Small Claims FAQs

Small Claims are disputes involving money damages where the amount at issue does not exceed $8000.00 excluding costs, interest, and attorneys’ fees.

Examples include:

• Contract disputes
• Property damage
• Debt collection

The party who files a claim is referred to as the “Plaintiff“. Any person 18 years or older or any individual doing business as a company may file a Small Claims case.

The party who is sued is referred to as the “Defendant“.

A claim must designate the proper Plaintiff(s) and Defendant(s). The determination of the proper party will depend on whether the party is a person or a business and how that business is set up.

Failure to name the proper parties may result in the rejection of the claim or in a defective (unenforceable) judgment.

• Individuals: If the party is a person, that person is designated by his or her legal name.
  • If the Plaintiff is a minor (under the age of 18), he or she may not be a Plaintiff directly but must sue through the minor’s parent or legal guardian.
  • However, a minor may be sued directly or through the minor’s parent or legal guardian.
• Businesses: If the party is a business, you must name the proper legal entity. There are different forms of business enterprise, and the exact details will determine the correct party to a lawsuit. Florida Statutes determine the proper legal entity.
• Corporations: A corporation is a legal entity with a separate legal identity from its owners, regardless of if there is one owner or many.
  • The proper party is the corporation. Example: “John’s Garage, Inc.”

You can get information on corporations from the Florida Division of Corporations by going to their online information center . You should determine the correct name and address of the Registered Agent for service of process.

Here are some examples:

1. If you are suing an individual:
   • You name vs. Thomas Jones
2. If you are suing a sole proprietorship* (an individual doing business under a fictitious name):
   • Your name vs. Thomas Jones, d/b/a Criss Cross Applesauce, Inc
3. If you are suing a partnership* (several individuals doing business under a fictitious name):
   • Your name vs. CCA Enterprises, a partnership
     • Or—CCA Enterprises, LTD., a limited partnership
     • Or—CCA Enterprises, Limited, a limited partnership

*For Partnerships – Make sure to obtain one of the partner’s name and address.

For Limited Partnerships – Make sure to obtain the registered agent’s name and address. You will need this to serve the Registered Agent.

1. If you are suing a corporation:
   • Your name vs. CCA, Inc.
   • Or-CCA, Corp.
   • Or-CCA, Co.
2. If you are suing a corporation doing business under a fictitious name:
   • Your name vs. CCA, Inc. d/b/a Business
   • Or- CCA, Corp d/b/a Alphabet Soup Company
3. If you are suing a limited liability company:
   • Your name vs. Alphabet Soup, L.L.C.
   • Or Alphabet Soup, L.C.

These are some examples of invalid party names:

• Thomas Jones d.b.a. CCA, Inc. 
• OR CCA

**If you need to find out information on a company or fictitious name, records may be researched online at www.sunbiz.org .

While you can hire an attorney, it is not required for small claims cases in Florida. The process is designed to be accessible to individuals without legal representation. 

Small Claims forms are available through the Self-Help Center and the Clerk’s Website.

A person or company has the right to file a suit in this county if one or more of the following took place in Collier County:

• Where the contract was entered into.
• If suit is on an unsecured promissory note, where the note is signed or where the maker resides.
• If the suit is to recover property or to foreclose on a lien, where the property is located.
• Where the event giving rise to the suit occurred.
• Where any one or more of the defendants reside.
• Any location agreed to in the contract.
• In an action for money due, if there is no agreement as to where the suit may be filed, where payment is to be made.
• If the cause of action is based on a dishonored check, where the drawee bank refused payment.

A defendant has the right to request that the case be transferred to another county and the Court will rule on the request.

• Statement of Claim
• Small Claims Pretrial Notice to Appear/Summons – 1 per defendant.

A registered agent is an individual or entity whose duty it is to receive important legal documents on behalf of a business entity. The registered agent serves as the business’s main point of contact so it must have a physical address in the state where the business operates. 

You can locate registered agent information for a business through the Florida Division of Corporations at Sunbiz.org.

In Person: At the Main Court House located at 3315 Tamiami Trail E, Naples, Fl 34112

• Provide the required and completed forms.
  • Statement of Claim
  • Include supplementals and/or supporting documentation for your claim.
• Summons for issuance (1 per defendant)
• Filing fees: (see question 8)
• Additional copies (2 per defendant) of Statement of Claim and supporting documents for service.
• Check made payable to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office (amount to totaling $40 per defendant)If the defendant lives in Collier County.

Electronically: Via the Florida Courts e-PORTAL

• Complete the required forms.
• Include supplementals and/or supporting documentation for your claim.
• Pay the filing fee.
• Review your claim online for service issuance.
• Print and forward the issued summons for service to the other party (defendant) – See Methods of Service question 9.

Once the case has been eFiled, and the clerk has issued the summons, you will receive an email from DoNoReply@Collierclerk.com with the issued summons(es) only.

Filing fees for small claims actions are set forth in the Florida Statutes. Fees vary in accordance with the dollar amount of your claim and the type of action. 

