Form 4 Magistrates Court WA — How to Fill It Out and File Online

Form 4 is the document that starts a minor case claim in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia. It covers debt and damages claims up to $10,000 — unpaid invoices, unreturned deposits, property damage, broken contracts. The form itself is straightforward, but filling it out wrong means your claim gets rejected at the registry or creates problems at the hearing.

Where to Get and File Form 4

You file through the eCourts Portal at ecourts.justice.wa.gov.au. The portal generates the form as you fill in the fields — you don't download a blank PDF and type into it.

To get started, register a personal account on the portal. You'll need an email address and a password. Once logged in, select "Lodge a New Case," then "Minor Case Claim."

If you genuinely cannot use the online system — no internet access or a disability that prevents it — you can apply for an exemption to file on paper at a physical registry, but the court expects electronic filing as the default.

Choosing a Court Registry

The portal asks you to pick a registry. File at the court nearest to where the dispute happened or where the defendant lives or works. If the defendant is in Joondalup, file at Joondalup. If the contract was performed in Fremantle, Fremantle works.

Perth's Central Law Courts at 501 Hay Street handle matters from across the metro area if you're unsure.

Filling In Party Details

Get both parties' names exactly right. This is where claims fall apart.

• Individuals: Use their full legal name as it appears on their driver's licence or official ID — not a nickname, not just a first name.
• Sole traders: Name the person, then add "trading as [business name]." Example: "Jane Smith trading as Smith Landscaping."
• Companies: Use the exact registered name from an ASIC company search, including "Pty Ltd," plus the ACN. Example: "Acme Holdings Pty Ltd ACN 123 456 789."

An ASIC company search confirms a company's registered name and ACN; an ASIC company extract provides the registered office address for service. ABN Lookup shows ABN details and the main business location, not the registered office address.

Writing the Statement of Claim

The portal has a free-text field where you describe what happened. This is the part the magistrate actually reads, so make it count.

Structure it as a chronological story:

1. When the agreement or transaction happened
2. What was agreed (amount, work, goods, services)
3. What went wrong and when
4. How much is owed and how you calculated it
5. That you sent a letter of demand on a specific date and received no satisfactory response

Stick to facts. Leave out opinions about the defendant's character, your frustration, or what you think is "fair." The magistrate decides fairness — your job is to state what happened, what's owed, and why.

Paying the Filing Fee

You pay by credit or debit card through the portal. The fee depends on who's filing:

• Individual: $199.50 (including the $3 Suitor's Fund fee)
• Eligible small business or other eligible entity: $196.50
• Non-eligible entity: $384.00
• Eligible individual: $59.00

If the claimant is a small business, it can lodge the small business declaration (Form 1) if it meets the definition, including the fewer-than-20-full-time-equivalent-employees test. The eligible-entity fee is $196.50; the standard entity fee is $384.00.

After Filing

The portal generates a sealed copy of your Form 4 with a court action number and filing date. Download and save it — you need to serve this sealed copy on the defendant.

Filing does not notify the other side. You're responsible for personal service (handing it to them directly or using a process server or bailiff).

The WA Minor Case Claim Guide covers the full filing process with a statement-of-claim framework and the service steps that come next.

See more Western Australia guides →