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New Jersey Small Claims Court

Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part, Small Claims Section, for claims up to $5,000.

Last checked November 1, 2026

The most you can ask for$5,000
LawyersLawyers allowed
Time to sue on a contract6 years
Good to know

Includes penalties, excludes costs. Applies to contract, tort and landlord-tenant money claims including security deposits. Professional malpractice and probate claims cannot be filed. The regular Special Civil Part hears claims up to $20,000. If you claim more, you waive the excess.

Lawyers: Not required. A business can use an authorized officer or employee under Rule 6:11.

How it works in New Jersey

  1. Complete the Small Claims Complaint and Summons, leaving out personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers.
  2. File in the county where a defendant lives or does business. If none are in New Jersey, file where the problem happened.
  3. Submit through JEDS, by mail or in person at the Special Civil Part office, with the fee or a fee waiver request.
  4. The court serves the defendant by mail and sends you the trial date, so give a correct address.
  5. Bring witnesses and records on your trial date. You will usually try a settlement conference first, and written statements are not accepted in place of testimony.

What it costs

$35 for one defendant plus $10 for mail service, so $45 in total. Each added defendant costs $5 plus $10 for service.

How long you have to sue

Written contract6 years
Spoken agreement6 years
Damage to property6 years
Personal injury2 years

N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1, 2A:14-2. These are general limits. The clock can start late, pause or be much shorter, as it is for claims against a government agency.

If you lose

Either side can appeal to the Appellate Division within 45 days of the final decision by filing a notice of appeal, a transcript request and a case information statement, with a $250 fee and a $300 deposit.

Rule 6:1-2(a)(1) and (a)(2) were amended effective 1 July 2022. Commercial sources say that raised small claims from $3,000 to $5,000 and Special Civil from $15,000 to $20,000; the rule's note does not state the old amounts. Search results showed an older FAQ on a separate judiciary test host with a $3,000 limit. That page was not opened, and sources quoting $3,000 are stale. The court fee schedule was revised in August 2026. No scheduled change to the limit found.

Sources

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General information to help you get organized, last checked November 1, 2026. It isn't legal advice, and SueYou isn't a law firm. Laws change and every case is different, so confirm anything important with a lawyer or the court. No lawyer has reviewed this page yet.