including statutory damages) may exceed $5,000. Libel and slander claims are excluded. | Connecticut Judicial Branch — How Small Claims Court Works (JDP-CV-45, rev. 3/26) |
| Delaware | $25,000 | Justice of the Peace Court | Delaware has no separate small claims court; the Justice of the Peace Court's civil docket fills that role. Negligence claims qualify only if no physical injury is involved. The cap doesn't apply to certain commercial-lease claims in eviction cases. | Delaware Courts — Justice of the Peace Court: Legal Jurisdiction |
| District of Columbia | $10,000 | Small Claims and Conciliation Branch, D.C. Superior Court | Money claims only; cases affecting an interest in real property can't be brought there. Counterclaims are not limited to $10,000. | District of Columbia Courts — Small Claims |
| Florida | $8,000since January 1, 2020 | Small Claims, County Court | The $8,000 limit excludes costs, interest and attorney's fees. | Florida Small Claims Rules, Rule 7.010(b) (Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida copy, Jan. 1, 2026 ed.) |
| Georgia | $15,000 | Magistrate Court | Scheduled increase: $25,000 for cases filed on or after January 1, 2027 (HB 999, 2026). | Judicial Council of Georgia / Administrative Office of the Courts — Navigating the Courts |
| Hawaii | $5,000 | Small Claims Division, District Court | No dollar limit for a tenant's claim to recover a residential security deposit. | Hawaii State Judiciary — Small Claims Questions and Answers |
| Idaho | $15,000since July 1, 2026 | Small Claims Department, Magistrate Division | Raised from $5,000 by S 1330 (2026). Small claims can't award punitive or pain-and-suffering damages. | Idaho Code § 1-2301 (Idaho Legislature) |
| Illinois | $10,000since January 1, 2006 | Small Claims, Circuit Court | Applies statewide under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 281; tort or contract claims for money only. | Illinois Supreme Court Rule 281 (Office of the Illinois Courts) |
| Indiana | $10,000since July 1, 2021 | Small Claims Docket, Circuit or Superior Court | Filing in small claims waives any amount over $10,000. | Indiana Office of Court Services — Small Claims Manual (2026) |
| Iowa | $6,500since July 1, 2018 | Small Claims, District Court | Landlord eviction (forcible entry and detainer) cases can also be brought in small claims. | Iowa Judicial Branch — Small Claims |
| Kansas | $10,000since July 1, 2024 | Small Claims, District Court | Raised from $4,000 by HB 2604 (2024). No person may file more than 20 small claims in the same court in a calendar year. | Kansas Statutes § 61-2703 (Kansas Legislature) |
| Kentucky | $2,500since June 8, 2011 | Small Claims Division, District Court | District Court's regular civil docket handles claims up to $5,000; larger claims go to Circuit Court. | Kentucky Court of Justice — Small Claims Handbook (P-6, rev. Jan. 2025) |
| Louisiana | $5,000 | Small Claims Division, City Court; Justice of the Peace Court | Justice of the peace courts also hear civil claims up to $5,000. No more than 10 plaintiffs may join one small-claims suit, and class actions aren't allowed. | Louisiana R.S. 13:5202 (Louisiana State Legislature) |
| Maine | $10,000since January 1, 2026 | Small Claims, District Court | Raised from $6,000 by P.L. 2025, ch. 261; some older court guides still show $6,000. | Maine Judicial Branch — Small Claims |
| Maryland | $5,000 | Small Claims, District Court of Maryland | Money claims only (not property). The District Court's regular civil docket hears claims up to $30,000. | Maryland Courts — Someone Owes Me Money |
| Massachusetts | $7,000 | Small Claims Session, District Court / Boston Municipal Court | No dollar cap for property damage caused by a motor vehicle. Statutory multiple damages or attorney's fees can push an award above $7,000. Cities and towns may bring certain claims up to $15,000. | Mass.gov (Massachusetts Trial Court) — Find out if you're eligible to file a small claim |
| Michigan | $7,000since January 1, 2024 | Small Claims Division, District Court | Stepped up under a statutory schedule ($6,500 from 2021, $7,000 from 2024). | Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.8401 (Michigan Legislature) |
| Minnesota | $20,000since July 1, 2024 | Conciliation Court, District Court | Consumer-credit-transaction claims (e.g., a lender suing a borrower) are capped at $4,000. Raised from $15,000 in 2024. | Minnesota Statutes § 491A.01 (Minnesota Revisor of Statutes) |
| Mississippi | $3,500 | Justice Court | State of Mississippi Judiciary — Justice Court | |
| Missouri | $5,000 | Small Claims Court, Associate Circuit Division | Assignees (e.g., debt buyers) can't file, and a party who has filed more than 12 other small claims in Missouri that calendar year can't file another. | Revised Statutes of Missouri § 482.305 (Missouri Revisor of Statutes) |
| Montana | $7,000 | Small Claims Court (Justice Court) | The defendant must be servable within the county where the case is filed. | Montana Code Annotated § 25-35-502 (Montana Legislature) |
| Nebraska | $7,500since July 1, 2025 | Small Claims Court, County Court | Raised to $6,000 on July 1, 2024 and to $7,500 on July 1, 2025 under LB 139 (2024). | Nebraska Judicial Branch — Nebraska Increases Jurisdictional Limits for Small Claims and County Courts (June 20, 2025) |
| Nevada | $10,000 | Small Claims, Justice Court | Money claims only. | Nevada Revised Statutes § 73.010 (Nevada Legislature) |
