How to Fill Out the Alberta Civil Claim Form (CTS1461)

Form CTS1461 is the document that starts your civil claim in the Alberta Court of Justice. It is a fillable PDF available on the Alberta Courts website, and the court will not accept anything that deviates from the standard layout. Getting it right the first time saves you a trip back to the registry counter.

The Party Information Section

The top of the form asks for details about the claimant (you) and the defendant (the person or company you are suing).

For each party, you need the full legal name, residential or business address, phone number, and email address. This is where most mistakes happen.

For individuals, use their full legal name — the name on their ID, not a nickname or shortened version.

For sole proprietors, the claim names the individual person operating under the trade name: "Jane Doe operating as Acme Home Renovations." A trade name by itself is not a legal entity and cannot be sued. Run a Trade Name Search through an Alberta Registry Agent to confirm who owns the business.

For corporations, you must use the exact incorporated name, including the legal designation (Inc., Corp., Ltd.). Order a Corporate Registry (CORES) search to get the precise name, current status, registered office address, and director names. A CORES search costs $10 to $25 and may be recoverable as a court disbursement, subject to the court's discretion.

Getting the defendant's name wrong — even a minor variation — can result in your claim being dismissed or a judgment you cannot enforce.

Describing What Happened

The form has a section for your factual summary. The court wants plain-language facts, not legal arguments. State what happened, where it happened, and when.

A good claim statement is specific and chronological. For example: "On March 5, 2026, I paid the defendant $8,000 as a deposit for kitchen renovation work at 123 Main Street, Calgary. The defendant was to complete the work by May 1, 2026. The defendant did not begin work. On May 15, 2026, I sent a demand letter requesting return of the deposit. The defendant has not responded."

What to leave out: do not cite case law, do not make legal arguments ("the defendant breached their duty of care"), and do not attach emotional narrative about how unfair the situation is. The Justice will decide the law. Your job is to lay out the facts clearly.

Calculating Your Claim Amount

The remedy section of the form asks for the specific dollar amount you are claiming. Break it down:

• Principal amount: the money owed (the deposit, the unpaid invoice, the repair cost)
• Statutory or contractual interest: if your contract specifies an interest rate, state it. If not, you can claim prejudgment interest under the Judgment Interest Act — the court calculates this using prescribed statutory rates from the date the cause of action arose
• Filing fee: you can include the court filing fee ($100 or $200) in your claim for costs

The total must not exceed $100,000. If your actual loss is higher, you can either abandon the excess (and you can never recover it later) or take the full claim to the Court of King's Bench, which has no monetary cap but higher fees and more complex procedures.

Filing at the Registry

You can file in person at the court registry, by mail, or through the Civil Filing Digital Service portal. The registry closest to where the dispute arose or where the defendant lives is usually the right one.

The clerk reviews the form for completeness. If everything is in order, they apply an official red stamp with the Court File Number, Filing Date, and Registry Location. This stamped copy is the one you serve on the defendant.

If the clerk finds errors, they will return the form for correction. Common rejection reasons include an incomplete address, a missing claim amount, or a party name that does not match a legal entity.

The filing fee is $100 for claims up to $7,500 and $200 for claims between $7,500.01 and $100,000. If you qualify as low income, you can apply for a fee waiver using Form CJS-FW-1 before filing.

What Not to Attach

Do not staple contracts, receipts, photos, or text message screenshots to your Civil Claim form. Evidence is exchanged later through the Trial Statement (Form CTS11447), which both sides file before trial. The Civil Claim is a pleading — it states the facts and the remedy. The evidence backs it up later.

For a complete walkthrough of Form CTS1461 and every subsequent form in the process, the Alberta Civil Claim Guide includes filled examples, a pre-filing checklist, and a deadline calendar.

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