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Every state sets its own claim limit, filing fees, and deadlines. Pick yours below - Squabble prepares, files, and serves nationwide, and Eleanor walks you through it in about six minutes.
Start for FREENationwide filing
With more than 3,000 jurisdictions across the United States, and multiple court locations within them, just figuring out where to file can be tough. Squabble navigates all of it for you.
Hover a state to explore. Click to open its guide Tap a state to see its filing details
Hover a state to see its small-claims limit, courts, and deadlines.
State by state
Small claims is the same promise everywhere: a real court for real money disputes, without a full lawsuit. But the rules change at the state line, then again at the county line, and again at the courthouse door.
From $2,500 in Kentucky to $25,000 in Tennessee and Delaware, a tenfold spread. Most states land between $5,000 and $15,000, and a few cap businesses lower than individuals.
Superior Court in California. Justice of the Peace in Texas. Conciliation Court in Minnesota. Magistrate Court in Georgia. General Sessions in Tennessee. Same idea, different door.
Venue doesn’t stop at the state. It resolves to a county, then to a specific courthouse. In Los Angeles County, your ZIP code determines which hub courthouse takes the filing. Right claim, wrong building: rejected.
Some courts mail the papers themselves by certified mail; others require a sheriff, constable, or licensed process server, on that court’s timeline. Getting this step right is what keeps a case moving.
It starts with a demand. Courts across the country expect you to ask in writing before you sue, and many require it. A clear demand letter is step one everywhere.
Evidence carries the day. Contracts, texts, invoices, photos, receipts: organized documentation is what judges look at first, in every state.
The other side must be served. No case moves forward until the other party receives formal notice under that court’s rules.
Hearings are informal by design. Small claims is built for people representing themselves: plain English, your documents, your side of the story.
A judgment is not a check. Collecting after a judgment is its own phase, with its own tools. Every state guide covers what comes after the hearing.
