Guides · reviewed 2026-09-04

Which Small Claims Court location do you file in?

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

Rule 6.01 gives 3 options: file where the events happened, where a defendant lives or does business, or at the court nearest a defendant. Ontario has 75 Small Claims Court locations in our list.

The 3 tests

You can start the case in the territorial division where:

  • the cause of action arose, that is, where the events happened; or
  • any defendant lives or carries on business.

You can also file at the court's place of sitting nearest to where a defendant lives or carries on business. One test is enough. With several defendants, one defendant's location is enough.

Toronto files in a different system

  • Toronto Small Claims Court: 47 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto. All Toronto filings go through the Ontario Courts Public Portal. Documents flow into Case Center for hearings.
  • Every other location: file through Small Claims Court Submissions Online, or on paper at the court office. Submissions Online does not apply to Toronto cases.
  • Toronto schedules motions and requests to change a hearing date or method through an online booking tool. Check the court's Toronto page for the current link.

The location you choose sets where your hearings happen and which system you file in.

What to do

  1. Write each defendant's home address and business address.
  2. Write where the events happened: the contract, the work, or the accident.
  3. Apply the 3 tests. Pick a location that passes at least one test.
  4. Use our Form 7A interview: /build/7a. It helps you pick from the list.
  5. Do 2 locations pass? Pick the one that works best for you and your witnesses. Trials are in person by default.

If the location is wrong

The court can move the case when the balance of convenience substantially favours another place. A defendant can raise the place of trial in the Defence, and the trial judge must decide it. A wrong location can cost you a motion and months of delay.

Served outside the division?

Was every defendant served outside the court's territorial division? Then the clerk cannot note a default until you file an Affidavit for Jurisdiction (Form 11A). It shows the case was properly brought there.

Deadlines and fees

  • The fee to file is the same at every location: $108.
  • Trials are in person by default, so distance matters on trial day. Settlement conferences are by video by default.

Common mistakes

  • Do not pick the courthouse nearest to you when no test supports it.
  • Do not use Submissions Online for a Toronto case. Toronto uses the Ontario Courts Public Portal.
  • Do not guess. A defendant can ask to move a badly chosen location.

When to get a lawyer

Get legal advice if the correct location is not clear, or the defendant disputes it. Legal services provided by Mithril Law — Jonathan Kleiman, licensed Ontario lawyer.

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