SC-100: Plaintiff's Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court

The court name (county and courthouse) must appear on every paper filed. Without it, the clerk cannot file the claim.

• Filing in the wrong county. Small claims venue under CCP section 116.370 is generally the county where the defendant lives, where the contract was performed, or where the injury occurred. Filing elsewhere can be transferred or dismissed.
• Listing the courthouse where the plaintiff prefers (closest to home) when no statutory venue basis ties the case to that courthouse.

The form prints 'Case Name' as a clerk-filled field. Plaintiff is not required to write it; the clerk assigns the case name when accepting the filing.

• Pre-filling 'Plaintiff vs. Defendant' here; this field is the clerk's case-name assignment, not the caption. Leaving it blank is fine.

Plaintiff's name must appear in the case caption AND in item 1. Without it, the court cannot identify who is suing.

• Filing in the name of a property manager, dba, or fictitious business name when the actual party with the legal claim is a different person or LLC; the plaintiff named must be the legal owner of the claim.
• Two roommates wanting to sue together: list both as plaintiffs (item 1 has space for one, item 12 / Checkbox1 adds more); cannot just write 'and roommate'.

Phone number is part of the required caption block. The court uses it to reach the plaintiff about scheduling and filing issues.

• Listing a phone the plaintiff cannot answer; the court calls about the trial date, last-minute reschedules, and clerk questions about the filing.
• Omitting area code; the form is read by clerks statewide.

Plaintiff's address is required so the court (and defendant) can reach the plaintiff.

• Listing only a P.O. Box when the form has a separate mailing-address field; if both addresses exist, list the street and use the mailing line for the P.O. Box.
• Listing a workplace address; while permissible, the court's mailings (judgment, scheduling notices) will go there, so use a place where the plaintiff actually receives mail.

Required as part of the plaintiff's address.

• Putting a neighborhood name (e.g., 'Hollywood') instead of the postal city (Los Angeles).

Required as part of the plaintiff's address.

• Out-of-state plaintiffs filing in CA small claims; out-of-state plaintiffs can sue in CA when the cause of action arose here, but should list the actual state of residence.

Required as part of the plaintiff's address.

• ZIP not matching the city on file; the court's mail will return as undeliverable.

Email is explicitly marked optional on the form.

• Listing an email the plaintiff does not actively check; some courts use it for hearing reminders.

Defendant's name must appear in the caption AND in item 2. The court will not issue a summons against an unnamed defendant.

• Suing 'the apartment' or 'the management company' instead of the actual legal owner; sue the entity (LLC or corporation) that owns the property and held the security deposit, or the individual landlord if there is no entity. Look up California Secretary of State business search to find the registered name.
• Suing a sole proprietor under a 'dba' name only; correct format is 'Joe Smith, an individual doing business as ABC Plumbing'.
• Including dba and ein/owner names in one field; SC-100 has space for one defendant per row, with form sections for additional defendants.

Defendant phone is helpful for service but not strictly required.

• Plaintiff inventing a number when they don't actually know the defendant's phone; better to leave blank than supply wrong information.

Without a defendant address, the plaintiff cannot serve the summons. The court will not proceed without service.

• Listing the address where the plaintiff used to live (rental address) when suing a landlord; the defendant address is the landlord's mailing or business address, not the rental unit.
• Listing a P.O. Box only for a corporation; corporations are served at their registered agent's address per CCP section 416.10, look up the registered agent on the Secretary of State business search.
• Using stale address from an old lease or invoice when the defendant has moved; service at a stale address fails.

Required as part of the defendant's address (for service).

• City must match the postal city of the ZIP.

Required as part of the defendant's address.

• Out-of-state defendants make personal service much harder; a California small-claims plaintiff suing an out-of-state defendant should plan for service via certified mail or a process server in the defendant's state.

Required as part of the defendant's address.

• ZIP not matching the city; the server (or sheriff) cannot find the address.

The claim amount drives jurisdiction. Natural persons may sue for up to $12,500 (since Jan 1, 2024). All other plaintiffs (LLCs, corporations, partnerships) are capped at $6,250. A claim above the limit must either be reduced or filed in regular civil court.

