Florida Small Claims Court Rules

Where Small Claims Fits in the Florida Court System

Small claims in Florida is not a separate court. It's a simplified division within each county's County Court, governed by the Florida Small Claims Rules — Rules 7.010 through 7.300. These rules strip out most of the formal civil procedure that applies in general county court or circuit court cases.

The key difference: small claims uses relaxed pleading standards, a scheduled pretrial conference, and evidence rules that are applied liberally. The court may refer the parties to mediation. General county court actions over $8,000 and up to $50,000 follow the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure — formal complaints, 20-day answer deadlines, discovery, and stricter evidentiary standards.

The $8,000 Jurisdictional Limit

Under Rule 7.010(b) and Fla. Stat. § 34.01, small claims covers civil disputes where the principal amount doesn't exceed $8,000. Court costs, accrued interest, and attorney fees are excluded from that calculation, so a $7,500 debt with $800 in accrued interest still qualifies.

Florida has no cap on how many small claims cases you can file per year. But you cannot split a single claim over $8,000 into multiple smaller filings — that's claim-splitting, and it either waives the excess amount or gets the case thrown out.

Filing Rules (Rule 7.050)

Rule 7.050 controls what goes into your initial filing:

• Statement of Claim — the equivalent of a civil complaint, but simplified. Form 7.322 is the summons/notice to appear for pretrial conference, not a claim form. Use the county clerk's general small-claims Statement of Claim or a statewide form that fits the claim, such as 7.332 for work/materials disputes or 7.330 for auto negligence.
• Attachments — if your claim is based on a written document, attach a copy or material part of it to the Statement of Claim under Rule 7.050(a).
• Party identification — list full legal names for all parties. Business defendants get their registered entity name from Sunbiz, not just a trade name.

Under Rule 7.050(a)(2), a business entity may be represented in trial-court proceedings by a principal with legal authority to bind it or by an employee authorized in writing by that principal. Form 7.350 covers employee authorization. A non-attorney may not represent the entity on appeal.

Service Rules (Rule 7.070)

Initial process must be formally served under Chapter 48 of the Florida Statutes. You cannot serve the papers yourself. Three authorized routes:

1. County sheriff ($40 per defendant)
2. Certified process server under Fla. Stat. § 48.021
3. Clerk's certified mail — for Florida residents; the return receipt may be signed by the defendant or someone authorized to receive mail at the defendant's residence or principal place of business

Initial process and the initial pleading must be served within 120 days after filing. A request for more time made before the 120 days expire provides an additional 120 days.

After initial service, subsequent documents can be exchanged by mail, hand delivery, or e-service under Rules 2.516 and 2.525. But e-filing through the portal does not count as service of process on the defendant.

Pretrial Conference and Mediation (Rule 7.090)

Once a claim is filed, the clerk sets a pretrial conference no more than 50 days later. The summons/notice specifies the appearance date. This is not a trial; settlement is one of the matters considered, and the court may refer the parties to mediation.

Mediation may take place at the pretrial conference, where settlement is one of the matters considered. Bring your documents but not your witnesses. If mediation occurs and the parties reach agreement, the agreement is written as a stipulation; the court must set the case for trial within 60 days after the conference if it does not settle.

Under Rule 7.090(b), if the summons/notice is returned nonserved and the return is filed 5 days before the pretrial conference, the court must cancel the conference as to that party. The plaintiff may request a new summons/notice with a new date.

Hearing and Evidence Rules (Rule 7.140)

The civil-trial rules of evidence apply in small claims, but Rule 7.140(f) says they are to be liberally construed. "Liberally construed" doesn't mean anything goes — organize your evidence clearly:

• Written contracts, invoices, receipts (Tier 1 — attached at filing)
• Photos, text messages, emails, bank statements, repair estimates (Tier 2 — presented at the hearing)

Witnesses can testify. If someone won't appear voluntarily, you can subpoena them under the small claims rules. Keep your presentation focused: judges hear dozens of cases per session.

Post-Judgment Rules

After the court enters a final judgment, two clocks start running:

• Motion for new trial — no later than 15 days after the verdict in a jury action or the filing of the judgment in a nonjury action (Rule 7.180)
• Notice of appeal — 30 days from rendition of the judgment to the Circuit Court under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.110

If the defendant doesn't show up for the hearing, you can file a motion for default judgment. The defendant can later move to set it aside by showing a valid reason for the absence.

An authorized, timely motion for new trial postpones rendition for the appeal deadline until the court files its order disposing of the motion. The Florida Chief Financial Officer sets the statutory judgment-interest rate quarterly; under Fla. Stat. § 55.03(3), the rate on a judgment is adjusted annually on January 1 until paid.

The rules are straightforward once you see them as a sequence rather than a wall of legal text. Our Florida Small Claims Filing Guide maps each rule to the step where it matters, with the forms and deadlines laid out in order.

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