| New Hampshire | $10,000since July 1, 2015 | Small Claims, Circuit Court – District Division | Claims over $5,000 go to mandatory mediation, and a defendant can request a jury trial on claims over $1,500. | New Hampshire Judicial Branch — Small Claims (Circuit Court, District Division) |
| New Jersey | $5,000 | Small Claims Section, Special Civil Part, Superior Court | Security-deposit return cases are also capped at $5,000 in small claims. The Special Civil Part handles claims up to $20,000. | New Jersey Courts — Lawsuits $5,000 or less (Small Claims) |
| New Mexico | $10,000 | Magistrate Court (Metropolitan Court in Bernalillo County) | New Mexico has no separate small claims court; magistrate courts and the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court hear tort, contract and landlord/tenant cases up to $10,000. | New Mexico Courts — About the Courts |
| New York | $10,000 (NYC) | Small Claims Part, NYC Civil Court (City, District, Town and Village Courts elsewhere) | Outside NYC: $5,000 in City Courts and in the Nassau and Suffolk District Courts; $3,000 in Town and Village Justice Courts. | New York State Unified Court System — CourtHelp: Small Claims |
| North Carolina | $10,000 | Small Claims Court (Magistrate), District Court Division | $10,000 is the statewide cap, but each county's chief district judge decides which cases go to magistrates, so the practical limit can be as low as $5,000 in some counties. | North Carolina Judicial Branch — Small Claims |
| North Dakota | $15,000 | Small Claims Court, District Court | Also available to cancel an agreement involving fraud or misrepresentation worth $15,000 or less. | North Dakota Court System — Small Claims Court Actions |
| Ohio | $6,000 | Small Claims Division, Municipal or County Court | Libel, slander, replevin, malicious prosecution and abuse-of-process claims aren't allowed. | Ohio Revised Code § 1925.02 (Ohio Laws — Legislative Service Commission) |
| Oklahoma | $10,000 | Small Claims, District Court | Collection agencies and assignees of a claim generally can't use small claims. | Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN) — 12 O.S. § 1751 |
| Oregon | $10,000 | Small Claims Department, Circuit Court | Claims of $750 or less must be filed in small claims. | Oregon Revised Statutes § 46.405, 2025 ed. (Oregon Legislature) |
| Pennsylvania | $12,000 | Magisterial District Court (Philadelphia Municipal Court in Philadelphia) | In Philadelphia, small claims go to the Philadelphia Municipal Court, also up to $12,000. | 42 Pa.C.S. § 1515 (Pennsylvania General Assembly) |
| Rhode Island | $5,000since July 3, 2021 | Small Claims, District Court | Covers claims based on a contract, a retail sale or services rendered. | Rhode Island Judiciary — District Court Small Claims Cases |
| South Carolina | $7,500 | Magistrate Court | South Carolina Judicial Branch — Magistrate Court | |
| South Dakota | $12,000 | Small Claims Court, Magistrate Court | South Dakota Unified Judicial System — Small Claims | |
| Tennessee | $25,000 | General Sessions Court | Tennessee has no separate small claims court; General Sessions Court hears civil claims up to $25,000 statewide. Eviction (detainer) cases have no dollar limit. | Davidson County (Nashville) Circuit Court Clerk — General Sessions Civil Division |
| Texas | $20,000since September 1, 2020 | Justice Court (Justice of the Peace) | The $20,000 cap includes any attorney's fees. Debt-collection suits by lenders, collectors and assignees follow separate justice-court rules. | Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 500.3 (Texas Judicial Branch) |
| Utah | $20,000since January 1, 2025 | Small Claims, Justice Court or District Court | Set by a 2022 law: $20,000 from Jan. 1, 2025 through 2029, rising to $25,000 on Jan. 1, 2030. You can't sue a government agency or evict someone in small claims. | Utah State Courts — Small Claims |
| Vermont | $10,000since June 5, 2023 | Small Claims, Superior Court (Civil Division) | Consumer-credit debt and medical debt claims are capped at $5,000. Raised from $5,000 by Act 46 (2023). | Vermont Judiciary — Suing and Being Sued: Small Claims |
| Virginia | $5,000 | Small Claims Division, General District Court | Claims above $5,000 can go on the General District Court's regular civil docket, which hears claims up to $50,000 since 2025 legislation. | Virginia Judicial System Court Self-Help — Small Claims |
| Washington | $10,000 | Small Claims Department, District Court | Businesses and other non-individual plaintiffs are limited to $5,000. | Washington State Courts — Small Claims Court: Who May Bring a Small Claims Action? |
| West Virginia | $20,000since July 7, 2025 | Magistrate Court | Raised from $10,000 by HB 2761 (2025). Magistrates can't hear libel/slander, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, equity or real-estate-title cases. | West Virginia Judiciary — Magistrate Courts |
| Wisconsin | $10,000 | Small Claims, Circuit Court | Tort and personal-injury claims are capped at $5,000; evictions have no dollar limit. Scheduled increase: the general cap rises to $15,000 on Jan. 1, 2027 (2025 Wis. Act 105). | Wisconsin Court System — Small Claims Self-Help Law Center |
| Wyoming | $6,000 | Small Claims, Circuit Court | Wyoming Judicial Branch — Small Claims |
Every limit checked against the state court system or the statute on the official legislature site, September 2026.