It is best to refer to the Clerk’s website at for filing fee information based on the amount of the claim you are filing.

1. First, the defendant must be served with a Summons to appear for pretrial on a specific date and time.
2. The first court date is a pre-trial conference where you and the defendant will meet with a mediator and try to resolve the case.
3. If you are unable to obtain service, your court case will not move forward.
4. If the dispute cannot be settled at the pre-trial conference, a trial date will be scheduled for a later date.

• It is extremely important to have the correct names of all persons involved when you fill out your statement of claim. Incorrect names could cause delays in the processing of your case, or worse, the judgment you receive may be worthless and uncollectible.
• To see some examples of how parties are named, go to How Parties are Named below.
• If you need information on a company or fictitious name, records may be researched online at sunbiz.org or you can call the Secretary of State at 850-245-6500. This search will give you the legal name of the business and will also provide you with the officer’s (president, etc.,) or registered agent’s name and address for service on the company.
• If you determine that the business you are suing is not a registered corporation, you can contact the occupational license division of the city where the business is located.
• If you are suing an insurance company, you need the legal name of the insurance company. You can contact the Department of Financial Services by internet at http://www.floir.com/CompanySearch/ or by phone at (850) 413-3114 to obtain this information. The Department of Financial Services agent can tell you if the Department can accept service for the insurance company you are suing.

Your small claims case is scheduled for a pre-trial conference. For the defendant to know about the court case, the defendant must be served. You may elect to have the defendant served by the Collier County Sheriff’s office or to have the clerk send service by certified mail.

**IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THE DEFENDANT(S) IS NOTIFIED.**

To print out the Notice  to Appear for Pretrial (summons) and/or  your Statement of Claim and attachments:

Access your case on the clerk’s website at www.collierclerk.com ,  select the green Record Search button to begin your Court Record Search. After you find your case, you can print the appropriate documents.

 Cost of Copies: If you want the Clerk’s office to make copies of the documents needed for service you will need to pay $1.00 per page for this service.  At Self-Help when you are filling out the forms to be filed, the clerk’s office only charges .15¢

Before filing your case, you will need to decide how to serve the other party. When you do serve the defendant, you must have the notice for pre-trial conference and a copy of the claim served in one of the options below:

Deputy Clerk can serve via certified mail for an additional fee of $8.69 each. (See more detail under question 16)

In Collier County, call the Sheriff’s Office at (239) 252-0888 for service. If the defendant does not reside in Collier County, call the Sheriff’s Office in the defendant’s county to obtain information on how to complete service. (See more detail under question 17 and 18)

Private Certified Process Servers (See more detail under question 19)

Before filing your case, you will need to decide how to serve the other party. If the defendant  lives in Florida, serving them using certified mail  is one option. Remember, when you do serve the defendant, you must have the notice for pre-trial conference and a copy of the claim.

Certified Mail – This is not an option for serving out-of-Florida residents. For Florida residents, you will need to provide:

• an envelope addressed with the defendant’s name and address, with no return address, and
• the service package (the statement of claim, attachments, exhibits, etc.).

To calculate the fee for the certified mailing view the Certified Mail Postage Guidelines in the Small Claims resource section. You will pay that additional fee when you pay your filing fees. The Clerk’s office will mail the service package to the defendants. Note that your summons is not considered served until the Clerk receives the signed return receipt. Certified mail may be used more than once to attempt service of a summons and each attempt at service with this method requires another pretrial summons and payment of the certified mail fee.

Before filing your case, you will need to decide how to serve the other party. If the defendant  resides in Collier County, serving them using the Collier County Sheriff’s Office  is one option. Remember, when you do serve the defendant, you must have the notice for pre-trial conference and a copy of the claim.

Sheriff’s Delivery outside Collier County – When a defendant lives outside Collier County, it is your responsibility to verify the addresses, payment methods and cost of service before filing your case. Payment must be made to the entity serving the papers, either that county’s sheriff or a process server authorized by the court. To see the list of the sheriff’s offices in Florida, go to the Florida Sheriff List(this will be a hyper link) in the Small Claims section of the Forms page on the clerk’s website. To determine what county a city is located in, you may see a city-county index at City-County Index . The Sheriff or process server is unable to deliver to a post office box address.

You will need to provide:

• an envelope addressed to that sheriff’s office or the process server with your return address and
• the amount of postage needed to mail the “service package” (copy of statement of claim, copy of attachments, and pretrial notice with date of hearing) to that sheriff’s office or process server.

*To calculate the postage, use the Postage Guidelines in the Small Claims section of the Forms page on the clerk’s website at Small Claims Forms.

Sheriff’s Delivery outside Florida – When a defendant resides outside the state, it is your responsibility to verify the addresses, payment methods and cost of service before filing your case. You must provide an envelope addressed to the sheriff or process server in the locality where the defendant resides and submit payment for the sheriff’s or process server’s service fee payable to that sheriff or process server. The envelope must have the Clerk’s return address and the amount of postage needed to mail the “service package” (copy of statement of claim, copy of attachments, and pretrial notice with date of hearing) to that sheriff’s office or process server. To calculate the postage, use the Postage Guidelines in the Small Claims Resource section on the clerk’s website.

