Simple Procedure Scotland: How to File a Small Claim in the Sheriff Court

Scotland does not have a "small claims court." If someone owes you money and you want to recover it through the courts, the process you need is called Simple Procedure — a streamlined track in the Sheriff Court for disputes worth up to £5,000.

What Simple Procedure Actually Is

Simple Procedure replaced the old Small Claims and most Summary Cause actions on 28 November 2016, under the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. It covers money claims up to £5,000 (the principal sum — interest and expenses sit on top), delivery-of-goods claims with a money alternative, and orders to do a specific thing, provided you include a fallback money claim.

You file through Civil Online, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) web portal, using Form 3A. The court registers your claim and sets a timetable with separate deadlines for service and the respondent's reply. If they don't reply, you apply for a decree — Scotland's equivalent of an English County Court Judgment.

Personal injury claims, residential tenancy deposit disputes, and eviction cases go elsewhere. Tenancy deposits and rent-arrears claims arising from a Private Residential Tenancy belong in the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber), not the Sheriff Court.

The Filing Process Step by Step

Check the limit and the clock. Your claim must be £5,000 or under, and contractual obligations generally have a five-year short negative prescription from when the obligation became enforceable (often the breach date or invoice due date) under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. Once that window closes, the debt is extinguished — not just unenforceable, but gone as a matter of law.

Send a demand letter first. Before filing, write to the other party setting out what they owe, why, and a clear deadline (at least 14 days). Send it by recorded post or trackable email so you have proof. The court expects you to have tried to resolve things before invoking judicial process.

Identify the respondent correctly. A sole trader is "Jane Smith trading as Smith Decorating." A limited company needs its exact Companies House name and registration number. Getting this wrong means your decree may be unenforceable.

File on Civil Online. Create an account, fill in Form 3A section by section — parties, jurisdiction, the sum you're claiming plus interest, a chronological statement of facts, and your pre-action efforts. Pay the court fee (£23 for claims up to £300, £127 for £300.01–£5,000). Upload your evidence.

Serve the respondent. Once the court registers your claim, it issues Form 3D (the timetable). You must serve the claim papers on the respondent at least 21 days before the response deadline. Service goes through the Sheriff Clerk (£15 fee for unrepresented individual claimants), a Sheriff Officer, or next-day recorded delivery via a solicitor.

Wait for the response. The respondent can dispute the claim (Form 4A), admit it and ask for time to pay (Form 5A), or settle. If nothing comes back, you submit Form 7A (Application for a Decision) within two weeks of the response deadline — miss that window and the Sheriff dismisses the claim.

Costs You Should Expect

The court fee is the main outlay: £23 or £127 depending on claim value. Sheriff Officer service costs extra if you use one. Qualifying benefit recipients (Universal Credit, Income Support, Pension Credit, and others) can apply for full fee exemption using the SCTS Fee Exemption Form.

On expenses recovery: claims under £300 carry no expenses award. Claims between £300.01 and £1,500 are capped at £150. Between £1,500.01 and £3,000, expenses max out at 10% of the claim value. Above £3,000, the statutory cap lifts. Since May 2025 and the Cabot v Walls ruling, you must submit an Expenses Claim Form pro-forma with every Form 7A application — without it, the court rejects the application outright.

What Happens After a Decree

Getting a decree doesn't automatically put money in your account. If the respondent doesn't pay voluntarily, you'll need to instruct a Sheriff Officer to enforce the decree — through earnings arrestment, bank arrestment, or attachment of moveable property. The decree is subject to a 20-year prescriptive period, but you must wait 4 weeks from the date Form 13A is sent before starting formal enforcement. A Sheriff Officer must then serve a Charge for Payment; the respondent has 14 days to pay if in the UK, or 28 days if outside the UK or the address is unknown.

The complete step-by-step process — from checking the time limit to enforcing a decree — is laid out in our Scotland Simple Procedure filing guide, including fillable worksheets for Form 3A drafting, service tracking, and expenses calculation.

See more Scotland guides →