Small Claims Court Summons

Someone owes you money, damaged your property, or failed to deliver a service — up to R30 000, no lawyers needed.

Forum: Small Claims Court (Magistrate's Court district) — Small Claims Courts Act 61 of 1984 · Your case file: R199 · preview free

How this works

Describe the debt or damage and what you already demanded.
Download the completed summons with your claim amount and interest calculation.
Make 2 copies. Go to the Small Claims Court clerk in the DISTRICT where the defendant lives/works or where the transaction happened, and issue it.
The clerk registers it and serves the defendant through the sheriff; you get a hearing date. Bring your proof.

The Small Claims Court is designed for ordinary people: claims up to R30 000 (raised to R30 000 with effect from 1 August 2026 by GN 7717 of 2026, GG 55038), no attorneys, no filing fee, your own case in your own words. This pack drafts your summons (Form 02/Annexure E style) with a clean statement of claim.

Your full name

Your ID number (13 digits)

Contact number

Email (for your receipt) (optional)

Your address

Who owes you? (person or business registered name)

Their address

Which town/district court? (where they live/work OR where the deal happened)

Amount claimed in rand (max 30 000 — over this, the court cannot hear it)

Date the debt arose / damage happened / last payment promised

What is the claim about?

Your story in order, with dates and amounts: what was agreed or done, what went wrong, how much is owed.

What did you already do to get the money? (messages, letters, calls — with dates)

Total you want the court to order, including any interest

Your answers are used only to draft your case file on our own servers. We never sell or share them (POPIA-compliant — and we can draft your POPIA complaint too).

No lawyers. No jargon. Citations included.