• Including punitive damages or speculative future losses; small claims awards are limited to actual damages, statutory penalties (e.g., security-deposit penalty under Civil Code section 1950.5), and limited interest. Stick to documented losses.
• Including filing fees and costs in the claim amount; costs are awarded separately by the judge if the plaintiff prevails. Just enter the underlying claim.
• An LLC or corporation listing $10,000; the cap for non-natural persons is $6,250. The claim is reduced to the cap or rejected.
• Demanding more than $12,500 to leave 'room to negotiate'; the court enforces the statutory cap. List the actual amount owed.

The court needs to know why the defendant owes money. Vague entries ('they owe me') will be rejected by the clerk or by the judge at the hearing.

• Vague descriptions like 'breach of contract' without facts; describe what happened in plain English. Example: 'On 3/1/2024 I paid defendant $2,000 for plumbing repair. The pipes leaked again 4 days later. Defendant refused to refund or fix.'
• Long legal argument; small claims is informal. Stick to facts and dates, not legal theories.
• Inflammatory language about the defendant; the judge reads this. Stick to specific facts.

The form requires the plaintiff to show how the amount was calculated. For a security deposit, that's the withheld amount. For lost wages, hourly rate × hours. For property damage, repair quotes or invoices.

• Listing only the total without showing the math; show line items. Example: '$2,000 deposit withheld + $750 last month rent withheld = $2,750.'
• Including punitive multipliers without statutory basis; in security-deposit cases, the 2x penalty under Civil Code section 1950.5 is statutory and citable. Other doublings or triplings need a legal basis.

Plaintiff must check at least one venue basis. If none is checked, the clerk may reject the filing or the defendant can move to transfer to a proper county.

• Picking a courthouse close to the plaintiff's home when no venue basis ties the case to that county; venue is the defendant's residence, where the contract was performed, where the injury occurred, or where the property is. Plaintiff convenience does not qualify.
• Failing to check any venue option; venue is contestable and a missing checkbox can void the filing.

ZIP code where the incident occurred. Helps the court verify venue is proper for the courthouse selected.

• Listing the plaintiff's ZIP when the incident occurred at the defendant's place; this ZIP is where the incident happened, not where the plaintiff lives.

Plaintiff must make a pre-suit demand for most claims. Vehicle accidents are exempt. If 'no' is checked without the vehicle exception, the judge may dismiss for failure to demand.

• Filing without sending a demand letter first; the judge typically expects to see at least one written demand (text message, email, or letter) before suit. A casual conversation may not count.
• Checking 'yes' without keeping the demand letter; bring the letter to the hearing as evidence the demand was made.

Suing a public entity requires a Government Claim filed within 6 months of the event. If 'yes' is checked but no claim was filed, the case will be dismissed. The form requires the date the claim was filed.

• Suing the city, county, school district, or transit agency without filing a Government Claim first; the 6-month window under Gov. Code section 911.2 is strict.
• Confusing 'public entity' with 'public employee'; suing a public employee in their personal capacity is different from suing the entity. Read Gov. Code section 945.4.

Item 9: Have you filed more than 12 other small claims in California in the prior 12 months. Yes triggers the highest filing-fee tier under section 116.230(c). Statewide count; not per-county.

• Counting only filings in this county; the rule is statewide. A plaintiff who filed 7 in Los Angeles and 6 in Orange County in the past year is over the threshold.
• Counting filings older than 12 months; only the prior 12 months count.

Item 10: Is your claim for more than $2,500. Yes is a sworn statement that you have not already used the two-large-claims-per-calendar-year slots permitted under section 116.231. The natural-person small-claims jurisdictional ceiling is $12,500 (section 116.221); the entity ceiling is $6,250 (section 116.220). A claim above the ceiling is rejected at intake unless the plaintiff waives the excess in writing.

• Checking Yes when the claim is exactly $2,500; the threshold is more than $2,500.
• Checking Yes after already filing two large claims this calendar year; the third large claim is barred under section 116.231.
• Confusing the $2,500 large-claim trigger with the $12,500 (natural person) or $6,250 (entity) jurisdictional ceiling.

The signature block prints 'I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the information above is true and correct.' The date completes that declaration.

• Signing in advance and dating to file later; sign and date the day the plaintiff actually executes the declaration.
• Forgetting that this is a perjury declaration; the dollar amount, demand made, and military status answers are all under penalty of perjury.