China's Small Claims Limit Is Not a Number — and the Judgment Is Final
Applies in Mainland China
Search for the small-claims threshold in mainland China and you will find confident figures. They are all local. The Civil Procedure Law sets the ceiling as 50% of the province's average annual wage of employed persons for the previous year, so it differs between provinces and moves every year. Two features matter more than the number: the procedure is 一审终审 — decided at first instance with no appeal — and the court must conclude it within two months.
Where the limit comes from
Article 165 of the Civil Procedure Law (the 2021 amendment, which rebuilt the former Article 162) sets the scope. A basic people's court, or a tribunal it dispatches, hears simple money claims where the facts are clear and the rights and obligations are not seriously in dispute.
- At or below 50% of the provincial average annual wage小额诉讼程序 applies — mandatory, single instance, no appeal
The wage figure is the province's own, for the previous year. Check your provincial high court's published notice.
- Between 50% and 200% of that wageBoth parties may agree to use the small-claims procedure
Optional here. Agreeing means accepting the no-appeal consequence.
- Above 200%Ordinary or simplified procedure, with the usual right of appeal
The speed you get in return
The court must conclude a small-claims case within two months of filing. Where circumstances require, the president of that court may extend it by one further month.
Set against ordinary civil procedure, where a first instance can run far longer and an appeal longer still, a two-month ceiling with no appellate tail is the whole appeal of the route. For a straightforward unpaid invoice, finality in two months is usually worth more than a theoretical right to argue it twice.
Before you file
Getting the basics right
- Find your province's figure — the previous year's average annual wage for employed persons — and halve it. That is your threshold, and it is the number the court will apply.
- Check the claim is the right shape: a simple money claim, clear facts, rights and obligations not seriously disputed. Complexity, not just size, pushes a case out of the procedure.
- Decide consciously whether you want finality. Inside the threshold you do not get the choice; between 50% and 200% you do.
- File at the basic people's court with jurisdiction, or the tribunal it dispatches.
Common questions
Why does every website give a different limit? Because every province has a different average wage, and the figure updates annually. A number quoted without a province and a year attached is not usable.
Can I refuse the small-claims procedure to keep my appeal? Below the threshold the procedure applies as a matter of law. It is in the 50–200% band that agreement is required, so that is where the choice actually sits.
What if the court gets it wrong? An application for retrial is the remedy — to the court that heard it or to the court above. It is deliberately narrower than an appeal.
Is a payment order an option? A 支付令 exists in mainland procedure as well, and is worth raising with a local lawyer where the debt is documented and you expect no genuine defence.
Sources: 最高人民法院 — 小额诉讼程序标的限额, 中华人民共和国民事诉讼法. Based on the Civil Procedure Law of the PRC (Article 165, 2021 amendment) and provincial high court notices on small-claims thresholds. Thresholds are provincial and change annually — confirm your province's current figure. General information, not legal advice.