How to File a Case in Small Claims Court in Oregon

Small claims court is a way to settle a disagreement in front of a judge without a long, expensive legal process. However, not all cases are allowed in small claims.

You can file your case only if you are asking for money or the return of personal property. The amount of money involved must be $10,000 or less. Small claims is not for other kinds of cases, such as:

• Trying to evict someone or stop an eviction.
• Asking a judge to keep someone away from you, like with a restraining order.
• Dealing with family law issues such as disagreements over custody or child support payments.
• Accusing someone of committing a crime or other criminal issues.

If you are unsure, ask yourself what you want the judge to do. The judge in small claims court can only decide whether one side owes the other money or property. 

See this article for more on what to know before filing a case in small claims court.

Before you can file a case in small claims, you must try to work out the disagreement on your own. For example, if someone owes you money, consider writing them a letter asking them to pay. 

• When you fill out your paperwork to file your case, you must explain how you tried to settle the problem yourself.
• Your paperwork won't be accepted, and your case won't go forward without this.
• If you send a letter to the other side, save a copy as proof.

If you're taking someone to small claims court, you have to file your paperwork in the correct county. You can file your case in the county where:

• The person you are suing lives (or, if you are suing more than one person, where at least one person lives.)
• The event that caused the problem happened.
• The injury or damage happened.
• The business involved is located.

In some cases, all of these are in the same county. In other cases, you might have a choice of counties where you can file. Once you file, your case will be handled at that court, including any hearings. 

In Oregon, small claims cases are usually handled by that county's "circuit court."

Find the circuit court for each county and its contact information here.

To file your case, you need to fill out the "Small Claim and Notice of Small Claim" form. You can get this form:

• From the small claims department at your county courthouse. Find yours here.
• By downloading it online to print out. You can find the form online at this court website. 
• You can also complete the form and file it online at that same website. // Read more in our article on filing your small claims forms online. 

For detailed instructions on how to gather the right information and correctly fill out your small claims forms, go here.

After you've completed your forms, you need to file them with the court. 

When you file your paperwork, ask the court clerk to make a copy for each person or business you are filing your claim against. You will need these for the next step. 

You will also need to pay the filing fee. Contact the court where you are filing your claim to find out what the current filing fees cost. The amount will depend on how much money is involved in your claim. 

You can also find the filing fees on this official court website under "Circuit Court Fees."

If you win your case, you can ask the court to add your filing costs to the money the other side owes you.

If you can't afford the filing fee, you can ask for a "fee waiver," which lets you file your case for free or pay the fee later. 

Before your small claims case can start, you need to give copies of the forms you filed to the person or business you're suing. This is called "service" or "serving" the other side. The court won't let your case go forward without it. 

There are a few ways to deliver the copies:

• If the person agrees to take them: You can hand them the papers or mail them, along with a form they sign to confirm they received them.
• If they don’t agree to take them: You’ll need to have the papers delivered by someone else, like a sheriff, a professional document delivery person (called a "process server" ), or another responsible adult who is not involved in the case.

After the papers are delivered, a document called a "certificate of service" must be filed with the court. This is proof that the other side was properly "served," and your case can’t move forward without it.

//For more details on these options and how to correctly complete "service" in your case, go here.

Once you've delivered ("served") the papers and filed your certificate of service, your case can move forward in one of three ways, depending on what the other side does.

1. The other side agrees to pay: The case will be closed if the other side pays or returns what you were owed. 

2. The other side asks for a hearing: The other side may file a "response" form asking for a hearing. 

• Some courts in Oregon will schedule the hearing. Other courts first require "mediation" before scheduling a hearing. 
• Mediation is a process where a neutral professional helps both sides try to reach an agreement. If that doesn't work, a hearing is scheduled.

3. The other side doesn’t respond: If they don't respond within 14 days, you can ask the court to decide in your favor without hearing from the other side.  

For more on these next steps, continue reading the articles in our guide:

Read our article on how to fill out your small claims forms. 

//Read our article on how to prepare for your hearing in small claims court.

//Read about what will happen after the court makes its decision or if the other side doesn't respond.