A demand letter before you file

This is general information, not legal advice. A letter does not pause a statute of limitations, and it does not start a lawsuit.

A demand letter is a dated writing that says what you believe you are owed, why, and by when you expect payment or a response. Several official court guides recommend it. Alabama's small-claims guide tells people to ask for the money or property before filing, to keep a copy, and to use a mailing receipt if they send the letter by post. The letter is evidence. It shows the date you stated the claim and the number you stated.

One state in this research makes the demand part of the pleading. Wyoming Statutes section 1-21-202 says a small-claims affidavit recites the defendant's address, the nature of the claim, the amount due, and a statement that demand has been made and payment has been refused. If you skip the demand, the affidavit's required sentence is not true. Make the demand first. Keep the copy and any reply. If the other person refuses in writing, that refusal is the fact the affidavit describes. If they ignore you, your letter plus proof of delivery is what you have. The statute does not say a particular number of days must pass. It says demand was made and payment was refused.

Other states tie a letter to a specific kind of claim. Massachusetts' small-claims page says that if you are suing under the consumer-protection law, you should notify the clerk and bring the 30-day demand letter. That instruction is about that claim, not about every Massachusetts case. Read the consumer-protection statute before you treat a casual email as the required letter. A security-deposit dispute is another place a letter matters. Connecticut's FAQ points tenants to the security-deposit statute when they seek more than the ordinary small-claims line because of double damages. The letter you sent when you moved out, and the landlord's response, are the exhibits.

Write the letter so a judge can follow it without you narrating every sentence. Use names, dates, and a dollar figure that matches the figure you would put on a court form. Attach or describe the invoice, the lease clause, or the repair estimate. Say how you calculated the number. If the court limit excludes interest and costs, do not inflate the demand with a guess about court fees. You can ask for the underlying amount and explain that you will also ask the court for interest and costs if you file. Vermont's guide says interest and reimbursement of filing and sheriff fees can be added even when the claim itself is at the maximum. Asking for those extras in the letter is not the same thing as adding them into the jurisdictional amount.

Send it in a way you can prove. Mail with a return receipt, or another method that produces a record, is what Alabama's guide describes. Email can be useful if you already communicate that way, and it is weaker if you cannot show it was received. Keep the signed receipt, the tracking page, and a complete copy of what you sent. Do not send only the attachments. The letter is the demand. The attachments are the proof.

A demand is not a filing. State the facts, the amount, and a date to respond. If a statute of limitations is about to end, a letter does not substitute for filing the case. Connecticut's FAQ tells readers that time limits differ by claim and points them to the limitations chapter. If you are close to a deadline, file. You can still send the letter, and you can still settle after the case is open if the court is told in writing, which is what Alabama's guide tells plaintiffs to do when a case settles before the hearing.

If the other person pays, send a receipt and do not file. If they pay part, decide whether the rest is worth a case under the dollar limit, and remember that some states treat a reduced filing as a waiver of the rest. Texas's library says you cannot cut a claim just to fit the court. Vermont's guide says asking only for the maximum gives up the remainder. A demand letter should ask for what you are actually willing to accept or what you will later claim in full. Do not ask for one number in the letter and a sharply different number on the form without an explanation.

Bring the letter to the hearing even if the statute does not require one. A one-page letter with a receipt answers the question better than a recollection. If you received a demand, answer it in writing if you dispute the amount. Your reply is your exhibit too.