How dollar limits work

This is general information, not legal advice. A dollar limit is only as current as the statute or court page you are reading.

A small-claims limit is the most you may ask that court to decide. It is not a suggestion and it is not the filing fee. States write the line in different words. Texas's State Law Library says a small claim cannot exceed $20,000, and it quotes a rule that the claim can be for no more than $20,000, excluding statutory interest and court costs but including attorney fees. Iowa's code says a money judgment is a small claim at $6,500 or less for cases commenced on or after July 1, 2018, exclusive of interest and costs. The words "exclusive of" mean those items sit outside the test. If you bury them inside the demand, you can push a legal claim over the line by accident.

Some states use two numbers. California's self-help page says the process is for when you think the other side owes you less than $12,500, or less than $6,250 if you are suing as a business. Washington's statute says money claims may not exceed $10,000 when a natural person, defined as a human being, brings the case, and $5,000 in all other cases. Minnesota's conciliation-court statute says $20,000, or $4,000 if the claim is a consumer credit transaction. Vermont's July 2023 judiciary guide says $10,000, and $5,000 for a consumer credit transaction or medical debt. If you apply the higher number to a business, a credit account, or a medical bill, you may be in the wrong court even though a neighbor with a repair bill could use the higher line.

Oregon's statute is a different kind of split. Specified actions must be filed in the small claims department if the amount or value does not exceed $750, unless an exception applies, and they may be filed there if the amount does not exceed $10,000. One number is a requirement. The other is permission. Wisconsin's statute is split by the kind of case, and it is split by date. Before January 1, 2027, the text in force caps most other civil money claims and replevin at $10,000 and caps tort and personal-injury claims at $5,000. The same page shows those replevin and other-civil figures rising to $15,000 on January 1, 2027. Evictions use the small-claims procedure regardless of the amount of rent. The filing date decides which sentence applies.

Limits move. Nebraska's statute says the amount was $6,000 from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, and is $7,500 beginning July 1, 2025. Michigan's statute lists a ladder that reaches $7,000 beginning January 1, 2024. Maine's revisor page states $10,000 and cites a 2025 public law. Ohio's code site shows a $6,000 money-and-taxes line effective April 9, 2025. An undated blog that still prints an older figure is not the statute. South Dakota's court page says $12,000 or less and tells the plaintiff to verify the maximum with the clerk because the limit can change.

Going over the line has consequences that the official pages state in different ways. Texas's library says you cannot agree to accept less just so you can file in small claims. Colorado's handbook says you waive the excess if you stay in that court. Vermont's guide says that if you ask only for the maximum, you cannot later sue for the rest. Delaware's Justice of the Peace guide says a larger claim can be filed there only by limiting relief to the court's maximum and losing the right to the rest. Oklahoma's current transfer statute says a claim, counterclaim, or setoff above $10,000 leaves the small-claims docket unless both parties file a written agreement to keep it there.

A counterclaim can matter as much as your own demand. Arizona's statute applies the ceiling to the amount claimed by either side. Hawaii's guide allows a defendant's counterclaim up to a higher figure than the plaintiff's claim, and a counterclaim over the plaintiff's line can open a path to a jury trial in circuit court. If you are the defendant, read the counterclaim rule before you file a response that is larger than the court can hear.

This directory states a number only when an official page that was opened for the project stated that number. New York and Tennessee are omitted on purpose. New York uses different trial courts with different statutes, and those pages could not be opened here. Tennessee's current code section on general sessions jurisdiction could not be opened here, and county private acts can change a local court. For every state, reopen the statute or the court page on the day you file. Then write the demand so a clerk can see what is inside the line and what the statute says is outside it.