You can file Small Claims Court documents in three ways: online, by mail or in person. Documents may not be filed by email except in very limited circumstances (see below for more information).

Online filing

There are two online filing portals: one for plaintiff’s claims and one for all other documents.

Plaintiff’s claims

Most plaintiff’s claims can be filed through the Small Claims Court E-Filing Service Portal. This portal cannot accept your plaintiff’s claim if:

• you are requesting a fee waiver at the same time,
• you are claiming interest of more than 35% per year, or
• any of the defendants are under a legal disability (more information on this below).

Other documents

You can file most other Small Claims Court documents through the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal. The portal currently does not accept requests for writs of seizure and sale of land (Form 20D). You must file these by mail or in person.

Email filing (limited circumstances only)

You may file documents by email only if:

• your hearing is 5 business days away or less, or
• you are required to file documents within 5 business days or less.

Otherwise, you must file your documents online, by mail or in person.

When you file documents by email, you must follow the format, naming and email message requirements below.

Format

• Documents must be in searchable PDFPhotographs must be in PDF format.
• Each document and photograph must be a separate attachment. Do not put multiple documents together in one PDF file.
• The email, including attachments, cannot be larger than 35 MB.
• Unless a hearing is ex parte(without notice to responding parties), your materials must indicate when and how the materials were served on responding parties. This is usually done through an Affidavit of Service (Form 8A).

Naming

The name of each document must contain:

• document type (e.g. plaintiff’s claim, affidavit of service)
• name of the party or person filing the document, including initials if more than one party in the case has the same surname (e.g. J. Smith, R. Smith)
• their role in the case (e.g. plaintiff, defendant, moving party, litigation guardian, garnishee)
• date when the document was created or signed, in the format DD-MMM-YYYY (e.g. 12-JAN-2022)

Email message

There are requirements for the subject line and the body of the email.

The subject line should contain:

• the level of court (SCC),
• the type of matter,
• the court file number (put NEW if no court file number exists), and
• the type of document (e.g. defence, notice of discontinued claim).

The body of the email should contain:

• the court file number (if one exists),
• the short title of the proceeding,
• a list of the documents attached,
• the purpose of your email (filing documents), and
• the name, role and contact information of the party or person filing the documents.