Ontario Small Claims Court: What the $35,000 Limit Means for Your Case

If someone owes you money — for a botched renovation, an unpaid invoice, a damaged security deposit, or a minor car accident — your first question is usually the same: can I handle this myself, or do I need a lawyer? The answer depends heavily on how much you are owed and which court has authority over your claim.

Small Claims Court is Ontario's streamlined civil court, designed to be faster, cheaper, and more accessible than the Superior Court of Justice. But it comes with a hard ceiling. As of writing, that ceiling is $35,000 (excluding interest and costs). Understanding what falls inside and outside that limit — and how to think about it strategically — can save you thousands of dollars and months of your life.

What the $35,000 Limit Actually Covers

The monetary limit refers to the total damages or debt you are seeking to recover, not the total value of the transaction or dispute. Several types of losses count toward the cap:

• Unpaid debts — money lent, invoices not paid, rent arrears
• Damages for breach of contract — the financial loss caused by someone failing to honour an agreement
• Property damage — the repair or replacement cost of damaged goods
• General damages — compensation for non-economic harm in some claims (subject to court discretion and amount)

Interest that accrues after you file and court costs are generally not counted toward the $35,000 ceiling, but confirm this with counsel because the rules have nuances.

What the Limit Does NOT Cover

Small Claims Court cannot award:

• Injunctions (orders compelling someone to do or stop doing something)
• Declarations of rights
• Recovery of real property (land and buildings)
• Claims that sound in defamation in some circumstances

If your goal is an injunction or a ruling about ownership of land, you need the Superior Court regardless of the dollar amount involved.

When Your Claim Exceeds $35,000: Two Choices

This is where strategy matters most. If you believe you are owed more than $35,000 (as of writing), you face a fork in the road.

Option 1 — File in Superior Court

The Superior Court of Justice can hear civil claims of any amount. The process is more formal, takes longer, and typically requires a lawyer to navigate effectively. Costs — both your own legal fees and potential cost awards against you — are higher. But you recover what you actually lost, not an artificially reduced amount.

Option 2 — Reduce (or "Abandon") Part of Your Claim

The Rules of the Small Claims Court allow a plaintiff to voluntarily reduce their claim to $35,000 in order to stay within the court's jurisdiction. This is called abandoning the excess. For example, if you are owed $42,000, you could choose to sue for $35,000 and formally abandon the remaining $7,000. You cannot later go back and recover the abandoned portion in another proceeding — it is gone.

When does abandoning the excess make sense? When:

• The cost of Superior Court litigation would consume most of the difference
• The defendant likely cannot pay the full amount anyway
• Speed and simplicity matter more than maximizing recovery
• Your evidence is strong and the defendant's liability is clear

When does it not make sense?

• The overage is significant and collectible
• The case involves complex legal arguments that need full pleadings and discoveries
• You expect the defendant to fight hard and you need the leverage of a serious proceeding

Types of Claims That Come Up Most Often Near the Limit

Certain disputes tend to cluster right around the $35,000 threshold, making the jurisdiction question particularly important:

• Home renovation disputes — a contractor who walks off the job or delivers deficient work
• Commercial invoice disputes — a freelancer or small vendor chasing an unpaid account
• Vehicle damage — post-accident repair bills after an at-fault driver's insurer low-balls the estimate
• Landlord-tenant property damage — beyond what the Landlord and Tenant Board handles (LTB jurisdiction is separate and covers residential tenancies; property damage claims sometimes end up in Small Claims instead)
• Consumer protection claims — purchases gone wrong where the Ontario consumer protection legislation may apply

The Two-Year Limitation Period

Regardless of which court you choose, Ontario's basic limitation period is two years from the date you knew or ought to have known about your claim (as of writing). Miss that window and your claim is almost certainly statute-barred. Start counting from the date the debt fell due, the damage occurred, or the breach happened — whichever is the relevant triggering event for your situation. Some claims have different limitation periods, so verify with a lawyer if you are close to the deadline.

Frequently asked questions