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Estimate the total amount you may recover — including pre-judgment interest, court filing fees, and representation costs — based on Ontario's Courts of Justice Act rates.
For estimation purposes only. Not legal advice. Results may vary based on actual court orders.The statutory rate under the Courts of Justice Act will be used based on the year your loss arose. This is the default rate applied by the court.
Ontario Small Claims Court hears money disputes up to $50,000, excluding interest and costs. Filing a Plaintiff's Claim costs a flat $108 (or $228 for frequent claimants), regardless of the amount claimed. A successful party can recover pre-judgment interest, filing and enforcement fees, and representation costs of up to 15% of the amount claimed under Rule 19.04. Most claims must be started within 2 years of the day the claim was discovered.
Ontario Small Claims Court handles disputes up to $50,000. For larger amounts, Superior Court civil litigation is required.
The court awards interest from the date the loss arose to the date of judgment, calculated at the rate set under the Courts of Justice Act.
Flat $108 to file a Plaintiff's Claim, regardless of the amount claimed (up to $228 for frequent claimants filing 10+ claims a year). Recoverable from the defendant if you win.
Under Rule 19.04, a successful party may recover up to 15% of the amount claimed for paralegal or agent representation fees.
Ontario pre-judgment interest is simple interest — it does not compound. The calculator applies the statutory rate under s. 128 of the Courts of Justice Act using:
Days run from the date the loss or debt arose to the date of judgment. If your contract set its own interest rate, that rate applies instead of the statutory one.
| Quarter | Pre-judgment (s. 128) | Post-judgment (s. 129) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | 4.0% | 5.0% |
| Q2 2025 | 3.3% | 5.0% |
| Q3 2025 | 3.0% | 4.0% |
| Q4 2025 | 3.0% | 4.0% |
| Q1 2026 | 2.5% | 4.0% |
| Q2 2026 | 2.5% | 4.0% |
Rates are set quarterly by the Ministry of the Attorney General. Source: Ontario prejudgment and postjudgment interest rates.
| Filing | Infrequent | Frequent |
|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff's Claim / Defendant's Claim (counterclaim) | $108 | $228 |
| Statement of Defence | No fee | No fee |
A “frequent claimant” files 10 or more claims a year at the same court office. Other filings — notices of motion, default judgment, a summons to witness, a notice of garnishment, and a writ of seizure and sale — each carry their own set fee under the court fees regulation.
Filing a Plaintiff's Claim costs a flat $108 for most people ($228 for frequent claimants who file 10 or more claims a year at the same court office). The fee does not change with the amount you claim, and it is recoverable from the defendant if you win.
As of October 1, 2025, the limit is $50,000, excluding interest and costs. If your claim is larger, you can reduce it to $50,000 to stay in Small Claims Court, or file in the Superior Court of Justice instead.
Pre-judgment interest runs from the date the loss arose to the date of judgment, at the rate set quarterly under the Courts of Justice Act, unless your contract specifies a different rate. This calculator estimates it automatically from the dates you enter.
Most claims must be started within 2 years of the day you knew — or reasonably should have known — that you had a claim, under the basic limitation period in the Limitations Act, 2002. If you miss that deadline, the court can dismiss your case no matter how strong it is, so it is worth confirming your limitation date early.
In part. Under Rule 19.04 of the Rules of the Small Claims Court, a successful party can be awarded representation fees of up to 15% of the amount claimed, on top of recoverable disbursements such as filing and enforcement fees. The court can order more than 15% to penalize a party who behaved unreasonably or caused undue delay.
No. You are entitled to represent yourself, and the Small Claims Court process is designed to be accessible to self-represented parties. For a larger or strongly contested claim, a licensed paralegal or lawyer can still improve your odds by organizing your evidence, handling the settlement conference, and presenting your case at trial.
Winning gives you a judgment, not automatic payment. If the defendant does not pay voluntarily, you can enforce the judgment through tools such as garnishing wages or bank accounts, a writ of seizure and sale against their assets, or an examination hearing to identify what the debtor owns and can pay. See our guide on how to collect a judgment.
You start with a Plaintiff's Claim (Form 7A), attaching copies of the documents you rely on such as contracts, invoices, and receipts. Once you have a judgment or need to enforce it, other forms come into play, but Form 7A is the document that opens the case.
After the court issues your claim, you must serve a copy on each defendant, generally within six months. An individual is usually served personally or by an alternative method allowed by the rules; a corporation can be served at its registered office or on an officer or director. Proof of service is then filed with the court.
If a defendant is properly served and does not file a Defence within 20 days, you can ask the clerk to note them in default and, in many cases, sign default judgment for the amount owed plus interest and costs. This is one of the fastest ways a claim is resolved.
A settlement conference is a mandatory meeting before a judge (or referee) where both sides discuss the case and try to resolve it or narrow the issues before trial. Many cases settle at this stage. If yours does not, the judge can give directions to move it toward trial. Learn more in our settlement conference guide.
It varies by court location and complexity, but a contested claim commonly takes roughly 9 to 18 months from filing to trial, with a settlement conference partway through. Uncontested claims resolved by default judgment can conclude in a matter of weeks.
Yes. You can sue an individual, a corporation, or a business operating under a registered name, as long as you name and serve the correct legal entity. Suing the wrong name — for example the trade name instead of the corporation — can create problems, so confirm the proper legal name before you file.
You need to prove your case on a balance of probabilities — that your version is more likely than not. Helpful evidence includes contracts, invoices, receipts, emails and texts, photos, and witnesses. Organized, dated documents that tell a clear story are usually more persuasive than testimony alone.
Final orders above a set threshold can be appealed to the Divisional Court, generally within 30 days, but appeals are limited and can be costly. Because the grounds for appeal are narrow, it is usually far better to put your strongest case forward at the original hearing than to rely on appealing later.
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