Guides · reviewed 2026-09-04

How Small Claims Court works in Ontario (2026)

Legal information, not legal advice. Results depend on the facts of your case.

Legal information, not legal advice. This guide and our free tools give legal information. They do not give advice about your case. A licensed lawyer can give legal advice.

The answer

Small Claims Court is the branch of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice for claims up to $50,000, not counting interest and costs.

You file a claim, you serve it, and the case moves to default judgment, a settlement conference, or a trial. If you win, you collect the money yourself.

What to do

  1. Check your deadline first. In most cases, you must start within 2 years of the day you discovered the claim.
  2. Send a demand letter. Give a clear amount and a date to pay. Our tool writes one free: /demand-letter. The letter does not stop the 2-year clock.
  3. Fill in the Plaintiff's Claim (Form 7A). Our free interview fills the form: /build/7a.
  4. File the claim at the correct court location and pay $108. Outside Toronto, file online with Submissions Online. In Toronto, file in the Ontario Courts Public Portal.
  5. The clerk issues the claim: it gets a court file number, a date, and the court seal.
  6. Serve a copy of the issued claim on each defendant within 6 months.
  7. File an Affidavit of Service (Form 8A) for each person you served: /build/8a.
  8. Wait 20 days from the date of service. If no Defence comes, ask the clerk to note the defendant in default: /build/9b.
  9. If the defendant files a Defence, the court sets a settlement conference. The court sets one in every defended case.
  10. If the case does not settle, pay $308 to fix a trial date.
  11. If you win, enforce the judgment. The court does not collect the money for you. Read: how to collect.

Deadlines and fees

These numbers apply through December 31, 2026. Court fees change on January 1, 2027, with inflation.

  • Start your claim: within 2 years of discovery, in most cases.
  • File a claim: $108, or $228 for a frequent claimant.
  • Serve the claim: within 6 months after the court issues it.
  • Defence: due 20 days after service.
  • Settlement conference: within 90 days after the first Defence is filed.
  • Trial date: $308 to fix it, or $403 for a frequent claimant.
  • Delay: the clerk must dismiss the case at its 2nd anniversary if it has not moved to a judgment step or a trial-date request.

A frequent claimant is a claimant with 10 or more claims already filed in the same court office in that calendar year. Count the days by the rule: exclude the first day, include the last. If the last day is a weekend or a holiday, the deadline moves to the next day the court is open. Use the calculator: /calculators/deadlines.

Who decides

A deputy judge hears most Small Claims cases. A judge of the Superior Court can also hear them. Settlement conferences are by video by default. Trials are in person by default.

Common mistakes

  • Do not wait. The 2-year clock runs while you send reminders and wait for replies.
  • Do not sue for more than $50,000 in this court. Interest and costs do not count toward the limit.
  • Do not split one claim into 2 claims to fit the limit. The rules do not allow it.
  • Use the defendant's exact legal name. A judgment against a wrong name is hard to enforce. Read: name the right defendant.
  • Do not let the case sit. The clerk dismisses a case at its 2nd anniversary if no judgment step or trial-date request happened.

When to get a lawyer

Get legal advice if the claim is large, the facts are in dispute, or the other side has a lawyer. Legal services provided by Mithril Law — Jonathan Kleiman, licensed Ontario lawyer.

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