How to Sue Someone in Ontario Small Claims Court: A Plain-Language Guide to the $50,000 Limit

Someone owes you money. You have asked politely, then less politely, and nothing has happened. Small Claims Court is the part of Ontario's court system built for exactly this problem — and since October 1, 2025, it handles considerably larger disputes than it used to. Here is how the process actually works, start to finish.

What Small Claims Court can handle

Small Claims Court is a branch of the Superior Court of Justice. As of October 1, 2025, you can sue there for up to $50,000. The previous limit was $35,000. Anything larger belongs in the ordinary Superior Court — unless you are willing to give up the excess. If you are owed $58,000, you can sue for $50,000 in Small Claims Court and waive the rest. That trade is often worth it, because the ordinary Superior Court is slower and considerably more expensive.

The $50,000 ceiling applies to the principal amount you claim. Interest and costs are calculated on top and do not count toward the limit. Typical claims include:

• Unpaid invoices for goods or services you delivered

• Unpaid loans, unpaid rent, and NSF cheques

• Property damage and breach of contract

• Personal injury claims, and claims for the return of personal property

Check your deadline before anything else

In most cases you have two years from the date you knew, or reasonably ought to have known, about the problem to start your claim. That rule comes from the Limitations Act, 2002. Miss the deadline and the strength of your case stops mattering — the claim can be dismissed regardless of the merits. Some types of claims run on different timelines, so if you are anywhere near the two-year mark, get advice now rather than next month.

What it costs to file

You are not required to hire a lawyer or paralegal in Small Claims Court, and many people represent themselves. You do, however, have to pay court fees. Most people are "infrequent claimants," meaning they file fewer than ten claims a year at the same court location. An infrequent claimant currently pays:

• $108 to file the claim

• $308 to set a date for a trial or assessment hearing

• $94 to file a request for default judgment

• $127 to file most motions

Frequent claimants — those filing ten or more claims a year at the same location — pay more, currently $228 to file and $403 to set a trial date. If you cannot afford the fees, you can apply to have them waived.

Starting the claim and serving it

You begin by filing a Plaintiff's Claim (Form 7A) at the right courthouse — either where the events happened, or where the defendant lives or carries on business. Attach the documents your claim rests on: the contract, the invoices, the photographs, the text messages.

Get the defendant's exact legal name right. Suing "Dave's Roofing" when the business is actually incorporated under a numbered company name can create real problems later, including a judgment you cannot enforce. ServiceOntario's business name search is a good place to check.

Once the court issues your claim, you have six months to serve a stamped copy on each defendant. You then file an Affidavit of Service (Form 8A) for each of them to prove it was done.

What the defendant does next

The defendant has 20 days after being served to file a Defence (Form 9A). Three things can happen:

• They admit the claim, in whole or in part, and propose terms of payment. If you accept, the matter may end there.

• They dispute it, and the case is scheduled for a settlement conference.

• They do nothing. You can then ask the clerk to note them in default and move for default judgment.

Default judgment is comparatively simple paperwork where your claim is for a clear, fixed sum set out in an agreement. Where the amount is not clear — property damage, for example — you will need to prove it, either on a motion in writing or at an assessment hearing, which works like a trial without the defendant present.

The settlement conference is where most cases end

Every defended claim goes to a settlement conference before it can be scheduled for trial. This is not a trial. You sit down with a judge who has read the file, each side explains its position, and the judge offers a candid view of the strengths and weaknesses. Many cases resolve at this stage, which is precisely the point of it.

At least 14 days beforehand, serve and file your List of Proposed Witnesses (Form 13A) along with any documents you intend to rely on. Arriving with documents nobody has seen is a common and entirely avoidable mistake.

For claims under $3,500, there is a useful shortcut: the judge can decide the case at the settlement conference itself if both parties file a signed Consent (Form 13B), sparing everyone a trial.

Costs: what you can realistically recover

Small Claims Court deliberately keeps costs low, and that cuts both ways. Section 29 of the Courts of Justice Act provides that a costs award, apart from disbursements, generally cannot exceed 15 per cent of the amount claimed. On a $20,000 claim, that means roughly $3,000 toward representation at most — not the full cost of a lawyer or paralegal. A court can go beyond that limit where it is necessary to penalize a party for unreasonable behaviour in the proceeding.

One point matters especially if you represent yourself. Since June 1, 2025, a self-represented party who makes a written offer to settle and then does as well as or better than that offer at trial may be awarded up to $1,500 for inconvenience and expense, increased from $500. Making a reasonable written offer early is one of the few levers a self-represented litigant has on costs.

Winning is not the same as getting paid

A judgment is a piece of paper. If the defendant does not pay voluntarily, collecting is your job, and it costs additional money. Your options include garnishing wages or a bank account, or having personal property or land seized and sold. You can also ask for an examination hearing, at which the debtor must answer questions under oath about their income, assets, debts and expenses.

This is why the most useful question to ask before filing is not "will I win?" but "if I win, can this person or business actually pay?" A judgment against a dissolved corporation with no assets is worth very little.

If the decision goes against you

You can appeal a Small Claims Court judgment to the Divisional Court, but only where the order is for payment of more than $5,000, excluding costs. That threshold rose from $3,500 on October 1, 2025, at the same time as the increase in the monetary limit. An appeal is about correcting legal error, not a second opportunity to re-argue the facts, and the deadlines are short — so if you are considering one, act quickly.

Before you file

A clear demand letter setting out what you are owed and why sometimes resolves the matter without a filing fee. Mediation is another option. Litigation takes time and money, and there is always the possibility of losing and being ordered to pay some of the other side's costs. Community Legal Education Ontario's Steps to Justice website offers free guided tools that walk you through the Small Claims Court forms if you decide to proceed on your own.

Ken Wise & Associates acts in Small Claims Court matters, including appeals to the Divisional Court.

This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Every situation turns on its own facts — speak with a qualified Ontario lawyer or licensed paralegal about yours.