Suing for Under £10,000 in England: £62 to £801 in Court Fees, and Your Lawyer Is on You

What counts as a small claim in England and Wales?

A small claim is a defended case that the County Court has allocated to the small claims track, the simplest of the four tracks in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). Rule 26.9(4) makes it the normal track for any claim with a value of not more than £10,000. "Normal" matters: the judge allocates the claim once both sides have filed directions questionnaires, and can send an unusually complex claim elsewhere, but almost every unpaid invoice, deposit or consumer refund under the limit stays on the small claims track.

Three kinds of claim have lower limits. Personal injury claims qualify only if the damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity are no more than £1,500, or £5,000 for most road traffic accidents. Tenants asking a court to order repairs qualify only if the repairs are estimated at no more than £1,000 and any other damages at no more than £1,000. Everything in this article assumes a plain claim for money.

How much does it cost to sue for under £10,000?

Two fees, paid at two different moments. The issue fee is paid when you file the claim; it is set by the amount you claim, including any interest you add. The hearing fee is paid only if the defendant disputes the claim and the court lists it for a small claims hearing. Both come from the HM Courts and Tribunals Service fee list EX50, updated on 13 July 2026.

Add the two together and the full court cost of a small claim that goes all the way to a hearing is between £62 and £801. A claim the defendant simply ignores costs only the issue fee, because you can ask for judgment without a hearing. People on low incomes or certain benefits can apply for Help with Fees, and must get the reference number before they file.

Can you get your legal costs back if you win?

Mostly not, and this is the rule that decides whether to hire a lawyer. Rule 27.14(2) says that on the small claims track the court may not order one party to pay the other's costs, fees and expenses except for a short list of items. Everything outside the list, including a solicitor's hourly charges for preparing and presenting your case, stays with whoever spent it, win or lose.

The same rule protects you as a defendant or as a claimant who loses: the other side cannot hand you a five-figure legal bill for a £3,000 dispute. The one exception with teeth is unreasonable behaviour. Under r.27.14(2)(g) the court can order further costs against a party who behaved unreasonably, though turning down a settlement offer is not by itself unreasonable (r.27.14(3)).

Is mediation compulsory for small claims?

For most money claims, yes, in practice. Since 22 May 2024 a court pilot, Practice Direction 51ZE, has referred defended small claims for a specified sum to the Small Claims Mediation Service automatically once both sides have filed their directions questionnaires. The pilot now runs until 6 April 2027. Road traffic and personal injury claims are excluded.

The service is free. GOV.UK describes an appointment of up to one hour by telephone, in which a mediator speaks to each side separately and carries offers between them. If you settle, the case is stayed, and if the other side then fails to pay what they agreed, you can go back and ask for judgment for the unpaid balance (r.26.6(5) as modified).

• Skipping it is risky: at the hearing the judge must consider whether to sanction a party who did not attend mediation (r.26.6(6) and r.27.8(7) as modified).
• The judge may also take a failure to attend into account when deciding costs (r.27.14(2A) as modified). GOV.UK warns this can mean the claim being struck out or paying costs even after winning.
• Each side must send the court their explanation for missing mediation with their hearing documents (PD 27A Appendix B, standard direction 1, as modified).

How do you start the claim: online or on paper?

Most individuals and small businesses use the online Make a money claim service on GOV.UK. It does not suit every case: you cannot use it if you do not know the amount, if you are claiming for more than one claimant, if the claim is against 3 or more people or organisations, if a party has no address in England or Wales, or if the defendant is a government department. In those cases you file paper form N1 with the Civil National Business Centre in Northampton.

What happens at a small claims hearing?

It is designed for people without lawyers. Rule 27.8 says the hearing will be informal, the strict rules of evidence do not apply, the judge need not take evidence on oath, may limit cross-examination, and must give reasons. Practice Direction 27A says the hearing will generally take place in the judge's room rather than a courtroom, normally before a district judge.

Much of the heavy machinery of civil litigation is switched off. Rule 27.2 disapplies the disclosure rules in Part 31, most of the expert evidence rules in Part 35, requests for further information and the Part 36 settlement-offer regime. What remains is your documents, your witnesses and your account, delivered clearly.

• Bring the contract, invoices, messages and proof of payment in date order, with copies for the judge and the other side.
• Prepare a one-page timeline and the exact figure you are asking for, with how it is calculated.
• Expect the judge to ask the questions. Answer them directly and keep the story to what you can prove.
• A company can be represented by one of its officers or employees (PD 27A para 3.2(4)).

What if the defendant does not reply or does not turn up?

If the defendant does not respond by the date in the court's notice, you can ask the court to enter judgment without any hearing, and you will have paid only the issue fee. That judgment still has to be enforced if they do not pay; a warrant of control to send County Court bailiffs costs £96 under EX50.

If the case reaches a hearing and one side does not attend, the judge can decide it without them. A party who missed the hearing can apply to set the judgment aside, but under r.27.11 the application must be made not more than 14 days after notice of the judgment was served, and the court will grant it only if the absent party had a good reason for not attending and has a reasonable prospect of success.

Is it worth suing for £800, £4,000 or £9,500?

Measure the court fees against the claim. On a small claim the fees take a larger share the smaller the debt, but because they are refundable by the loser and lawyers' fees are not, the real risk is the time you spend, not the fees. The ladder below assumes the claim is defended, goes to mediation, fails to settle and reaches a hearing, with no lawyer instructed.

Before you file: a short checklist

Small claims reward preparation more than spending. Most of what goes wrong is decided before the claim form is sent: the wrong defendant, a figure that cannot be proved, a deadline that has passed, or a mediation call taken without a plan.