Texas Small Claims Court Limit: $20,000 Cap Explained

The Current Limit Is $20,000

Texas Justice Courts can hear small claims cases worth up to $20,000. This cap was raised from $10,000 to $20,000 under Senate Bill 2340, effective September 1, 2020, amending Texas Government Code Section 27.031.

If you find court handouts or websites citing a $10,000 limit, they're outdated. The statutory ceiling is $20,000 across all 254 Texas counties.

What Counts Toward the Cap

Under TRCP Rule 500.1(a), the $20,000 limit includes:

• Principal damages — the actual money you're owed
• Statutory or contractual penalties — such as the treble damages available for bad-faith security deposit retention under Texas Property Code Section 92.109
• Attorney's fees — if you're claiming them under a contract or statute like CPRC Chapter 38
• Personal property value — if you're suing to recover an item rather than money

What Doesn't Count

Two categories are excluded from the $20,000 calculation:

• Court costs — filing fees, constable service fees, and similar court charges
• Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest — statutory interest that accrues on the amount owed

This means your actual recovery can exceed $20,000 once interest and court costs are added on top of the judgment.

What If Your Claim Is Over $20,000

You have two options:

Waive the excess. You can voluntarily reduce your claim to $20,000 in your petition. This is called remitting the excess. You permanently give up the amount above $20,000, but you get the speed and lower cost of Justice Court.

File in a higher court. County Court at Law or District Court can handle claims above $20,000. The fees are higher, the procedure is more formal, and you'll likely want an attorney, but you can pursue the full amount.

What you cannot do is split a single claim into two separate lawsuits to fit under the limit. Texas strictly prohibits claim splitting. Under the doctrine of res judicata, filing suit for part of an indivisible claim waives your right to sue for the rest.

The Same Limit Applies to Debt Claims

Both small claims cases (Rules 500–507) and debt claims (Rule 508) share the same $20,000 jurisdictional cap under Texas Government Code Section 27.031. Some older local court handouts incorrectly suggest debt claims can exceed $20,000 — they can't.

Check Your Claim

Before filing, add up every component of your claim — principal, penalties, and attorney's fees. If the total lands under $20,000, you're in Justice Court territory. The Texas Small Claims Filing Guide includes a pre-filing worksheet that walks you through the calculation and helps you verify jurisdiction before you pay the filing fee.

See more Texas guides →