Florida small claims · Claims up to $8,000
They owe you money.
Florida has a court for that — if the paperwork holds up.
You did the work, paid the deposit, or made the loan — and they still won't pay. You don't need to hire a lawyer to be taken seriously. We prepare your Statement of Claim, summons, and civil cover sheet for your county, have a trained legal document preparer check every field, and hand you filing and service instructions written for the clerk you're actually walking up to.
One flat fee. No hourly billing, no retainer, no surprise invoice.
From the founder of Peoples-Law.org — the legal information site now operated by the Maryland Judiciary for that state's citizens. Twenty-five years of turning legal procedure into steps a person can actually follow.
Florida Small Claims Filing Package
$125 flat · document review included
- Statement of Claim drafted from your answers
- Summons / Notice to Appear prepared
- Civil cover sheet & exhibit index
- Reviewed by a legal document preparer
- Filing & service instructions for your county
- Delivered to your secure JusticeXpress Vault
Court filing fees are paid directly to your clerk and are never marked up by us.
File it wrong
Dismissed. Wrong defendant, wrong county, or bad service — and the person holding your money walks away clean, with the clock still running.
File it right
Heard. A correct claim gets a pretrial date, a judge, and — if you prove it — a judgment that becomes real leverage to collect.
The part nobody warns you about
Being owed money and collecting it
are two completely different things.
Most Floridians who are owed money never see a dollar of it — not because they were wrong, but because they gave up, or because they filed something the court had to throw out. Being right doesn't collect. A correct claim does.
You sued a name that owns nothing
Suing "Mike's Roofing" when the business is really an LLC gets you a judgment against a sign on a truck. The legal entity has to be named exactly right.
You filed in the wrong county
Florida limits where a small claims case may be brought. File in the wrong place and you can lose the filing fee along with the time.
They were never properly served
Improper service is the single most common reason a case gets reset or dismissed. No valid service means the court has nothing to rule on.
You didn't show up
Florida sets a pretrial conference automatically — and the plaintiff has to be there. Miss it and your own case can be dismissed.
You're right to want it back
Writing it off shouldn't be your only realistic option.
You held up your end. Eating the loss because the process looks intimidating isn't fair, and paying a lawyer by the hour to chase a few thousand dollars rarely makes financial sense. Small claims court was built for exactly this situation — for people without lawyers — and you have every right to use it.
What stops most people isn't the law. It's a blank form with fields they aren't sure how to fill in, and no one at the clerk's window who is permitted to help. That gap is the entire reason JusticeXpress exists: plain-language questions, the correct documents for your county, a human review before you file, and one flat fee instead of a meter.
$125 is a fraction of one hour of most Florida attorneys' time — against a claim worth up to $8,000, and a judgment that stays enforceable for years.
The plan
Three steps to your day in court.
A clear path from "they won't pay" to a claim the court can't dismiss on a technicality.
Tell us what happened
Answer plain-language questions online — who owes you, how much, what happened, and what you have to prove it. No legal vocabulary required. About 15 minutes.
We prepare and review it
Your Statement of Claim and companion documents are assembled for the right Florida county, then checked field by field by a trained legal document preparer.
File, serve, and appear
You get step-by-step instructions for filing with your clerk, getting the defendant served, and walking into the pretrial conference prepared.
Florida is not a generic state
Four things national form sites get wrong about Florida small claims.
Every one of these is handled inside your package — because in Florida, each one is a way to lose a case you should have won.
Florida doesn't call it a "complaint."
The document that starts your case is a Statement of Claim, filed in county court's small claims division. Download a generic "small claims complaint" template and you have started with the wrong instrument.
Florida Small Claims Rules, Rule 7.010 et seq.The court sets a pretrial conference — and you must be there.
Filing does not buy you time. Florida schedules a pretrial conference automatically, and the plaintiff's failure to appear can end the case. We tell you what that hearing is, what to bring, and what the judge will ask.
Florida Small Claims Rules, Rule 7.090Where you file is fixed by rule, not convenience.
A Florida small claims action belongs in the county where the defendant lives, where the claim arose, or where the property is located — not simply where it's easiest for you to park. We identify the correct county from your answers.
Florida Small Claims Rules, Rule 7.060Naming the defendant is where most claims die.
An individual, a d/b/a, an LLC, and a corporation are four different defendants with four different correct names and service addresses. Your package includes how to confirm the exact registered name and registered agent before you file.
Fla. Stat. Ch. 48 (service of process) · Sunbiz.org entity searchWhat $125 buys
A complete filing packet — not a blank PDF.
