Sue a Contractor in Montana Small Claims Court

A contractor takes your deposit, starts tearing out your kitchen cabinets, and stops returning calls. Or the work gets "finished" but the deck boards are already warping. Montana small claims court lets you recover up to $7,000 without hiring a lawyer — and contractor disputes are one of the most common cases on the docket.

Check Whether Your Claim Fits Small Claims Court

Montana's Small Claims Division handles claims up to $7,000 under MCA § 25-35-502. The key restriction: your damages must be a fixed, calculable dollar amount. That works well for contractor disputes because you can usually point to a specific deposit paid, a specific invoice for repairs, or a specific quote to finish abandoned work.

If your damages are harder to pin down — say, water damage from a botched roof where you don't yet know the full repair cost — you may need the general civil division of Justice Court (up to $15,000) instead.

Before you file, confirm two things:

• The contractor can be served in the county where you file. Montana requires in-county service under MCA § 25-35-502(1). If the contractor lives or works in a different county, file there instead.
• You're within the statute of limitations. Written contracts get six years (MCA § 27-2-202(1)). Oral agreements get five. Property damage from defective work gets two years (MCA § 27-2-207).

Send a Demand Letter First

Most Montana justice courts require a written demand letter before they'll accept your complaint. Madison County and Park County explicitly mandate one, and it's smart practice everywhere.

Your demand letter should state the exact amount owed, describe what the contractor failed to do, and set a payment deadline (14 days is standard). Send it by certified mail with return receipt requested — you'll need that signed green card as proof when you file.

Keep a copy of the letter and the postal receipt. If the contractor ignores the demand, that silence becomes evidence at the hearing.

Gather Your Evidence Before Filing

Contractor cases live and die on documentation. Assemble everything before you walk into the clerk's office:

• The contract or written agreement (even a text message chain confirming the scope and price counts)
• Proof of payment — bank statements, cancelled checks, Venmo/Zelle receipts showing the deposit or progress payments
• Photos of incomplete or defective work — date-stamped if possible, showing the condition before and after the contractor's involvement
• A written estimate from another contractor to finish or fix the work (this establishes your actual dollar damages)
• Communication records — texts, emails, voicemails showing the contractor went silent or refused to return

Montana small claims hearings are informal, but the judge still needs verifiable evidence. Organize everything into three paper sets: one for the judge, one for the contractor, and one for yourself.

File the Complaint

Head to the Justice Court clerk in the county where the contractor resides or works. You'll fill out the Small Claims Complaint and Order of Court — a single form where you swear under oath that the contractor owes you a specific amount.

The base filing fee is $20 (MCA § 25-35-608(1)(a)); county surcharges bring the typical total to around $30. Park County accepts only cash or check.

Name the contractor correctly on the complaint. If they operate as an LLC or corporation, check the Montana Secretary of State's business registry for the exact legal name and registered agent. For sole proprietors, name both the person and the business: "Jane Smith d/b/a Smith Renovations."

Serve the Contractor and Prepare for the Hearing

The clerk will issue an order setting a hearing date within 10 to 40 days. The contractor must be served at least five days before the hearing by the sheriff, constable, or another process server, as required by MCA § 25-35-604. The clerk may also arrange certified-mail service with restricted delivery and return receipt; confirm this option with the court.

If the contractor doesn't show up, you'll likely get a default judgment for your full amount plus court costs. If they do appear, present your evidence calmly and walk the judge through the timeline: what was agreed, what was paid, what wasn't done, and what it costs to make it right.

What You Can Recover

The court can award up to $7,000 plus court costs (filing fee and service expenses). You can also claim pre-judgment interest at 10% per year on money owed under a written agreement (MCA § 31-1-106).

What the court can't do: order the contractor to finish the work, revoke their license, or award damages for stress and inconvenience. Small claims is strictly about recovering money.

If you win and the contractor doesn't pay voluntarily, post-judgment enforcement tools — wage garnishment, bank levies, property liens — are available through Justice Court.

The Montana Small Claims Filing Guide walks through every step from the demand letter to the hearing, with fillable worksheets for tracking service, organizing evidence, and calculating your deadline calendar.

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