Tools · Small Claims
Massachusetts Small Claims Checker (2026)
Enter your claim amount to see whether it fits under the Massachusetts small claims limit ($7,000), with the filing fee and whether a lawyer is allowed at the hearing.
Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts figures.
Where and how to file is procedure this page does not walk through; the official self-help resource is Mass.gov Small Claims. 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
- Massachusetts small claims limit
- $7,000
- Filing fee
- $40 / $50 / $100 / $150
- Lawyers at the hearing
- Allowed
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 Massachusetts small claims reference, cited to M.G.L. c.218 §21; Uniform Small Claims Rules.
How the Massachusetts small claims limit works
Massachusetts sets its small-claims ceiling at $7,000 under G.L. c.218 §21, but two exceptions keep it from being a hard wall. First, the $7,000 limit doesn't apply to claims for property damage caused by a motor vehicle; those can be brought for more. Second, Massachusetts is a consumer-protection state: statutory multipliers such as the Chapter 93A double- or treble-damages provision can lift a final award above $7,000 even when the underlying claim fits within the limit. Lawyers are allowed, though most claimants appear on their own, and the filing fee is tiered from $40 to $150 by claim size. This page is marked draft: the figures line up across reputable sources, but the official state sites blocked automated access at review time, so we're holding it for human confirmation.
This checker compares your number to the Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts small claims reference.
Small claims checkers for other states
Same tool, each with its own ceiling and fee.