South Carolina Small Claims Court: Limit, Fees and How to File

The most you can ask for$7,500

LawyersLawyers allowed

Time to sue on a contract3 years

Good to know

Covers claims of $7,500 or less. Magistrates can't hear cases about title to real property. A counterclaim over $7,500 can move the whole case to Circuit Court.

How it works in South Carolina

Estimate your claim and check that it's $7,500 or less.
File in the county where the person lives, where a company has its main place of business, or where most of the events happened.
Write a complaint saying what you claim and why, and give a mailing address. Court staff can help you write it down.
Pay the filing fee, or ask to proceed without paying.
Have the summons and complaint served, for example by the sheriff or a private process server.
Go to trial with your original documents.

What it costs

$70 in statewide fees now ($45 plus a $25 assessment), rising to $105 on 1 January 2027 ($65 plus $40). Other costs, such as service, are extra.

How long you have to sue

Written contract	3 years
Spoken agreement	3 years
Damage to property	3 years
Personal injury	3 years

S.C. Code § 15-3-530. 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 Circuit Court within 30 days of notice of the judgment; a judge reviews the record instead of holding a new trial.

Official links

2026 Act No. 155 (H.4813), signed 15 May 2026, raises magistrate fees effective 1 January 2027: the summons fee goes to $65, the summons and complaint assessment from $25 to $40, and the fee for serving a summons to $20. A commercial site mentioned a bill to raise the limit from $7,500. The current code still says $7,500, last amended in 2004.

South Carolina Small Claims Court

How it works in South Carolina

What it costs

How long you have to sue

If you lose

Official links

Sources

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