Filing costs, state limits, win-and-collect odds — the sue-or-walk decision computed
| Step | Cost / time | Notes |
|---|
Small claims court is the legal system's self-checkout lane — $30–120 filing fees, no lawyers required (banned in several states), hearings measured in minutes — and it still isn't worth using for half the disputes brought to it, because plaintiffs skip the two numbers that matter: win probability (evidence) and collection probability (a judgment is not a check). This calculator runs the honest expected value and, before any of it, points you at the demand letter that resolves a third of disputes free.
A dated, factual, certified-mail letter — what happened, what you're owed, a deadline, and "I will file in small claims court on [date]" — resolves 30–50% of disputes by itself: it signals seriousness, creates the paper trail, and is legally required before filing in some states. Businesses in particular fold at the letter stage; a court date costs them more than your claim. Templates are free; the certified-mail receipt is $5 of leverage.
| Sues well | Sues badly |
|---|---|
| Security deposits (statutes often add 2–3× penalties for bad-faith withholding) | Word-vs-word loans to friends (no docs) |
| Contractors paid for unfinished work (contracts + photos) | Defendants who are broke, bankrupt, or gone |
| Unpaid invoices to solvent businesses | Emotional grievances priced as money |
| Car-repair and property-damage disputes with estimates | Claims under ~$500 (the process eats them) |
From $2,500 (Kentucky) to $25,000 (Tennessee's general sessions); the fat middle is $5,000-10,000 (California $12,500 for individuals). Your county court's website states it — and claims above the cap can be waived down to fit, trading the excess for speed and simplicity.
No — small claims is DESIGNED lawyer-free, and California, Michigan, Nebraska and others ban attorney representation at the hearing outright. Preparation substitutes: the timeline, the exhibits, the 90-second version of your story.
Default judgment for you, usually automatically — a large share of small-claims wins happen exactly this way. You still have to collect it, and defendants can move to vacate defaults, so serve properly and keep proof.
The judgment unlocks tools, each a small filing: wage garnishment (employer pays you from their check), bank levy (freeze and take from accounts), property liens (paid when they sell), and debtor's examinations (court-ordered asset disclosure). Businesses and homeowners collect well; cash-economy individuals don't — which you knew from the dropdown before filing.
Many consumer contracts' arbitration clauses carve OUT small claims (companies prefer it to arbitration fees) — read the clause; small claims often remains open when everything else is closed. Suing the right entity name (the LLC on the receipt, not the brand) is the detail that matters.
Show up (default = automatic loss), bring your documentation, and consider a counterclaim if they owe YOU. Settlement on the courthouse steps is common and judges encourage it — the demand-letter math works in reverse too.
Yes — every figure computes locally in your browser and is never transmitted.
Letter first, expected value second, filing third, and the collection plan before any of it. Small claims rewards the organized and the realistic — the folder of labeled exhibits beats the righteous speech every single session.