Connecticut: Small Claims Court Dollar Limits
The short answer
Connecticut's small claims limit is $5,000, rising to $15,000 for a claim against a registered home-improvement or new-home-construction contractor. The same figures apply whether you're an individual or a business. Attorneys are permitted but never required. There's no cap on how many claims you can file in a year. Small claims judgments are final, there's no appeal, though a defendant can move before the answer date to transfer the case to the regular Superior Court docket (which also revives a jury-trial right otherwise waived by filing in small claims), and either side can later move to open or set aside the judgment on limited grounds.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Connecticut. Ezel applies current Connecticut law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-15 (delegates small claims rulemaking to the Superior Court's judges and sets the dollar limits); Connecticut Practice Book Chapter 24 ("Small Claims") is the resulting court-rule procedure |
|---|---|
| Dollar limit | $5,000, except $15,000 for a claim arising from the performance of, or offer to perform, home improvement by a contractor holding a Home Improvement Act certificate, or a new-home-construction contract with a certified new-home-construction contractor (§ 51-15(d)). A tenant's security-deposit claim under § 47a-21(g) can exceed $5,000 in total damages and costs, since that statute separately authorizes doubling the deposit |
| Limit for businesses/entities | Same dollar limit as an individual: no separate lower or higher figure for a business or entity. The one confirmed difference is where you may file, not how much: an individual plaintiff may file where they live, where the defendant lives or does business, or where the transaction/injury occurred; a business-entity plaintiff may file only where the defendant lives, where the defendant does business, or where the transaction/injury occurred (not simply wherever the business itself is located) |
| Court name and where to file | The Small Claims Session of the Superior Court: a session (docket) of the Superior Court, not a separately named court (§ 51-15(a)) |
| Can you bring a lawyer? | Not required for anyone, but freely allowed: "The services of an attorney at law are permissible but not obligatory" (Practice Book § 24-1(b)) |
| Limit on how many claims you can file | None found: neither § 51-15 nor Practice Book Chapter 24 (Small Claims, §§ 24-1 through 24-33) contains a cap on how many claims a party may file in a year |
| Can you appeal? | None. "Except as provided in Section 24-31, the judgments and decisions rendered in the small claims session are final and conclusive" (Practice Book § 24-28). Two narrower, different remedies exist: a defendant (or a plaintiff facing a counterclaim) may move, on or before the answer date, to transfer the case to the regular Superior Court docket (§ 24-21), which also revives a jury-trial right otherwise waived by filing in small claims, and either side may later move under § 24-31 to open or set aside the judgment on limited grounds, a different remedy than an appeal |
| What you can sue for | Money damages only: no equitable relief, injunctions, or specific performance. Libel and slander claims are excluded outright regardless of amount (§ 51-15(d)) |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Connecticut takes an unusual structural approach: the General Statutes (§ 51-15) don't set the small claims procedure directly. Instead, they authorize the judges of the Superior Court to write the actual rules, and those rules live in Chapter 24 of the Connecticut Practice Book, titled "Small Claims." The statute itself sets the dollar limits (§ 51-15(d)); the Practice Book chapter governs everything else, filing, hearings, transfers, and finality.
Dollar limit
$5,000 is the baseline (§ 51-15(d)), covering "all actions claiming money damages not in excess of five thousand dollars", except libel and slander claims, which are excluded from small claims entirely no matter the amount. A separate, higher $15,000 limit applies to a claim arising from a home-improvement contractor's work (one holding a certificate under the Home Improvement Act) or a new-home-construction contractor's work. And a tenant reclaiming a wrongfully withheld security deposit can end up with a total award (damages plus costs) above $5,000, because the security-deposit statute (§ 47a-21) separately authorizes doubling the deposit amount, the small claims dollar cap doesn't block that outcome.
Limit for businesses/entities
No separate dollar figure, a business faces the same $5,000/$15,000 limits as an individual. What does differ is venue: an individual plaintiff can file where they personally live, but a business-entity plaintiff can't use "where I'm located" as a filing basis at all. A business must file where the defendant lives, where the defendant does business, or where the transaction or injury occurred, the same three options an individual has, minus the "where I live" option unique to individual plaintiffs.
Court name and where to file
The forum is the "Small Claims Session" of the Superior Court, a session (essentially a specialized docket) within the Superior Court, not a separate court with its own name. Connecticut centralizes filing and processing for many small claims matters, but the underlying court is still the Superior Court.
Can you bring a lawyer?
