MY · Small Claims Procedure
Prosedur Tuntutan Kecil
You can claim up to RM5,000 in the Magistrates’ Court for a RM20 filing fee, and the rules forbid either side from being represented by a lawyer — you argue it yourself.
What the rules actually say
- What it actually is
- A procedure inside the Magistrates’ Court (Mahkamah Majistret), not a separate court.
- “Small Claims Court” is common usage, including on judiciary pages, but no such court is constituted.
- StatuteRules of Court 2012, Order 93 r.1(1)
- Maximum claim
- RM5,000.
- The rule says “does not exceed”, so a claim of exactly RM5,000 is inside the procedure. Guides that say “below RM5,000” are narrower than the enacted text.
- StatuteOrder 93 r.2
- Can a lawyer represent you
- No. Neither side may be represented by a solicitor at the hearing.
- The one exception bites where the defendant is a company, because a body corporate cannot self-represent. You may still consult a lawyer outside court — and no advocacy costs are awarded either way (r.15(2)).
- StatuteOrder 93 r.7
- Filing fee
- RM20 — flat, and it does not rise with the size of your claim.
- An ordinary Magistrates’ Court action costs RM100. Form 199 is RM8, an affidavit of service RM8, an execution writ RM10.
- StatuteAppendix B2 (Subordinate Court Fees), item 1(a)
- Who may sue
- Individuals only.
- The rule defines a plaintiff as “an individual person who is not an agent or assignee of any debt of another person” — which shuts out debt buyers and collection agents. A company cannot be the plaintiff, but it can be the defendant.
- StatuteOrder 93 r.1(1) and r.1(2)
- How you start
- Form 198, signed or thumbprinted by you personally, filed in four copies.
- Then: Form 199 (defence or counterclaim), Form 200 (defence to counterclaim), Forms 201–204/206/207 (judgments), Form 205 (setting aside), Form 208 (notice to show cause), Form 84 (writ of seizure and sale).
- StatuteOrder 93 rr.3–5
- The two deadlines that are fixed
- 14 days after service to file a defence. 21 days after service of a judgment to apply to set it aside.
- These are the only intervals the rules prescribe. Everything else is at the court’s scheduling.
- StatuteOrder 93 r.6(1), r.10(2)
- If a counterclaim is bigger than RM5,000
- Order 93 stops applying and the case continues as an ordinary Order 5 summons.
- At that point lawyers are back in, and so are costs.
- StatuteOrder 93 r.12(1)
- If they still do not pay
- File Form 208, a notice to show cause. After examining the debtor the court may order seizure and sale of goods, allow instalments, or commit the debtor to prison.
- StatuteOrder 93 r.16
- Time limit — Peninsular Malaysia
- Six years from the date the cause of action accrued.
- This figure applies to Peninsular Malaysia only — see the East Malaysia warning below, which is the single item most likely to cost a reader their claim.
- StatuteLimitation Act 1953 s.6(1); territorial scope at s.1(2)
- Time limit — Sabah and Sarawak
- Often shorter: an unwritten or oral contract is 3 years, goods sold and delivered 3, work done 3, money lent 3, and residual tort 2.
- The typical small claim — an unpaid invoice on an oral arrangement — is three years in East Malaysia, not six. Order 93 itself applies there; it is the limitation statute that differs.
- StatuteLimitation Ordinance (Sabah Cap. 72); Sarawak Cap. 49
Where the official sources disagree
Can you appeal
The judiciary states plainly that the magistrate’s judgment is final and neither party may appeal. Judiciary: Judiciary e-KSS self-represented portal
The statute says no appeal lies where the sum is RM10,000 or less “except on a question of law” — which reads as permitting an appeal to the High Court on law alone, never on the facts. Statute: Courts of Judicature Act 1964 s.28(1)(a), as substituted by Act A1661, in force 1 October 2022
Order 93 contains no appeal provision at all, and these two official sources point opposite ways. Treat the judgment as final in practice, and take advice before spending anything on an appeal. Note that many Malaysian guides cite Order 93 r.13(3) as authority that no appeal lies — that rule is about adjournment and says nothing about appeals.
What we could not establish
- How long it takes from filing to the hearing. No official figure exists, and the published estimates disagree by a factor of four — one firm says within a month, another says three to four months.
- How a person under 18 files. Majority is 18 and a minor must sue through a litigation representative, but Order 93 requires the form to be signed by the plaintiff personally and bars solicitors; the rules do not reconcile the two.
- Whether a partnership may sue. The gazetted text says only “individual person”. A sole proprietor is that individual, so that reading holds; the partnership position is not settled by the rule text.
- Whether any residency condition applies. None appears anywhere in Order 93 — but that is an absence of a rule, not a positive finding that non-residents may file.
Procedural information, verified 2026-08-14 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.
Run your case before you file it
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