Court and litigation cost estimator

This estimator gives you a rough idea of what it costs to take a civil claim through the South African courts. It works out which court has jurisdiction over your claim, adds the sheriff's charges for serving the summons, and then adds a typical range of attorney costs depending on whether the other side defends. The result is a band, not a quote. It is for people deciding whether a debt is worth chasing, people who have been threatened with a claim and want to know what the other side is spending, and anyone comparing litigation with cheaper routes such as the Small Claims Court or mediation.

What this calculator works out and who it is for

Litigation costs have three main parts. The court itself charges little or nothing to issue a summons. The sheriff charges a fee for each attempt to serve documents. The attorney's fee is by far the largest part and depends on the court, the complexity of the case and how the other side behaves. This estimator models all three in a simple way.

You enter three things: the amount you are claiming, whether the other side is likely to defend the claim or ignore it, and how many attempts you expect the sheriff to need to serve the summons. The result shows the court with jurisdiction, the issuing fee, a sheriff range, an attorney cost range and a total range.

The tool is aimed at ordinary money claims: unpaid invoices, loans, damages for a breach of contract, and similar disputes. It is not designed for divorce, eviction, labour matters or criminal cases, which have their own procedures and costs.

How the calculation works

The service runs in a fixed order.

First, it decides which court has jurisdiction. The LawMatch rate table sets the District Magistrates' Court limit at R200 000 and the Regional Magistrates' Court limit at R400 000. Claims above R400 000 go to the High Court. The calculator checks the courts in that order and picks the first one whose limit is at or above your claim.

Second, it picks an attorney cost band. If you said the claim will probably not be defended, it uses the undefended band, which is R2 000 to R6 000 regardless of court, reflecting a straightforward debt collection ending in default judgment. If you said the claim will be defended, it uses the band for the court it chose: R25 000 to R60 000 for a defended District Court trial, R45 000 to R120 000 for a defended Regional Court trial, and R150 000 upwards, with no upper figure, for a defended High Court trial. Every one of these figures is marked illustrative in the rate table.

Third, it works out the sheriff's charge. The rate table gives a range of R150 to R400 per service attempt. The calculator multiplies both ends of that range by the number of attempts you entered.

Fourth, it adds the court issuing fee, which is set at zero in the rate table because no revenue stamp is needed to issue a summons in the Magistrates' Court.

Fifth, it adds the issuing fee, the sheriff figures and the attorney band together to give a low total and a high total. If the attorney band has no upper limit, as in the High Court, the high total is shown as open-ended.

Finally, it adds warnings. Every result carries a reminder that the bands are illustrative and that a losing party usually pays the other side's costs. If your claim is R30 000 or less, it points you to the Small Claims Court. If the claim lands in the High Court, it warns that you will usually need both an attorney and an advocate.

The estimator does not calculate what you might recover from the other side if you win, does not add expert witness fees, and does not estimate the cost of execution after judgment.

The law behind the numbers

The Magistrates' Courts Act 32 of 1944 sets up the District and Regional Courts and the Minister sets their monetary jurisdiction by notice. The rate table names that Act and the current jurisdiction notice as its source. The High Court, established under the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013, hears claims above the Regional Court limit and can also hear smaller claims, although a party who sues in the High Court unnecessarily may be penalised on costs.

Attorney fees for litigation are regulated by the tariffs made by the Rules Board for Courts of Law and, for High Court matters, by the rules of the court. Those tariffs govern what a winning party can recover from the losing party. They do not cap what an attorney may charge a client, which is a matter of agreement. The bands in the rate table are described as approximate and drawn from typical fee ranges rather than any tariff, with an effective date of 1 January 2024. They are reviewed as the Rules Board publishes new tariffs.

Sheriffs' fees are set by a tariff published under the Sheriffs Act 90 of 1986 and are adjusted from time to time.

The Small Claims Court Act 61 of 1984 provides a separate court for claims up to R30 000, where no attorneys appear and the process is designed for ordinary people.

Worked example

This example is illustrative. Naomi runs a small catering business. A client owes her R150 000 for an event and refuses to pay, disputing the quality of the work. Naomi expects the client to defend. She knows the client is hard to find, so she allows two sheriff attempts.

