Small Claims Court checker

Someone owes you money and will not pay. The amount is real to you but too small to hand to an attorney, because the fees would swallow the claim. That is the gap the Small Claims Court was built to fill, and this checker tells you whether your claim fits.

The court costs you nothing. No court fee, no attorney on either side, and no order that you pay the other side's costs if you lose. You pay only for the post or the sheriff who delivers the summons.

What this tool works out and who it is for

You enter four things: the amount you are claiming, whether you are claiming in your own name or on behalf of a company, what the claim is about, and whether you have already sent a written letter of demand. The tool then tells you one of three things. Either you can take the claim to the Small Claims Court yourself, or you can use the court if you give up part of the amount, or the claim cannot go there at all.

It is for anyone who is owed a modest sum in South Africa. Unpaid rent from a former tenant. A deposit a landlord will not return. Money you lent a friend. A repair that was botched. A builder who took a deposit and disappeared. If the amount is a few thousand rand and the facts are simple, this is your court. It works in reverse too. If you have been summonsed, the tool shows you the rules the other side had to satisfy.

How the checker decides

The tool runs a fixed sequence of tests, in the order below.

First it looks at who is bringing the claim. Only a natural person may sue in the Small Claims Court. A company, a close corporation, a trust or any other juristic person cannot. This trips people up, because the rule runs one way only. A company can be sued there, and often is. It just cannot start a claim. If you tick the box saying a company or trust is claiming, the tool blocks the result. A director who lent money out of their own pocket and sues in their own name is in a different position, and the tool says so.

Second it looks at what the claim is about. The Act keeps certain claims out of this court no matter how small they are, and if your answer matches that list the tool tells you where the claim belongs instead. A claim against the State or a government department goes to the Magistrates' Court or the High Court, after the written notice the law requires. Ending a marriage or a civil union goes to the Divorce Court, the Regional Court or the High Court. A dispute about the validity, interpretation or effect of a will goes to the High Court, with the Master's office involved. A question about the mental capacity or legal status of a person goes to the High Court. Defamation, malicious prosecution, wrongful arrest and wrongful imprisonment go to the Magistrates' Court or the High Court. So do seduction and breach of a promise to marry.

Third it compares your amount with the limit, which the rate table records as R30 000. If your claim is above that figure, the tool does not simply refuse. It works out the excess and offers you the choice the law gives you: abandon the part above the limit and use this court, or claim the full amount in the Magistrates' Court, where you may use an attorney but will pay for one. Abandoning is permanent. Once you give up the excess, you cannot come back for it later in another court. The tool shows the exact rand amount so the trade is in front of you.

It also warns you about one thing people try. You may not split a single claim into two smaller claims to get each part under the limit. One cause of action is one claim. If a builder owes you R40 000 on one job, you cannot issue two claims of R20 000 each.

Fourth it checks the letter of demand. Before the clerk can issue a summons, the debtor must have received a written demand and been given fourteen days to pay. If you have not sent one, the tool warns you that the clerk cannot help you yet, whatever the merits of your claim.

The tool then shows the facts that do not depend on your answers. No court fee and no attorney. Neither side may be legally represented at the hearing, which is precisely why the court stays quick and cheap. And a summary of the process: deliver the letter of demand by hand or registered post, wait fourteen days, then take the letter, proof of delivery and all your evidence to the clerk of the Small Claims Court nearest to where the debtor lives or works. The clerk issues the summons, which you or the sheriff deliver.

On the night of the hearing you and the other side each tell your story to a commissioner, who is a practising attorney or advocate giving their time for free. Bring everything: the contract or quote, invoices, proof of payment, photographs, messages, correspondence. The commissioner decides on what you can show, not on what you can describe.

The law behind it

The court is created by the Small Claims Courts Act 61 of 1984. That Act sets out who may sue, which claims are excluded, the letter of demand and the fact that no party may be represented by a legal practitioner at the hearing.

The R30 000 figure does not appear in the Act itself. Sections 15 and 16 let the Minister set the jurisdictional limit by notice in the Government Gazette, and the LawMatch rate table records the current figure with the date it took effect. It stood at R20 000 from 1 April 2019 until it was raised to R30 000 by GN 7717 in Government Gazette 55038 of 20 July 2026, with effect from 1 August 2026. Which figure applies to you depends on when you issue the summons, not on when the debt arose, so a claim of R25 000 that was too big for this court last year fits inside it now. Because the limit moves, check the current amount with your nearest court before you decide to abandon anything.

