File small claims court documents online

Overview

A Small Claims Court case is a lawsuit between individuals and/or corporations for $50,000 or less.

If you want to sue for more than $50,000, you must take your case to the Superior Court of Justice (civil court).

Get help before you file

Contact a lawyer or paralegal 

You may want to contact a lawyer or paralegal before filing documents online or in court.

It’s important to contact a lawyer or paralegal because they will:

• know which documents you must file, as set out in the Rules of the Small Claims Court or any court Notices and Practice Directions
• provide advice on your options and legal risks
• tell you the consequences of not giving the required information or following court rules

You can contact a lawyer or paralegal through either:

• Law Society Referral Service
• Law Society Lawyer and Paralegal Directory

You can find other legal resources at: Find a Lawyer or Paralegal.

Get free online help to complete your court forms

The Small Claims Court Guided Pathways is a free online tool that asks you questions and puts your answers into the required court forms. When you’re finished, you can save or print your completed forms before filing them with the court.

You can also find more information about small claims court at Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) and Steps to Justice.

Documents you can file online (Toronto region)

You can submit most Small Claims Court documents online.

You cannot submit documents online through the Ontario Courts Public Portal:

• to request an urgent hearing
• for a court date that is 3 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 3 business days or less away

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

• in person at the courthouse
• by mail
• by email

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
• Make sure all court documents are completed and saved as individual PDFs or Word documents (.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 (for example, Affidavit)
  • type of party submitting the document (for example, 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

Your session will expire if you’re inactive for 40 minutes and your information will not be saved.

In addition, when submitting documents, you must indicate if you have a fee waiver or want to apply for a fee waiver. 

If you are submitting a document and applying for a fee waiver certificate at the same time, select “Request fee waiver” to choose the appropriate fee waiver reason. You can then upload the fee waiver request forms add another file entry for any document that would normally have a fee.

After you submit

After you submit your documents through the Ontario Courts Public Portal:

1. You will receive an on-screen confirmation that your documents were submitted but not yet filed or issued with the court.
2. You can track the status of your submission under “My Filings”.
3. Court staff will review your documents within 3 business days to determine if they are accepted or rejected for filing with the court.

If your documents are accepted 

If your documents are accepted:

1. You will receive an email confirming your documents have been filed and/or issued.
2. Your filing status will update from “Received” to “Approved” on your “My Filings” page.

If your documents are rejected 

If your documents are rejected, you will receive an email stating:

• your documents were not filed or issued
• reasons why they were rejected
• confirmation that your credit or debit card has not been charged

The status of your filing will update from “Received” to “Rejected”. 

If your documents are rejected, you can fix the issue(s), by:

1. Modifying your submission in “My Filings.”
2. Resubmitting the revised documents and paying any court filing fees.

Once the court has filed or issued your document:

1. You will receive an email confirming their acceptance.
2. You can view the issued documents online by logging into your Ontario Courts Public Portal account and navigating to the “My Cases” section.

Personal information and privacy

Small Claims Court documents may be publicly accessible. The public can view the information you provide whether you file in person or online, unless a statutory provision, common law rule or court order says otherwise. Learn about public access to civil court (including Small Claims Court) files.

• Be careful when entering personal information online, where people can see and/or capture it on camera. Do not open an online account or enter your password in public and shield any forms you are filling out.
• Once you file a document online or at a courthouse, you or your representative may need to take legal steps (such as getting permission from the court) to make any changes or corrections,
• Your documents can be viewed online after submission through the Ontario Courts Public Portal. To view your submitted documents, log into your Ontario Courts Public Portal account and select “My Filings”.

Documents you can file online (outside of Toronto)

Documents you can file online

You can use the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal to file most court documents in a Small Claims Court case.

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 3 business days or less away (for example, if your court date is on Tuesday, February 9, you cannot submit documents online after Wednesday, February 3)
• if you need to meet a deadline established by legislation or other court rules, court practice direction or a court order that is 3 business days or less away

If you cannot submit your documents online, you may file them:

• in person at the courthouse
• by mail
• by email

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
• all your court documents completed and saved as individual PDFs or in Word (.docx) format
• 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 (for example, Affidavit)
  • type of party submitting the document (for example, 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 — unless you’re eligible for an exemption such as a fee waiver.

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 11^th 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.

• 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

Your session will expire if you’re inactive for 20 minutes.

You can save your most recent online transactions as drafts and complete it at a later time. When you return to your draft, you will need to upload your attachments again.

File your documents (outside of Toronto)

Personal information and privacy

Small Claims Court documents are public documents. The public can view the information you provide whether you file in person or online, unless a statutory provision, common law rule or court order says otherwise. Learn about public access to civil court (including Small Claims Court) files.

• Be careful when entering personal information online, where people can see and/or capture it on camera. Do not open an online account or enter your password in public and shield any forms you are filling out.
• Once you file a document online or at a courthouse, you or your representative may need to take legal steps (such as getting permission from the court) to make any changes or corrections.
• Once you have submitted your document(s), you cannot view it online. Keep copies of the documents for your records.

After you file

Note: If your browser is having issues completing your transaction(s), check to see if your browser supports TLS 1.2.

After you submit your document(s) through the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal:

1. You will receive an on-screen confirmation that your documents have been submitted but are not yet filed or issued by the court.
2. You will need to take a screenshot or print a copy of this screen for your records.
3. Court staff will review your documents within 3 business days to determine if they are accepted for filing or issuance.

If your documents are accepted 

If your documents are accepted:

1. You will receive an email confirming your documents have been filed or issued.

If your documents are rejected 

If your documents are rejected, you will receive an email stating:

• your documents were not filed or issued
• reasons for the rejection
• confirmation that your credit or debit card has not been charged

If your documents are rejected, you can address the issues, by: 

1. Resubmitting the revised documents.
2. Paying the proper court filing fee to the court.

Once the court has filed or issued your document, you will receive the documents by email.

When you file and pay for a Plaintiff’s Claim (Form 7A), you’ll get an:

• online confirmation on your screen right away
• email from the Court with your issued Plaintiff’s Claim attached

Claims filed on a weekday between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. (excluding holidays) are processed on the same day.

• Document(s) submitted outside regular business hours, will be filed on the next business day.

If you do not receive this email with the Claim attached, contact the courthouse where the claim started.

Contact Us

If you have questions about your specific case, please contact the court office where your documents were submitted or filed.

For questions about Ontario Courts Public Portal or the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal, contact the Ministry of Attorney General – Court Services Division Contact Centre:

Ontario Courts Public Portal: CourtsPortal@ontario.ca 

Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal: SmallClaimsOnline@ontario.ca

• Toll-free: 1-800-980-4962
• Tel: 647-438-0403
• TTY: 416-368-4202
• Toll-free TTY: 1-833-820-0714