You may also choose to hire a private process server to serve the defendant(s) of your case with the service package.

A list of Certified Process Servers is available on: www.ca.cjis20.org/services/cps.aspx .

• You must provide the address of the home office for the insurance company.
• All claims filed against an insurance company are served through the Insurance Commissioner for the State of Florida.
  • Example of how defendant should be listed on both the Statement of Claim and Summons forms: ABC Insurance Company, 333 Main Street, Any Town, USA 12345, by serving Insurance Commissioner, State of Florida.
• All documents that will be used to substantiate your claim should be included with your filing. The Clerk’s office requires one copy, and the Insurance Company requires three copies, making a total of four copies.

If the defendant is not served, you will need to attempt service again by obtaining submitting an alias summons.

• An ALIAS summons is the 2^nd summons issued because the first one failed to accomplish its purpose.
• A PLURIES is the 3^rd and any other additional summons attempts that you may need to serve the defendant.

You will be required to pay for all Summons/Notices to Appear for Pretrial Conference ($10 for each defendant for the issuance of the summons).

You may either choosing a different method of service (i.e., sheriff’s service instead of certified mail), or finding a better address for the defendant.

Once your case is successfully filed with the court you will receive a notice at the counter with your pre-trial hearing date and time. The pre-trial conference will be scheduled between 35-50 days from the date you file your claim. Appearance at the pre-trial hearing is mandatory.

• Pre-trial conferences are held via Zoom.

A Pretrial conference is an informal process to determine if there is a cause of action. Once your case is filed, a pretrial date will be set. You will be given the pretrial conference date, time, room number and name of the judge assigned to your case.

• These hearings are designed to promote a resolution.
• You must appear for the pretrial conference. If you do not appear, your case may be dismissed.
• Once the defendant is served the summons, the defendant must appear for the pretrial. If the defendant does not appear, a judgment may be entered against the defendant.
• Do not bring witnesses to the pretrial conference.
• Mediation takes place at the pretrial conference.
• If no agreement is reached at the pretrial conference, you will be given a trial date.

• Yes, small claims cases in Florida are typically heard by a judge, however, jury trials are available if requested.

• If a settlement is reached between the parties at any time in the proceedings, the mediator prepares the settlement, and the case is closed. If one of the party’s defaults on payments, the case will return to the judge for a judgment.

The trial hearing is a formal proceeding where the plaintiff and the defendant will get a chance to explain their case to the Judge. Both sides may also present supporting evidence and any witness testimonies to the judge.

At the trial you will, ask the person(s) you are suing questions concerning your claim, present your documentation and call on your witnesses to explain your case.

After hearing both sides of the case and reviewing evidence, the judge typically renders a decision immediately at the end of the trial.

If the judge rules in favor of a party a judgment may be issued specifying the number of Damages awarded or any other remedies granted.

Keep in mind you may explore available legal Avenues to collect awarded damages, but the court cannot collect money damages for you.

Some common rulings that may occur during a small claims trial include:

1. Judgment for Plaintiff: If the judge finds in favor of the plaintiff (the party filing the claim), a judgment may be issued in their favor. This could include a monetary award or other remedies requested in the claim.
2. Dismissal: The judge may dismiss the case if they find insufficient evidence or if there are procedural issues that warrant dismissal.
3. Judgment for Defendant: If the judge determines that the plaintiff has not proven their case, a judgment may be entered in favor of the defendant (the party being sued).
4. Settlement: Parties involved in a small claims case may reach a settlement during the trial. The judge may then issue a judgment based on the terms of the settlement.
5. Continuance: In some cases, the judge may grant a continuance, postponing the trial to allow for additional evidence or preparation.

A judgment is the written decision of the case signed by a judge. It specifies the prevailing party, monies being awarded, actions to be performed or property to be transferred.

• Your judgment will be entered into the case record and will be recorded in Collier County’s public record.
• Either party has 10 days from the date of the judgment to file with the Clerk for a rehearing.
• Either party has the right to appeal the judgment within 30 days after the judgment is rendered. See the fee schedule for the cost of the appeal.
• The court cannot collect your judgment for you.
• To enforce the term of your judgment you may need to consult an attorney.

Methods which may be used to collect on the judgment are:

• recording the judgment.
• levying on property – Writ of Execution.
• garnishing bank accounts or wages – Writ of Garnishment.

The court does not collect money damages for you. You may consult with an attorney for advice on how to collect your judgment.

• Look for our Collecting on a Judgment Video to learn about your options.
• Information can also be obtained from the Department of State, Division of Corporations, on the Internet at www.sunbiz.org or by phone at (850) 245-6039.

Either party is allowed the right to appeal the judgment entered by the County Court Judge within 30 days after it is rendered. The appeal will be heard in a higher court.