A judgment of the Small Claims Court is a real judgment. If it is not paid, you enforce it through the Magistrates' Court with a warrant of execution. There is no appeal on the merits. A decision can only be taken on review to the High Court in narrow circumstances, such as the commissioner having no jurisdiction or a gross irregularity. That is the trade you make for a free, fast hearing.

If your claim includes interest, the rules come from the Prescribed Rate of Interest Act 55 of 1975 and the common-law in duplum rule. The prescribed rate is the repo rate plus 3.5 percentage points and it changes whenever the repo rate does, so look up the rate for your own period rather than assuming a figure.

Worked example

This example is illustrative. Sipho did renovation work for a client and was never paid the final R38 000 on the job. He is claiming in his own name. The claim is about money owed for work done, which is not on the excluded list. He has not yet sent a letter of demand.

His claim of R38 000 is above the R30 000 limit, so the tool works out the excess: R38 000 less R30 000 is R8 000. It tells him he can use the Small Claims Court if he abandons R8 000. That is the whole calculation, and you can check it on paper.

Sipho now has a real choice. Abandon the R8 000 and get a free hearing, or claim the full R38 000 in the Magistrates' Court, where an attorney costs money. If the client is likely to defend, the R8 000 he gives up may cost less than the fees he would spend recovering it. If he abandons it, he cannot claim that R8 000 in any later case.

Before he goes anywhere he must write to the client, set out what is owed, demand payment and deliver the letter by hand or registered post, keeping the proof. Fourteen days later, if nothing has been paid, he takes the letter, the proof, the signed quote, the invoices and photographs of the finished work to the clerk of the court nearest to where the client lives or works.

What this tool does not decide

The clerk of the court and the commissioner have the final say. The clerk decides whether a summons will be issued. The commissioner decides the case. Neither is bound by anything on this page.

The tool does not judge the strength of your claim. It tells you whether the door is open, not whether you will win once you walk through it. Nothing here promises an outcome.

It does not check whether your claim has prescribed. Most ordinary debts fall away after three years, and a claim that has prescribed will fail even in a court that would otherwise hear it. Read how to check if a debt has prescribed and what happens when a debt prescribes before you spend time on an old claim.

It does not calculate interest. Use the debt interest and in duplum calculator for that. And it does not tell you which court building is yours. Not every Magistrates' Court has a Small Claims Court sitting, and the sittings are usually in the evening.

When to get advice, and the free route

The free route is the court itself. You do not need an attorney and you may not use one at the hearing, so there is nothing to pay for. The clerk will help you complete the forms, and many centres run a free advice desk staffed by volunteer attorneys before the sitting.

If the debt is a credit agreement, a loan, a credit card, a store account or vehicle finance, and your complaint is about how the account has been handled, the National Credit Regulator takes complaints on 0860 627 627. The National Financial Ombud handles disputes with banks, credit providers and insurers at no charge. Neither needs an attorney.

Get advice before you act if the claim is above the limit and you are unsure whether abandoning the excess is worth it, if the other side has already issued a summons somewhere else, or if the facts are genuinely complicated. If you cannot afford an attorney, Legal Aid South Africa can be reached on 0800 110 110. Our legal aid page explains who qualifies.

LawMatch is not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current limit and the position of your own claim with the clerk of your nearest Small Claims Court before you rely on it.

Frequently asked questions

Can my company sue in the Small Claims Court?

No. Only a natural person may bring a claim. A company, close corporation or trust cannot sue there, although it can be sued there. If the money is genuinely owed to you personally rather than to the business, you may claim in your own name.

What happens if my claim is more than the limit?

You have two options. Abandon the amount above the limit and proceed in the Small Claims Court, or claim the full amount in the Magistrates' Court. Abandoning is final and you cannot claim the excess later. You may not split one claim into two smaller ones to get under the limit.

Do I really have to send a letter of demand first?

Yes. The debtor must receive a written demand and be given fourteen days to pay before the clerk can issue a summons. Deliver it by hand or by registered post and keep the proof. Without that proof the clerk cannot help you.

Can I bring an attorney to the hearing?

No, and neither can the other side. Legal representation is not permitted at the hearing. You may consult an attorney beforehand to prepare, but you present your own case to the commissioner.

What if the other side simply ignores the judgment?

A Small Claims Court judgment is enforceable. You take it to the Magistrates' Court and ask for a warrant of execution so the sheriff can attach and sell the debtor's property. There is no appeal on the merits if the commissioner rules against you, so prepare properly. The hearing is your one chance.