About

Why this exists

California small claims court is genuinely well designed. The limits are reasonable, the forms are free, lawyers are barred from the hearing so nobody can out-resource you, and a person with a grievance and a folder of receipts can get a decision from a judge in a few weeks.

And yet people do not use it, because the path is unclear. Which of 58 county courts? Which form? How do you serve someone, and what counts as proof? What do you actually say? Four years or two? The information exists, scattered across court websites written for clerks and blog posts written for Google.

The paid options sit at two extremes. California's own Guide & File is free and stops at the form. The main commercial service is a law firm charging $650 a case, which against a $2,000 claim is a third of the recovery. There was nothing in between.

What we are

Software. You answer questions, we generate documents from your answers and show you general published information about California procedure. You decide what to do, you file, you attend.

That is not a hedge, it is the design. It is precisely why we can charge $49 where a law firm has to charge $650 — and it is why we cannot tell you whether to sue, how much your case is worth, or what a judge will do.

What we deliberately do not do

• Give legal advice. We are not a law firm, no attorney is involved in your case, and using this site creates no attorney-client relationship.
• File or appear for you. Small claims is built for self-representation and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
• Serve process. We explain who can and what proof the court needs.
• Operate outside California. One state, with its actual statutes and its actual 58 courts, beats fifty states of generic content.
• Invent social proof. There are no testimonials, ratings or user counts on this site, because we have not earned any yet. When we have real ones, we will show them with names.

How we make money, plainly

The demand letter builder, every county and claim guide, and all five calculators are free, with no account and no email wall. We charge for exactly three things:

• $29 to print your letter and send it by USPS Certified Mail with an electronic return receipt. About $10 of that is postage; the rest is margin.
• $49 one-time to prepare a complete case, or $19/month for unlimited cases if you chase payment regularly.
• $39/month for Pro, which adds bulk sending and a monthly mailing credit.

Software tiers carry a 30-day refund. Mailing is non-refundable once it is with USPS, because the postage is genuinely spent, and we say so before you buy rather than in a footer.

When you should not use us

If all you need is a filled SC-100 and you are confident about venue, service and the hearing, use California's free Guide & File. If your claim is complicated, disputed on the law, or worth well over $12,500, pay a lawyer. If it is unpaid wages, the Labor Commissioner is free and uncapped. We would rather say this on the About page than take money from someone we cannot help.

Contact

Email support@filemysmallclaims.com or use the contact form, which creates a ticket we actually answer.