Overview

A small claims court case is a lawsuit between individuals and/or corporations for $35,000 or less.

If you want to sue for more than $35,000, you must take your case to the Superior Court of Justice (civil court).

Plaintiffs (the person launching the lawsuit) can file documents online using the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal or the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal, depending on the document. Defendants (the person responding to the lawsuit) can file documents online using the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal.

Read the Superior Court of Justice’s Consolidated Notice to the Profession and Public Regarding the Small Claims Court to learn more about restrictions on the types of Small Claims Court matters being heard.

Documents you can file online

You can submit most Small Claims Court documents online.

Plaintiffs can use the Small Claims Court E-Filing portal for the automatic filing and issuance of certain court documents.

Read the guide for the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service Portal for more information.

Both plaintiffs and defendants can use the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal to submit other court documents for filing and issuance.

Documents you cannot file online

You cannot submit documents online through the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal:

  • to request an urgent hearing
  • for a court date that is five business days or less away (for example, if your court date is on Tuesday, February 9, you cannot submit documents online after Monday, February 1)
  • if you need to meet a deadline established by legislation or other court rules, court practice direction or a court order that is five business days or less away

If you cannot submit your documents through this portal, you may file them:

How to file online

Before you submit documents online, you will need:

  • a My Ontario Account: if you don’t have one, sign up now
  • your Visa, Mastercard, or debit card, if filing fees apply
  • your court file number, if you are filing documents for an existing case
  • if you are filing through the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal, all court documents completed and saved as individual PDF, JPEG, Word or Excel documents. Note: if you are submitting Plaintiff’s Claims through the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal, you must save these files as individual PDFs.
  • if you are submitting through the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal, all court documents completed and saved as individual PDFs or in Word (.docx)
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5.0 (or higher) installed on your computer to complete these forms in PDF format
  • all your court documents saved with file names that reflect:
    • document type (e.g., Affidavit)
    • type of party submitting the document (e.g., Defendant or Plaintiff)
    • name of the party submitting the document (including initials if the name is not unique to the case)
    • date when the document was created or signed (DD-MMM-YYYY)

Sample document name: Affidavit–Defendant–DoeJA–03-MAR-2021

Fees

To file court documents online, by mail or at a court counter, you need to pay the required filing fees.

Some fees are set by how often you file a claim.

For example, an infrequent claimant is someone who files up to 10 claims per calendar year in the same court location. They will pay:

  • $108 for filing a claim
  • $94 for filing of a request for default judgment
  • $308 for setting a date for an assessment hearing
  • $127 for filing a Notice of Motion for an Assessment in Writing

A frequent claimant is someone who files more than 10 claims a year in the same court location. Starting with the 11th claim, they will pay:

  • $228 for filing a claim
  • $128 for filing of a request for default judgment
  • $403 for setting a date for an assessment hearing
  • $127 for filing a Notice of Motion for an Assessment in Writing

Read the guide to fee schedules for more information.

If you cannot afford to pay court or enforcement fees in your proceeding, you may request a fee waiver. If you are granted a fee waiver, it will apply to most fees in your court proceeding from that point forward. Find out how to apply for a fee waiver.

File your documents

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Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal

Use the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal to:

  • submit your Plaintiff’s Claim or Affidavit of Service (see note below)
  • discontinue your Plaintiff’s Claim
  • change or update your Plaintiff’s Claim if you have not served the claim on any of the defendants
  • note the person you are suing (defendant) in default if they do not respond to your Plaintiff’s Claim within 20 days of being served
  • request a default judgment if the defendant has not responded to your Plaintiff’s Claim
  • request an assessment hearing without the defendant
  • file a notice of motion for an assessment in writing so you do not need to attend court

Important: If you have a fee waiver or want to apply for a fee waiver, you cannot use the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal to submit the documents listed above. You must use the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal described below.

Note about proof of service for lawyers and paralegals: The only proof of service that can be submitted through the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal is an Affidavit of Service (Form 8A). A Lawyer or Paralegal’s Certificate of Service (Form 8B) must be submitted through the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal described below. If you choose to prove service using a Form 8B Certificate and submit this Certificate through the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal, no subsequent documents can be submitted through the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal.

File your documents

If you have questions about the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal, please contact ServiceOntario:

Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal

Use the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal to submit other types of documents, such as defences and defendant’s claims.

In addition, if you have a fee waiver or want to apply for a fee waiver, you must use the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal to submit the documents listed in the last section.

  • if you are submitting a document and applying for a fee waiver certificate at the same time, choose “Fee waiver request” for any document that would normally have a fee
  • if you are submitting a document and you already have a fee waiver certificate, choose “Document is being submitted by a person with a fee waiver certificate” for any document that would normally have a fee

File your documents

If you have questions about the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal, please contact the Ministry of Attorney General:

When you submit your claim, you’ll receive an email from the court with the court-stamped Plaintiff’s Claim and information about your next steps.

After you file

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Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal

If you file your document(s) through the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal on a weekday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (excluding holidays):

  • it will be considered filed at that time
  • an online confirmation will be displayed on your screen right away, unless an unexpected system outage occurs

If you file your document(s) outside regular business hours, it will be considered filed on the next business day.

You will receive an email from the court with your issued document attached to the email if you file a:

  • Plaintiff’s Claim
  • Default Judgment

If you do not receive this email, contact the courthouse where you started your claim.

If you have questions about the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service portal, please contact ServiceOntario:

Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal

If you submit your document(s) through the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal, you will receive an on-screen confirmation that your documents have been submitted but are not yet filed or issued by the court. Take a screenshot or print a copy of this screen for your records.

Court staff will review your documents within five business days to determine if they are accepted for filing or issuance. If your documents are:

  • accepted, you will receive an email confirming your documents have been filed or issued
  • rejected, you will receive an email stating your documents have not been filed or issued, the reasons for the rejection and confirming that your credit/debit card has not been charged

If your documents are rejected, you can address the issues and resubmit the revised documents and the proper court filing fee to the court.

If the court issued your document, you will receive the issued document by email.

If you have questions about the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal, please contact the Ministry of Attorney General: