Small Claims Court in Ontario: The $35,000 Limit, Fees and How to File a Claim

Small Claims Court is where most everyday money disputes in Ontario are resolved — an unpaid invoice, a deposit a contractor never returned, a loan to a friend that was never repaid, damage to your car or your property. It is designed to be faster, cheaper, and far less formal than the rest of the court system, and you are allowed to run your own case.

The short answer: Ontario's Small Claims Court hears claims for money or the return of personal property up to $35,000, not counting interest and costs. It is a branch of the Superior Court of Justice, it uses simplified forms and procedures, and you can be represented by a lawyer, a licensed paralegal, or nobody at all. Most cases resolve at a mandatory settlement conference rather than at trial.

#What is the Small Claims Court limit in Ontario?

The monetary limit is $35,000, and it has been since January 1, 2020 (it was $25,000 before that). The limit applies to the amount you are claiming — interest and costs are not counted toward it.

That last point matters. If someone owes you $34,000 plus two years of contractual interest, you are still within the limit; the interest sits on top.

What if you are owed more than $35,000? You have two choices, and only two:

• Abandon the excess and sue in Small Claims Court for $35,000. This is a real trade-off — you permanently give up the rest, and you cannot recover it later.
• Sue in the Superior Court of Justice, where there is no ceiling but where the procedure, timelines, and legal costs are substantially heavier.

You are not allowed to split one claim into two to squeeze under the limit. Dividing a single $60,000 debt into two $30,000 actions is not permitted, and a court will not let it stand.

#What kinds of claims belong in Small Claims Court?

Small Claims Court can order two things: payment of money, and the return of specific personal property — in each case up to the $35,000 limit. That covers a very wide range of ordinary disputes:

• Unpaid invoices, wages, or loans
• Unreturned deposits and retainers
• Breach of a contract for goods or services
• Poor or incomplete work by a contractor or tradesperson
• Property damage, including motor-vehicle damage claims
• Unpaid rent or damages between former roommates or business partners
• Return of goods someone is holding that belong to you

Just as important is what it cannot do. Small Claims Court has no power to grant most equitable remedies — it cannot issue an injunction, order specific performance of a contract, or decide questions of title to land. It does not deal with family law, divorce, custody, or support, and it is not the forum for estate disputes or challenges to a will. Certain other categories of claim are excluded by statute as well.

If your dispute needs an order that stops someone from doing something, transfers ownership of property, or unwinds a transaction, you are in the Superior Court of Justice — regardless of how small the dollar figure is. The same is true of a mortgage remedy or a shareholder fight where the oppression remedy is in play. (See our guides on power of sale vs. foreclosure in Ontario and shareholder agreements in Ontario.)

#How long do I have to file? The limitation period

Before anything else, check the clock. Under Ontario's Limitations Act, 2002, most claims must be started within two years of the day the claim was discovered. Filing one day late is usually fatal — the defendant simply pleads the limitation period and the case ends, no matter how strong it is on the merits.

Some claims run on different rules, and some claims against public bodies carry short written notice requirements measured in days, not years. Our companion guide on limitation periods in Ontario explains how the clock works and where the exceptions are.

#How do I file a claim? The step-by-step process

Step 1 — Consider a demand letter first

A clear, dated demand letter setting out what is owed and giving a deadline resolves a surprising number of disputes without a filing fee. It also creates a paper record a judge can see later. See how to write a demand letter in Ontario.

Step 2 — File a Plaintiff's Claim

You start the case by issuing a Plaintiff's Claim — the form that identifies the parties, states what happened, and says exactly what you want. The court forms are published by the Ontario government and can be filed online or at a courthouse.

Two things make or break this document:

• Name the defendant correctly. Sue the legal entity that actually owes you the money — the corporation and its exact legal name, not a business's storefront name; the individual, if there is no corporation. A judgment against a name that does not legally exist is worthless.
• File in the right court location. Generally, the claim is filed where the events happened or where the defendant lives or carries on business.

You also need to include copies of the documents you rely on — the contract, invoices, emails, photos, estimates.

Step 3 — Serve the defendant

The claim has to be served on each defendant, and the rules set out how service can be done and how you prove it (an affidavit of service). Service defects are one of the most common reasons a straightforward case stalls.

Step 4 — The Defence

Once served, a defendant has a short, fixed window — 20 days under the Small Claims Court rules — to file a Defence. A defendant who does nothing can be noted in default, and the plaintiff may be able to obtain default judgment without a hearing.

A defendant who believes the plaintiff actually owes them money can also file a Defendant's Claim, which is the Small Claims Court equivalent of a counterclaim.

Step 5 — The settlement conference

Every defended claim goes to a mandatory settlement conference before a judge or deputy judge. This is the most important stage of the entire process, and most cases end here.

