New Hampshire Small Claims Court: Rules, Limits, and Process

What New Hampshire Small Claims Court Actually Handles

Small claims court in New Hampshire sits inside the Circuit Court, District Division. It covers one thing: disputes where somebody owes somebody else money and the amount is $10,000 or less, not counting interest and court costs. The governing law is RSA Chapter 503, and the procedural rules are District Division Rules 4.1 through 4.13.

That $10,000 ceiling is strict. If your claim is worth more, you can still file in small claims — but doing so permanently waives the excess. You cannot later sue for the difference. If you do not want to give up the overage, you need to file a regular civil action in the District Division or take the case to Superior Court.

Small claims cannot handle everything. The court will not hear cases involving title to real property, requests for equitable relief (like an injunction), or petitions to get specific personal property back. Evictions follow their own track under RSA Chapter 540. Pure money disputes between landlords and tenants — an unpaid security deposit, back rent — do fit within the small claims limit.

How the Filing Process Works

Every small claims case in New Hampshire must be filed electronically. Paper filings are rejected unless a judge grants an exemption for extraordinary circumstances. Self-represented filers use TurboCourt, the state's e-filing portal for pro se litigants. Attorneys file through File & Serve.

TurboCourt walks you through a guided interview that builds your complaint. You enter names, addresses, the factual basis for the claim, an itemized breakdown of damages, and a military service statement about the defendant. The system generates the court forms for you.

Filing fees depend on how much you are claiming:

• $5,000 or less: $125 total ($105 base + $20 electronic case filing surcharge)
• $5,001 to $10,000: $180 total ($160 base + $20 electronic case filing surcharge)

Credit and debit card payments carry an additional non-refundable processing fee.

Venue — Where You File Matters

You do not simply file at the nearest courthouse. New Hampshire venue rules require you to file at the District Division court that has territorial jurisdiction over the town where either you or the defendant lives.

If the defendant is an out-of-state individual or a foreign business, you can file in any District Division location where the defendant transacted business, entered a contract with a New Hampshire resident, committed a wrongful act in the state, or owns property here. That falls under RSA 510:4, the state's long-arm jurisdiction statute.

Service of Process — the Court Handles It

Unlike most civil lawsuits, you do not have to arrange your own process server. When the court accepts your complaint and fee, the clerk mails a copy of the complaint and a notice to the defendant by first-class mail.

If that mail comes back undeliverable, you have 60 days to provide a corrected address or request an Order of Notice for personal service through a sheriff. Miss that 60-day window and the court dismisses your case automatically — no extensions.

Mediation and Pre-Trial Hearings

New Hampshire splits mediation by claim size:

• Over $5,000: Mediation is mandatory before trial. It happens at the courthouse on the pretrial hearing date.
• $5,000 and under: Mediation is voluntary. Either side can request it at the pretrial hearing.

If mediation settles the dispute, both sides sign a court-approved agreement that becomes enforceable. If it does not, the judge moves straight into the pretrial hearing.

Skipping a mandatory mediation session has consequences. If the plaintiff does not show, the case is dismissed. If the defendant does not show, the court enters a default judgment.

The Hearing

Formal rules of evidence do not apply. The judge has wide discretion to consider documents, photographs, text messages, and testimony that would not survive in a regular trial. Discovery (interrogatories, depositions) is banned unless the judge orders it for extraordinary cause.

Both sides testify under oath, present documents, and call witnesses. Bring physical copies of every exhibit even if you uploaded them through TurboCourt beforehand.

After the Decision

The losing side has 10 days from the clerk's written notice of the decision to file a Motion for Reconsideration — a request for the judge to re-examine specific points of law or facts. Appeals from small claims go directly to the New Hampshire Supreme Court under Supreme Court Rule 7, bypassing Superior Court entirely. The appeal must be filed within 30 days of the clerk's written notice of the decision.

A judgment does not collect itself. If the debtor does not pay, you file a Motion for Periodic Payments ($25) to bring them back to court, or request a Writ of Execution ($40) for the sheriff to levy bank accounts or property.

Get the Full Filing Roadmap

If you are filing a small claim in New Hampshire, our step-by-step filing guide walks you through every stage — from the demand letter through TurboCourt e-filing, service of process, the hearing, and collecting your judgment — with fillable worksheets and a deadline calendar built around your case dates.

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