Court: R150 000 is at or below the District Court limit of R200 000, so the District Magistrates' Court has jurisdiction.

Attorney band: the claim will be defended, so the calculator uses the District Court defended band of R25 000 to R60 000.

Sheriff: two attempts at R150 to R400 each gives R300 to R800.

Issuing fee: R0.

Total: R25 300 at the low end and R60 800 at the high end.

If Naomi instead expected the client to ignore the summons, the undefended band of R2 000 to R6 000 would apply, and the total would be R2 300 to R6 800.

Notice the gap. The same R150 000 claim costs roughly ten times more if it is defended. That is why the calculator asks the question, and why it is worth a letter of demand and a settlement offer before you issue summons.

What the calculator does not include

Real costs can differ from the estimate for many reasons.

Hourly rates vary widely between firms and between cities. A senior attorney in a large firm may charge several times what a small-town practitioner charges for the same work.

The number of appearances is unpredictable. Postponements, interlocutory applications, discovery disputes and a trial that runs over more than one day all add cost.

Expert witnesses, such as engineers, accountants or medical specialists, charge their own fees for reports and for time in court.

Advocates' fees in the High Court, and sometimes in the Regional Court, are charged on top of the attorney's fees.

Costs orders cut both ways. If you lose, you usually pay the other side's party-and-party costs, which are taxed according to the tariff and are added to your own bill. If you win, the costs you recover on that tariff rarely cover your full attorney's account, so even a successful claimant carries a shortfall.

Execution after judgment, meaning the sheriff attaching and selling the debtor's property, is charged separately on the sheriff's tariff, and if the debtor has nothing to attach you may recover nothing at all.

Value-added tax on attorney and sheriff fees is not separated out in the bands.

Interest on the claim, and any contingency fee arrangement, are not modelled.

When to get advice

Get advice if any of these apply.

The claim is close to a jurisdiction limit and you are not sure whether to reduce it to stay in a cheaper court. Abandoning part of a claim to fit a court's limit is allowed but has consequences.

The other side has assets that may disappear before judgment. Urgent relief may be needed.

You are the defendant and you have received a summons. Time limits for entering an appearance to defend are short, and default judgment can be granted if you miss them. Read what an emoluments attachment order is to see what can follow a judgment.

Your claim is for damages rather than a fixed debt, for example defamation on social media, where the amount is uncertain and the costs can outrun the award.

You cannot fund the case upfront. Read how no-win-no-fee works in South Africa before signing a contingency agreement.

The free and low-cost routes are the Small Claims Court for claims up to R30 000, court-annexed mediation in the Magistrates' Court, the National Financial Ombud Scheme for disputes with banks, insurers and credit providers, and Legal Aid South Africa on 0800 110 110, which takes on a limited number of civil matters. See our legal aid page.

LawMatch is not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice. Get a written fee estimate from an attorney before you start a case.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sue without an attorney?

Yes. You may represent yourself in any civil court, and in the Small Claims Court you must. In the Magistrates' Court and High Court the rules are technical, and a self-represented party who makes a procedural mistake can lose on the mistake rather than on the merits.

What is the Small Claims Court limit?

R30 000 at the time the rate table was last reviewed. Attorneys may not appear, there is no fee for the hearing, and the commissioner usually decides on the day. The limit changes by notice, so check the current figure.

If I win, does the other side pay my attorney?

Partly. A costs order usually entitles you to party-and-party costs, calculated on the court tariff. Your own attorney's account is likely to be higher than what you recover, and you remain liable to your attorney for the difference.

How long does a defended claim take?

The calculator's notes give a broad picture: an undefended claim can reach default judgment within weeks, while a defended Magistrates' Court trial commonly takes a year or two, and High Court matters take longer. Court backlogs vary by region.

Is a letter of demand required before I sue?

Not for most ordinary claims, although some statutes and contracts require one. It is almost always worth sending, because many debtors pay or settle once they see that a summons is coming, and it costs a fraction of litigation.

What happens if the debtor has no money?

A judgment is only as good as the debtor's assets. Before you spend on litigation, find out whether the debtor owns property, earns a salary or has anything the sheriff could attach.