Tools · Small Claims
California Small Claims Checker (2026)
Enter your claim amount to see whether it fits under the California small claims limit ($12,500), with the filing fee and whether a lawyer is allowed at the hearing.
California small claims checker
The dollar amount you would ask the court for: the deposit, the unpaid bill, the repair cost. Interest and court costs usually sit on top of the limit, not inside it.
Enter your claim amount above to see it compared against the California figures.
Where and how to file is procedure this page does not walk through; the official self-help resource is California Courts Self-Help. If your claim is a security deposit a landlord kept, the security deposit calculator shows the cap and the return deadline that apply to it.
- Your claim amount
- Not entered
- California small claims limit
- $12,500
- Filing fee
- $30–$100
- Lawyers at the hearing
- Not allowed at the hearing
Plain-language summary, not legal advice.
Informational only, not legal advice, and not a prediction that any claim would succeed. Limits change and some states carve out claim types this summary cannot weigh. See the full rule and the citations on the California small claims reference, cited to Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §116.221 (individuals); §116.231 (entities).
How the California small claims limit works
California draws the line most people miss: an individual can sue for up to $12,500 in small claims, but a business (a corporation, LLC, or partnership) is capped at $6,250. The self-help portal states both figures plainly, along with the rule that trips up newcomers: you can't bring a lawyer to the hearing. Both sides represent themselves, which is the whole point of the small-claims track. The filing fee is modest ($30–$100 depending on the amount), but file more than a dozen claims in a year and it jumps to $100 each. The $12,500 figure took effect January 1, 2024 (up from $10,000), so older articles quoting $10,000 are out of date.
This checker compares your number to the California ceiling; it is informational only and not legal advice, and it says nothing about whether a claim would succeed. For where to file and what the hearing looks like, use the official self-help resource linked in the result. The full rule and the citations are on the California small claims reference.
Small claims checkers for other states
Same tool, each with its own ceiling and fee.