Your documents
- Statement of Claim, drafted from your answers, with your claim stated in the form the court expects
- Summons / Notice to Appear prepared for the defendant
- Civil cover sheet completed for your county
- Exhibit index so your contract, invoices, texts, and photos are attached in an order the judge can follow
- Pre-suit demand letter template — optional, but judges notice it, and it often settles the matter before you ever file
Your human review & roadmap
- Legal document preparer review — every field checked for completeness, consistency, and internal accuracy before delivery
- County filing instructions — where to file, e-file portal or counter, and the exact clerk fee for your claim amount
- Service-of-process instructions — sheriff, certified process server, or certified mail, and how to get proof of service on file in time
- Pretrial conference checklist — what to bring, what happens, and what the judge will ask you
- Delivered to your secure Vault, typically within one business day
No markups, ever
What the court charges — separately from our $125.
Florida's filing fee scales with how much you're claiming, and it is paid directly to your county clerk. We tell you the exact amount for your claim and county, and we never add to it.
| Amount you are claiming | Typical clerk filing fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $100 | ≈ $55 |
| $100.01 – $500 | ≈ $80 |
| $500.01 – $2,500 | ≈ $175 |
| $2,500.01 – $8,000 | ≈ $300 |
| Summons, per defendant | ≈ $10 |
| Sheriff service, per defendant | ≈ $40 |
Fees are set by Florida statute and administered county by county; amounts shown are typical and should be confirmed with your clerk. If you receive public assistance or your household income is below the statutory threshold, ask the clerk for an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status — the filing fee may be waived or deferred. Find your county's clerk →
What success looks like
From owed and ignored to filed and heard.
Where you are now
- Calls ignored, texts unanswered, money gone
- A blank form and no one allowed to explain it
- Quotes from lawyers that cost more than the claim
- The quiet suspicion you'll just have to eat it
Where this takes you
- A claim prepared correctly the first time
- Right county, right defendant, proper service
- A pretrial date and a judge who has to listen
- A judgment — real leverage to finally collect
Before you start
Questions people ask us first.
How much can I sue for in Florida small claims?
Up to $8,000, not counting costs, interest, and attorney's fees. If your claim is worth more, you generally have two choices: waive the excess and stay in small claims, or file in a different division of county court, where the procedures are more formal. Our questions flag this before you buy.
Do I need a lawyer?
No. Florida's small claims division was designed for people representing themselves, and most parties in these cases have no attorney. A business can also appear through an officer, employee, or authorized agent rather than hiring counsel. If your matter turns out to need a lawyer, we'll tell you so rather than sell you a form.
What exactly is the "legal document review"?
A trained legal document preparer checks your finished packet for completeness and internal consistency — every required field populated, names and amounts matching across documents, exhibits referenced correctly, nothing left blank that the clerk will reject. It is a preparation and accuracy check. It is not legal advice, and we cannot tell you whether you will win.
How long do I have to file?
It depends on the kind of claim. Florida sets different deadlines for written contracts, oral agreements, unpaid accounts, property damage, and negligence, and once a deadline passes the claim is generally gone for good. Our free guide walks through which deadline applies to which situation — read it before you wait.
What if they don't pay after I win?
A judgment is not a check — it's the legal authority to collect. Florida gives judgment holders tools including recording a judgment lien, garnishment, and writs of execution, and post-judgment interest accrues at a rate the state sets. Collection is a separate process, and winning the judgment is the step that makes any of it possible.
Can I file against a business?
Yes — and this is where claims most often go wrong. You have to name the actual legal entity, exactly as it is registered, and serve it the way Florida requires, which for a registered company usually means its registered agent. Your package includes how to confirm both before you file.
Do you file it for me?
No. We prepare and review your documents; you file and serve them. That distinction is what keeps this affordable — and it keeps you in control of your own case. You'll get exact instructions for your county, including whether your clerk accepts e-filing from self-represented filers.
I'm the one being sued, not suing.
Different package, different urgency — and in Florida, defendants usually do not file a written answer; they appear. See our Small Claims Defense package instead.
Stop writing it off.
Start now and turn "they owe me" into a case the court has to hear — prepared correctly, reviewed by a person, for one flat $125.
Delivered to your secure Vault, typically within one business day.
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SEE PACKAGESLegal information, not legal advice. JusticeXpress Florida is an online legal forms provider and document preparation service. It is not a law firm, is not a substitute for an attorney, and does not provide legal advice or representation. Our review is limited to the completeness, consistency, and accuracy of the documents you direct us to prepare; we cannot select your claim, advise you on strategy, or predict the outcome of your case. Small claims limits, deadlines, filing fees, and procedures are set by law and administered county by county, and they change. Winning a judgment does not by itself guarantee collection. For advice about your specific situation, consult a Florida-licensed attorney — the Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service can be reached at (800) 342-8011. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.