Small Claims Fee Calculator

California · Small claims

California Small Claims Fee Calculator

Estimate the filing fee for an ordinary California small claims case and check the modeled dollar limit.

When this applies For ordinary California small claims filings by individuals or business entities. Special parties and claims can have different rules. Fee waivers and service costs are handled separately.

Enter your figures

Start with your own figures or load the example.

Calculator inputs

Enter the amount you plan to ask for. Amount in U.S. dollars.

A sole proprietor uses the individual category for the ordinary limit.

Count your other California small claims filings before this one.

Count your earlier California small claims filings over $2,500 this calendar year.

Worked example

See how it works

A $4,000 claim by an individual with no other recent filings is in the $50 fee bracket.

Calculations run in this browser. The tool sends no entries or results to a server.

Method & sources

Check the requested amount against the standard filer limit and the calendar-year frequency rule. If within the modeled limit, apply the fee bracket and the separate fee rule for repeat filers.

Why do you ask for two different filing counts?

The fee rule looks at total California small claims filings in the past 12 months. The higher-value claim restriction uses the calendar year.

Official references

Sources reviewed .

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