# California — Small Claims Court Dollar Limits by State

For California, court name is small claims court; individual dollar limit is $12,500; business dollar limit is $6,250; statute or rule citation is Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 116.221, recorded from its source on 2026-08-26.

- **jurisdiction:** California _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **court name:** small claims court _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **individual dollar limit:** $12,500 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **business dollar limit:** $6,250 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **statute or rule citation:** Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 116.221 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> If you are an individual and want to file a lawsuit for $12,500 or less, you have the option to file either a small claims case or a limited civil case. If you are a business entity, like a corporation, you can file in small claims court for $6,250 or less.

## Source

- https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/small-claims-or-limited-civil

Last verified: 2026-08-26. Review by: 2027-08-26.
Part of [Small Claims Court Dollar Limits by State](https://referencesource.org/small-claims-court-dollar-limits-by-state/).