SC-100: Plaintiff's Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court
Sue an individual or business in small claims for up to $12,500. No lawyers at the hearing.
Fill SC-100 with Ezel
AI-assisted intake, completeness review, and a court-ready PDF for SC-100 only. Print, sign in pen, file yourself.
What is SC-100?
California small claims complaint. Use this to sue an individual or business for up to $12,500 (individuals) or $6,250 (businesses); common uses include suing a landlord for a wrongfully withheld security deposit, recovering money lent to a friend, or unpaid invoices. No attorneys at the hearing. Ezel currently supports the common case: one plaintiff, one or two defendants, no public-entity claim.
What happens if you miss the deadline: If the statute of limitations expires before you file, the court will dismiss your claim as untimely.
How to file
Common pitfalls
Two patterns the AI review must catch for SC-100. (1) Wrong fee tier: a $5,001 claim paid at the $50 tier is rejected at intake; reconcile claim_amount with the tier in § 116.230(b). (2) Late service: serving 14 days before trial (one day short of the in-county minimum in § 116.340(b)) lets the defendant get a continuance, effectively burning the trial date. Both deserve blocker severity when the relevant facts are present in the answer set.
You'll likely also file
Other Ezel-supported forms that commonly file alongside SC-100. Each one has its own guided fill, AI review, and PDF render.
Field-by-field guidance
Plain-English notes on every field on the form, with severity for what the AI completeness review treats as a blocker.
Show all 25 fields
The court name (county and courthouse) must appear on every paper filed. Without it, the clerk cannot file the claim.
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.
Plaintiff's name must appear in the case caption AND in item 1. Without it, the court cannot identify who is suing.
Phone number is part of the required caption block. The court uses it to reach the plaintiff about scheduling and filing issues.
Plaintiff's address is required so the court (and defendant) can reach the plaintiff.
Required as part of the plaintiff's address.
Required as part of the plaintiff's address.
Required as part of the plaintiff's address.
Email is explicitly marked optional on the form.
Defendant's name must appear in the caption AND in item 2. The court will not issue a summons against an unnamed defendant.
Defendant phone is helpful for service but not strictly required.
Without a defendant address, the plaintiff cannot serve the summons. The court will not proceed without service.
Required as part of the defendant's address (for service).
Required as part of the defendant's address.
Required as part of the defendant's 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.
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.
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.
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.
ZIP code where the incident occurred. Helps the court verify venue is proper for the courthouse selected.
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.
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.
The court must know the plaintiff's military status to apply SCRA protections (e.g., automatic stays for active-duty defendants , though this question is about the plaintiff).
Plaintiffs who have filed more than 12 small claims in California in the prior 12 months pay a higher filing fee. The court asks so it can charge the right tier.
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.