Yes, but you never have to. Practice Book § 24-1(b) states plainly: "The services of an attorney at law are permissible but not obligatory." The Judicial Branch's own guidance to the public reinforces this with a flat "You do not need an attorney."
Limit on how many claims you can file
None. Neither the statute nor the Practice Book chapter imposes a yearly filing cap on any party, individual or business.
Can you appeal?
No, and Connecticut is unusually direct about it. Practice Book § 24-28 states: "Except as provided in Section 24-31, the judgments and decisions rendered in the small claims session are final and conclusive." The Judicial Branch's own FAQ confirms this in plain language: "You cannot appeal a decision in a small claims court case." There are two different escape valves, neither of which is an appeal. First, a defendant (or a plaintiff facing a counterclaim) can move to transfer the whole case to the regular Superior Court docket, but only before the case is decided, the motion must be filed "on or before the answer date" (§ 24-21), and doing so also revives a jury-trial right you'd otherwise lose by staying in small claims. Second, after judgment, either side may move under § 24-31 to open or set aside the judgment on limited grounds, a request to the same court to reconsider, not a review by a higher court.
What you can sue for
Money damages only. Connecticut's small claims session doesn't award injunctions, specific performance, or other equitable relief, the statute itself frames the entire jurisdiction around "money damages," and the Judicial Branch's own description of the forum repeats that limitation as the very first thing a filer needs to know. Libel and slander claims are excluded entirely, regardless of how small the amount claimed.
What trips people up
There's no appeal, so put your whole case on at the hearing. Because a small claims judgment is "final and conclusive" outside of the narrow opening-judgment motion, there's no second chance to add evidence or arguments you didn't raise the first time.
The transfer-to-regular-docket window closes fast. A defendant who wants a jury trial or a more formal process has to move to transfer before the answer date, waiting until after a hearing has been scheduled, let alone after judgment, is too late.
A business can't file "at home." An individual plaintiff gets to file where they personally live; a business plaintiff is limited to filing where the defendant is (or where the transaction happened), even if the business's own headquarters is somewhere else entirely.
Common questions
Do I need a lawyer to sue in Connecticut's small claims session? No. It's designed for people to handle on their own, though you're free to hire an attorney if you want one.
Can I get a jury trial in small claims? Not while the case stays in small claims. A defendant has to move to transfer the case to the regular Superior Court docket before the answer date to preserve that option.
I lost my case. Can I appeal? No, Connecticut small claims judgments are final and conclusive by rule. Your only options are moving to open or set aside the judgment on limited grounds, or, if you're the defendant and the case hasn't been decided yet, moving to transfer it to the regular docket before your answer is due.
Statutes and sources
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-15(a), "In accordance with the provisions of section 51-14, the judges of the Superior Court shall make such orders and rules as they deem necessary or advisable ... for the hearing and determination of small claims, including suitable forms of procedure in such cases, exclusive of fees.", https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_870.htm#sec_51-15, accessed 2026-07-28
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-15(d), "The small claims procedure shall only be applicable to (1) all actions claiming money damages not in excess of five thousand dollars, except such procedure shall not be applicable to actions of libel and slander, and (2) actions claiming loss or damages not in excess of fifteen thousand dollars sustained by reason of (A) performance of, or offer to perform, home improvement ... or (B) a contract for new home construction...", https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_870.htm#sec_51-15, accessed 2026-07-28
- Practice Book § 24-1 ("In General"), "All proceedings shall be simple and informal. The services of an attorney at law are permissible but not obligatory.", https://www.jud.ct.gov/publications/PracticeBook/PB.pdf, accessed 2026-07-28
- Practice Book § 24-21 ("Transfer to Regular Docket"), "The defendant, or the plaintiff if the defendant has filed a counterclaim, shall file a motion to transfer the case to the regular docket. This motion must be filed on or before the answer date.", https://www.jud.ct.gov/publications/PracticeBook/PB.pdf, accessed 2026-07-28
- Practice Book § 24-28 ("Finality of Judgments and Decisions"), "Except as provided in Section 24-31, the judgments and decisions rendered in the small claims session are final and conclusive.", https://www.jud.ct.gov/publications/PracticeBook/PB.pdf, accessed 2026-07-28
- CT Judicial Branch Small Claims FAQ, "Small Claims Court is a part of Connecticut's court system where a person can sue for money damages only up to $5,000.00... You do not need an attorney... There is no right to appeal the decision... You cannot appeal a decision in a small claims court case.", https://www.jud.ct.gov/faq/smallclaims.html, accessed 2026-07-28
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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