CN · Small Claims Procedure

小额诉讼程序

A simple money claim at or under 50% of the province’s prior-year average wage is heard by the primary people’s court under the small-claims procedure — decided at a single instance with no appeal, and concluded within two months.

What the rules actually say

What qualifies

Simple money-payment cases with clear facts and a clear allocation of rights and duties, where the amount is at or under 50% of the prior-year average wage of employed persons in that province, region or municipality.

Because the threshold tracks a provincial wage figure, it differs by place and changes each year. There is no single national number.

Statute民事诉讼法 §165

Single instance, no appeal

A small-claims judgment or ruling is 一审终审 — final at first instance.

This is the fact that changes how the case should be prepared. Everywhere else a weak first hearing can be repaired on appeal; here there is nothing after it.

Statute民事诉讼法 §165

Opting in above the threshold

Where the amount is above 50% but not more than 200% of that average wage, both parties may agree to use the small-claims procedure.

It is an agreement, so a claimant cannot rely on it alone when deciding how to file.

Statute民事诉讼法 §165

How fast

The court may hear and rule in a single sitting, and must conclude the case within two months of accepting it.

Statute民事诉讼法 §165

Limitation period

Three years for a civil claim, running from when the claimant knew or should have known both of the harm and of the person liable.

Statute民法典 §188

Employment disputes go to arbitration first

A labour dispute goes to the labour dispute arbitration commission before any court; only a party dissatisfied with the award may sue, within fifteen days of receiving it.

The arbitration limitation period is one year — shorter than the three-year civil period, and the deadline employees most often miss.

Statute劳动争议调解仲裁法 §5、§27

What we could not establish

• The court fee. It is set by the Measures on Payment of Litigation Costs and varies with the amount claimed and the procedure used, so no figure is stated here rather than an approximate one.
• The current threshold in any given province. It is 50% of that province’s prior-year average wage for employed persons, published locally and revised annually, so the amount has to be checked against the province and the year rather than read off this page.

Procedural information, verified 2026-08-16 against the sources cited above. It is not legal advice, and it does not account for the facts of your case. Where two official sources disagree we show both rather than choose for you.