Find Your Small Claims Court Location in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has dozens of courthouses that hear small claims cases, and filing in the wrong one can mean a transfer, a delay, or a dismissal. The venue rules are straightforward once you know them, but the court system does not make the mapping obvious.

Three Court Departments Handle Small Claims

Small claims sessions in Massachusetts run in three separate court departments:

District Court — the default for most disputes. District Courts are organized into divisions, each covering specific cities and towns. There are more than 60 District Court locations across the state, from Attleboro to Wrentham.

Boston Municipal Court (BMC) — handles cases within the City of Boston's municipal divisions (Central, Brighton, Charlestown, Dorchester, East Boston, Roxbury, South Boston, West Roxbury).

Housing Court — has concurrent jurisdiction over money disputes connected to residential tenancy. If your case involves unpaid rent, a security deposit, or property damage from a residential lease, Housing Court is an option. Housing Court has five regional divisions covering the entire state.

All three departments follow the same Uniform Small Claims Rules and the same $7,000 base-claim limit. Motor-vehicle property-damage claims are exempt from that limit, and statutory multiple damages or fees can increase a final judgment.

How to Pick the Right Division

Under M.G.L. c. 218, § 21, you can file in any court division where:

• You (the plaintiff) live, work, or have your primary place of business
• The defendant lives, works, or has their primary place of business
• The rental property is located, if the dispute involves a landlord-tenant relationship

If multiple defendants are named, you can file wherever at least one of them lives or works.

The most common approach: file in the division closest to where you live. If the defendant lives in a distant part of the state, they may have to travel — but the venue is still proper as long as it matches one of the criteria above.

Finding Your Court Division

The Massachusetts Trial Court website maintains a court finder that maps each city and town to its District Court division. Enter your municipality and it tells you which court has jurisdiction.

For example, if you live in Brockton, your small claims case would go to the Brockton District Court. If you live in Cambridge, it is the Cambridge District Court. If you live in Boston, you file at the appropriate BMC division based on your neighborhood.

Each court has its own address, phone number, and clerk's office hours. Some courts handle small claims on specific days of the week — call the clerk's office to confirm the schedule before you go in person.

Filing Remotely

You do not have to appear at the courthouse to file. Electronic filing for small claims is available in participating divisions through the eFileMA portal and the Guide & File interview tool. You can also file by mail — send the completed Statement of Small Claim, your filing fee (check or money order payable to "Massachusetts Trial Court"), and a self-addressed stamped envelope to the clerk's office of the appropriate division.

Using the Tyler Guide & File interview adds a $7 service fee on top of the base filing fee ($40 to $150 depending on claim amount).

What If You File in the Wrong Division?

If you file in a division that does not have proper venue, the court may transfer your case to the correct division or dismiss it. If you are uncertain which division is correct — for example, if you and the defendant live in different areas — pick the one where you live. That is always proper venue for the plaintiff.

The Massachusetts small claims filing guide includes venue selection guidance and a step-by-step walkthrough of both the paper and electronic filing process.

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