The conference is informal and held on a without prejudice basis, meaning what is said there cannot be used against you at trial. The judge will review the claim and defence, tell both sides where the case looks weak, and try to broker a resolution. Even where the case does not settle, the conference narrows the issues, sorts out documents and witnesses, and sets the case up for trial.

The rules contemplate the conference being scheduled within a few months of the first defence being filed, though actual timing depends on the court location's calendar.

Step 6 — Trial

If the case does not settle, it is set down for trial before a judge or deputy judge — there are no juries in Small Claims Court. Trials are informal by design: the ordinary rules of evidence are relaxed, and a judge is expected to help self-represented parties present their case. You give evidence, call your witnesses, file your documents, and cross-examine the other side. Judgment may be delivered on the spot or reserved and released in writing.

#What does it cost?

There are three separate cost buckets, and people often only think about the first.

Fee amounts change from time to time, so check the current schedule before you file. If paying the fee is a genuine hardship, Ontario has a fee waiver process for people who qualify financially.

#Can I recover my costs if I win?

Partly — and this is where expectations need managing. Small Claims Court is deliberately a low-costs forum, so that the risk of losing does not scare people out of court.

Two limits matter:

• The 15% rule. Under the Courts of Justice Act, an award of costs in Small Claims Court generally cannot exceed 15% of the amount claimed, except where the court is penalizing a party for unreasonable behaviour or bad faith.
• The representation fee cap. Where a successful party was represented by a lawyer or paralegal, the rules cap the amount that can be awarded for that representative's services at a fixed, modest figure — nowhere near what a full retainer costs. Disbursements are recoverable separately.

There is one important lever: a written offer to settle. If you make a formal offer, the other side refuses it, and you then do as well as or better than your offer at trial, the court can award you significantly more in costs — including double costs from the date of the offer in appropriate cases. Serving a well-timed offer to settle is one of the few real cost weapons available in this court.

The practical consequence: assume you will not recover most of what you spend on representation. That fact should shape whether you hire someone, and how much you are willing to spend fighting.

#Do I need a lawyer, a paralegal, or neither?

In Ontario, three options are available in Small Claims Court:

• Represent yourself. Entirely permitted, and the court is built for it. Fine for a simple, well-documented debt where the facts are not really in dispute.
• A licensed paralegal. Paralegals are licensed by the Law Society of Ontario and are specifically authorized to appear in Small Claims Court. Often the most economical option for routine claims.
• A lawyer. Worth it when the money at stake is near the $35,000 ceiling, when the legal issues are genuinely contested, when the other side is represented and sophisticated, when there is a counterclaim, or when the outcome affects your business or a continuing relationship.

A reasonable middle path many people take is unbundled help: hire a lawyer to review the claim before you file, or to prepare you for the settlement conference, and run the rest yourself.

#I won. How do I actually get paid?

This is the part nobody warns you about. A judgment is a piece of paper, not a payment. The court does not collect for you. If the debtor will not pay voluntarily, you must take enforcement steps yourself, and each one has its own form and fee.

The main tools are:

• Examination of the debtor. You can require the debtor to attend and answer questions under oath about their income, assets, debts, and ability to pay. This is usually the sensible first step, because it tells you which of the tools below is worth using.
• Garnishment. A notice of garnishment redirects money owed to the debtor by a third party — most commonly wages paid by an employer, or funds in a bank account — to the court, which pays it out to you. Wage garnishment is subject to statutory limits on how much of a person's pay can be taken, and some sources of income are exempt.
• Writ of seizure and sale. Filed against personal property, it allows the enforcement office to seize and sell the debtor's goods. Filed against land, it is registered on title in the county or district where the debtor owns property, and it attaches to that property — in practice, it often gets paid when the debtor sells or refinances. Statutory exemptions protect certain basic assets.
• Post-judgment interest runs on the judgment until it is paid.

Enforcement takes time, and it only works if the debtor has income or assets to reach. That is why a hard-headed assessment of whether a defendant is collectible should happen before you file, not after you win.

#How Tokas Lex can help

We advise clients across Ontario on whether a dispute belongs in Small Claims Court or the Superior Court, draft claims and defences that hold up, prepare and attend settlement conferences, and pursue enforcement when a judgment goes unpaid. We are equally happy to give you a focused, fixed-scope review so you can run the file yourself with confidence.

If someone owes you money — or you have been served with a claim — contact Tokas Lex or learn more about our Small Claims Court services.

---

This article provides general information about Ontario law and is not legal advice. Court fees, forms, and procedures change from time to time, and the right forum depends on the facts of your dispute. For advice on your specific claim, please consult a lawyer or licensed paralegal.