About Small Claims Plainly
Small Claims Plainly is a free Directory Assistance Group guide that restates official small-claims rules in plain English and links the statute or court page.
Why this site exists
People hear a single dollar amount and then learn their state uses a different court and a different cap. Businesses are sometimes capped lower than individuals. Injury claims are sometimes capped lower than other money claims.
Each state page says which court hears the case and quotes a limit only from a statute or a court page we opened. It also says, in the first lines, that this is not legal advice.
How to use it
Read your state. Follow the official link. If you are close to the limit, or the other side is a government agency, or you were injured, the small-claims pamphlet is not a full answer. The guides explain those edges and still send you back to the court page.
Who writes it
Small Claims Plainly is published by Directory Assistance Group, an independent publisher of free lookup tools and directories, and is written and maintained by a small editorial team. We are not lawyers, engineers, doctors, or government officials, and we do not claim to be. What we do is read the primary sources (statutes, agency guidance, university extension publications, and official court and health-department pages), turn them into plain steps, and link every claim back to where it came from.
How the site is paid for
The site is free to use and is supported by advertising, clearly labeled featured listings, and a few Amazon affiliate links. Advertisers do not choose or review our topics, and payment never changes what a guide says or the official details we list. Read our editorial standards for how we pick sources, correct mistakes, and keep ads separate from content.
Tell us what we got wrong
Rules change and local details vary. If you spot an error or an out-of-date figure, please send us a note with a link to the source. We read every correction and date-stamp the fix.