Served with a Small Claim in Nova Scotia: What to Do First

Read Every Page Before You React

The envelope contains a Form 1 Notice of Claim and a blank Form 2 (Notice of Defence / Counterclaim). Before you call the claimant, before you text a friend for advice, sit down and read the entire package.

The Notice of Claim tells you four things you need immediately:

• The court file number and registry location — this identifies your case and the courthouse where you'll file your response.
• Who is suing you and for how much — the claimant's name and the total amount demanded, broken into principal, general damages (capped at $100 in Nova Scotia), pre-judgment interest, and filing fees.
• The factual basis — a narrative describing what the claimant says happened.
• Hearing information — dates and instructions for what comes next.

Verify the Claim Is Real

Scam demand letters do exist. Before spending time on a response, confirm the lawsuit is genuine by calling the courthouse registry listed on the Notice of Claim. Use the phone number published on courts.ns.ca — not any number printed on the served papers — and reference your court file number. The clerk can confirm whether a case was actually filed.

Calling the registry does not pause your response deadline. The 20-day clock keeps running.

Calculate Your 20-Day Deadline

You have 20 calendar days from the date you were served to file and serve your Form 2 defence. The count works like this:

• Day 0 is the day you received personal service or signed for registered mail. It doesn't count.
• Day 1 starts the next morning. Count every calendar day — weekends and holidays included.
• If Day 20 lands on a weekend, statutory holiday, or day the courthouse registry is closed, the deadline rolls to 4:30 PM on the next business day when the registry is open.

Mark the deadline somewhere you won't miss it. Missing it opens the door to a default judgment — the claimant can apply for a Quick Judgment (Form 6) and win without you ever being heard.

Decide How to Respond

Form 2 gives you several options, and they're not mutually exclusive:

Dispute the claim by completing Section 2.1 with your factual defence — what you deny, what you admit, and your version of events.

Admit part or all of the claim and propose a payment plan. If you owe the money but can't pay in a lump sum, an adjudicator can approve monthly instalments.

File a counterclaim in Section 2.2 if the claimant owes you money from the same transaction. This costs $66 to file (fee waivers available for low-income defendants).

Settle directly with the claimant before the hearing — but only if the settlement is formalized through a Consent Order or the claimant files a Notice of Withdrawal with the court. An unfiled verbal agreement won't stop a default judgment if you skip the hearing date.

File and Serve Before the Deadline

Print and sign your completed Form 2. Bring it to the courthouse registry counter to file — a standard defence costs nothing to file. Then serve a copy on the claimant by personal delivery (through a non-party adult aged 19 or older) or registered mail, and file a sworn Affidavit of Service to prove it.

Both filing and service must happen within the 20-day window.

What If the Deadline Already Passed

If the 20 days are up but you haven't heard anything further, call the registry immediately and ask whether the claimant has filed an Application for Quick Judgment. If no default order has been entered yet, hand-deliver your Form 2 to the registry counter — clerks will still accept it. If a Quick Judgment was already granted, you'll need to apply to have it set aside, which requires showing a legitimate reason for the delay and a viable defence on the merits.

For the full step-by-step process — from reading your served papers through preparing your evidence for the hearing — the Nova Scotia Small Claims Response Guide walks you through every stage with deadline calculators and preparation checklists.

See more Nova Scotia guides →