How to read these limits
- The limit caps what you can ask for. Filing in small claims generally means you can't recover more than the limit on that claim, and several states say outright that filing gives up anything over it (Alaska and Indiana, for example). Whether costs, interest and attorney's fees count toward the cap varies too: Florida's $8,000 excludes them, while Texas's $20,000 includes attorney's fees.
- Some states have no court called "small claims." Delaware, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia hear these cases in a court with another name — a justice, magistrate, magisterial district or general sessions court, for example — and the figure shown is that court's civil cap. That is why Delaware and Tennessee show $25,000, well above a typical small-claims limit.
- Who is suing can change the number. California allows $12,500 for individuals but $6,250 for businesses; Washington allows $10,000 for individuals and $5,000 for everyone else.
- Some claim types have their own caps. Consumer-credit claims are capped lower in Minnesota ($4,000) and Vermont ($5,000, which also applies to medical debt), and Wisconsin caps tort and personal-injury claims at $5,000. Others run higher: Connecticut allows up to $15,000 for home-improvement and new-home-construction contract claims, Hawaii sets no limit for a tenant's security-deposit claim, and Massachusetts none for motor-vehicle property damage.
- New York has several limits. The table shows New York City's $10,000; City Courts and the Nassau and Suffolk District Courts hear claims up to $5,000, and Town and Village Justice Courts up to $3,000.
- North Carolina's cap is a ceiling. The statute allows $10,000, but each county's chief district judge decides which cases go to magistrates, so the practical limit can be as low as $5,000.
The limit is only the first question. For the rest — the demand letter, filing, serving the other side, the hearing and collecting — see how a small claims case moves, start to finish.
Limits that changed since January 1, 2023
| State | Change | Effective | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | $5,000 → $10,000 | June 5, 2023 | Act 46 (2023), 12 V.S.A. § 5531 |
| California | $10,000 → $12,500 (individuals); $5,000 → $6,250 (entities) | January 1, 2024 | SB 71 (Stats. 2023, ch. 861), CCP §§ 116.220, 116.221 |
| Michigan | $6,500 → $7,000 | January 1, 2024 | Scheduled step in MCL 600.8401 |
| Minnesota | $15,000 → $20,000 (consumer credit stays $4,000) | July 1, 2024 | 2024 Minn. Laws ch. 123, art. 15, § 6 |
| Kansas | $4,000 → $10,000 | July 1, 2024 | HB 2604 (L. 2024, ch. 22), K.S.A. 61-2703 |
| Nebraska | to $6,000, then $6,000 → $7,500 | July 1, 2024; July 1, 2025 | LB 139 (2024), Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-2802 |
| Utah | $15,000 → $20,000 | January 1, 2025 | Schedule in Utah Code 78A-8-102 (2022 ch. 210) |
| West Virginia | $10,000 → $20,000 (magistrate court) | July 7, 2025 | HB 2761 (2025, ch. 71), W. Va. Code 50-2-1 |
| Arizona | $3,500 → $5,000 | September 26, 2025 | SB 1022 (2025), A.R.S. 22-503 |
| Maine | $6,000 → $10,000 | January 1, 2026 | P.L. 2025, ch. 261, 14 M.R.S. § 7482 |
| Idaho | $5,000 → $15,000 | July 1, 2026 | S 1330 (2026, ch. 196), Idaho Code 1-2301 |
How these figures were checked
Every number comes from an official source: a state judiciary or court website, or the statute itself on the legislature's or revisor's site. For most states the source is the court system's own page; for Kansas, Minnesota and Missouri it is the statute, and for Tennessee it is the Davidson County (Nashville) Circuit Court Clerk's page on General Sessions civil cases. The link in each row is the page the figure was read from, so you can open it and check.
Limits change: 11 states raised theirs between 2023 and 2026. Before you file, confirm the current figure with your local court clerk or the court's self-help page.
The explainers behind it
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What the summons actually starts, the state-by-state answer deadlines, how default judgments happen — and the short, learnable response that keeps every defense alive.