How Much Can I Sue For in Small Claims Court?

Before you write a single word of a claim, it helps to know exactly what number you're working toward — and exactly what that number does and doesn't include. Getting this wrong in either direction can cost you: claim too little and you leave money on the table; structure a claim to dodge the limit and you risk it being challenged or reduced.

The monetary limit

This limit is what defines Small Claims Court's role — disputes above it generally need to go through the Superior Court of Justice instead, unless you're willing to adjust your claim to fit within it.

What counts toward the limit

The limit generally applies to the core value of what you're claiming — the debt owed, the cost of damage done, or the value of the property or service in dispute. This is the headline number you're trying to recover through the claim itself.

What doesn't count toward the limit

Costs and interest are generally treated separately from the monetary limit — meaning a claim right at the $50,000 threshold can still potentially result in a judgment that includes additional amounts for interest or costs on top of that figure. See costs and interest and the prejudgment interest calculator for how those additional amounts are generally calculated.

Calculating the amount to actually claim

Once you know the limit, the next step is arriving at an accurate, defensible claim amount — not simply claiming the maximum out of habit, and not underselling a loss you can actually document. A defensible amount is generally built from documented figures: unpaid invoices, repair estimates, replacement costs, or the specific terms of an agreement that wasn't honoured. See do I have a claim? for the underlying building blocks a claim amount needs to rest on.

If your loss is worth more than the limit

If your actual loss genuinely exceeds the monetary limit, you generally have two broad options: pursue the full amount through the Superior Court of Justice instead, or choose to reduce your claim to fit within Small Claims Court's limit, effectively giving up the portion above it in exchange for this court's faster, simpler, and less costly process. Which makes more sense depends on how much is actually at stake above the limit, and whether the added cost and complexity of the higher court is worth pursuing that difference.

Why you can't split one claim into several

It's not generally permitted to artificially divide a single claim that exceeds the limit into multiple smaller claims purely to fit each one under $50,000 — for example, filing three separate $30,000 claims against the same defendant for what's really one $90,000 dispute. Courts generally look at the substance of what's actually being claimed, not just how it's been divided on paper — see splitting or consolidating claims for how this plays out and where a genuine multi-part dispute differs from an improper attempt to get around the limit.

Claims that aren't purely about money

Some Small Claims Court cases involve the return of specific property rather than, or in addition to, a dollar amount. In these situations, the value of the property in dispute is generally what's measured against the monetary limit, even though the ultimate goal might be getting the item back rather than being paid its value.

Worked examples

• A claim comfortably under the limit. You're owed $12,000 on an unpaid invoice. This fits well within the limit, with no adjustment needed.
• A claim right at the limit. Your documented loss is $50,000. You can claim the full amount, and separately claim interest and costs on top of it, since those aren't counted against the limit itself.
• A claim over the limit. Your documented loss is $65,000. You could pursue the full amount in the Superior Court of Justice, or reduce your Small Claims Court claim to $50,000, accepting the $15,000 difference in exchange for a faster, simpler process.

Common mistakes

• Claiming an inflated round number instead of a documented, defensible amount.
• Forgetting that interest and costs sit outside the limit, and leaving them off the claim entirely.
• Attempting to split one large claim into several smaller ones against the same defendant.
• Not weighing the true cost of pursuing the difference above the limit in a higher court.

Frequently asked questions