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PH · Small Claims

Small Claims

A small claim of up to PHP 1,000,000 is heard by a first level court, no attorney may appear for either party at the hearing, and the decision is final and unappealable.

No lawyer in, no appeal out PHILIPPINES · SMALL CLAIMS No lawyer in, no appeal out Elsewhere you lose one of the two. Here both are closed, which is what makes the single hearing worth rehearsing. Small claimsOrdinary civil actionAmount To ₱1,000,000 No small-claims capAttorney at the hearing May not appear May appearAppeal Final and unappealable AvailableCourt First level courts Regional Trial CourtBarangay settlement Enforceable here —Labour claims Not here — NLRC Not here — NLRCAn attorney who is themselves the plaintiff or defendant may of course appear — that is the only exception the rule makes. A.M. No. 08-8-7-SC ss.2, 4, 17, 23; Rules on Expedited Procedures in the First Level Courts (2022). Verified 2026-08-17.
Rows two and three are the page. Everywhere else one of those doors is open; here both are shut, and the single hearing is the whole case.

What the rules actually say

Jurisdictional amount
Up to PHP 1,000,000.
Raised by the Supreme Court’s 2022 Rules on Expedited Procedures in the First Level Courts, which amended A.M. No. 08-8-7-SC. Older summaries still quote the earlier, much lower figure.
JudiciaryRules on Expedited Procedures in the First Level Courts (2022)
Can an attorney appear for you
No. “No attorney shall appear in behalf of or represent a party at the hearing, unless the attorney is the plaintiff or defendant.”
The court may allow another individual to assist a party who cannot properly present their case, but that is assistance rather than representation.
StatuteA.M. No. 08-8-7-SC, s.17
Can you appeal
No. “The decision shall be final and unappealable.”
Read together with the bar on attorneys, this is the whole case for testing the argument before the hearing rather than after it.
StatuteA.M. No. 08-8-7-SC, s.23
Which courts hear it
The first level courts: Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts in Cities, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts.
StatuteA.M. No. 08-8-7-SC, s.2
What counts as a small claim
Money owed under a contract of lease, loan, services, sale or mortgage; damages arising from negligence, quasi-contract or breach; and enforcement of a barangay amicable settlement.
The last of those matters more than it looks: many disputes between residents of the same city or municipality pass through barangay conciliation first, and the settlement it produces is itself enforceable here.
StatuteA.M. No. 08-8-7-SC, s.4

What we could not establish

Procedural information, verified 2026-08-17 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

Trial AI puts the dispute above through a full mock trial — a panel of AI judges, both sides argued, a written judgment and a demand letter you can send. Knowing the likely outcome first is what decides whether filing is worth it.

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