Delaware: Small Claims Court Dollar Limits
The short answer
Delaware has no court literally named small claims court, the Justice of the Peace Court fills that role, with a $25,000 civil jurisdictional limit since 2020. The same figure applies to a business, and a corporation can appear through its own officer or employee instead of a lawyer, once it files a one-time certificate with the court. Attorneys aren't barred for individuals either. Either side can appeal to the Court of Common Pleas within 15 days for a full trial de novo, but a corporation needs a lawyer on appeal even though it didn't need one below.
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This is the general rule in Delaware. Ezel applies current Delaware law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | 10 Del. C. §§ 9301, 9525, 9570, 9571 (Justice of the Peace Court jurisdiction, representation, and appeal) |
|---|---|
| Dollar limit | $25,000, for a common-law contract action or a tort action for damage to, destruction of, or taking of personal property, including replevin (10 Del. C. § 9301(1)), raised from $15,000 by 2020 House Bill 232, effective August 25, 2020 |
| Limit for businesses/entities | Same $25,000 limit as an individual: Delaware does not lower the dollar cap for a business plaintiff |
| Court name and where to file | The Justice of the Peace Court: Delaware has no separately named 'small claims court'; a higher-tier Court of Common Pleas handles civil claims up to $75,000 and hears all appeals from the Justice of the Peace Court |
| Can you bring a lawyer? | Not barred: an individual may appear pro se or with a licensed attorney; a corporation may instead be represented by a non-attorney officer or employee, but only after filing a Certificate of Representation with the Chief Magistrate under Delaware Supreme Court Rule 57 (an annual $20 registration fee applies) (10 Del. C. § 9525(b); JP Civ. R. 91): that non-lawyer privilege does not carry over on appeal, where a corporation must be represented by counsel |
| Limit on how many claims you can file | None found in the general jurisdiction statutes; the court can instead order an individualized restriction requiring a specific person who has already filed frivolous or malicious litigation to submit a sworn Affidavit of Good Cause before filing any further claim, a case-specific court order rather than a blanket numeric cap |
| Can you appeal? | Symmetric: either party may appeal to the Court of Common Pleas from a final Justice of the Peace Court judgment, within 15 days (10 Del. C. §§ 9570, 9571(b)); the appeal is a trial de novo (§ 9571(c)); a nominal $5 threshold applies to an appeal from a judgment given without a referee trial (§ 9570) |
| What you can sue for | Money damages on a contract or tort claim, and replevin (recovery of specific personal property) worth up to $25,000; the Justice of the Peace Court separately handles landlord-tenant summary possession (eviction and back rent) under a different statutory track (Title 25, ch. 57) that isn't capped by the $25,000 limit for a commercial-lease claim, and whose appeals go to a three-judge Justice of the Peace panel rather than the Court of Common Pleas |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
10 Del. C. §§ 9301, 9525, 9570, and 9571 set the Justice of the Peace Court's dollar limit, representation rules, and appeal process.
Dollar limit
$25,000, for a contract claim or a tort claim over damage to, destruction of, or taking of personal property, including replevin (getting specific property back). This rose from $15,000 under a 2020 law, effective August 25, 2020.
Business/entity limit
No lower tier. The $25,000 limit applies the same way to an individual or a business.
Court and forum
The Justice of the Peace Court. Delaware doesn't have a separately named small claims court, this is the state's lowest-tier civil trial court. A separate, higher court, the Court of Common Pleas, handles civil claims up to $75,000 and hears every appeal coming up from the Justice of the Peace Court.
Can you bring a lawyer?
Individuals can appear with or without an attorney. A corporation can send a non-lawyer officer or employee instead of hiring counsel, but only after filing a Certificate of Representation with the court's Chief Magistrate and paying a $20 annual registration fee. That non-lawyer privilege doesn't survive an appeal: if the case goes up to the Court of Common Pleas, the corporation needs an actual attorney.
Limit on how many claims you can file
No general numeric cap. The court can impose an individualized restriction on a specific person who has already been found to have filed frivolous or malicious litigation, requiring that person to submit a sworn statement of good cause before filing anything further, a case-by-case court order, not an automatic yearly limit.
Can you appeal?
Yes, either side, within 15 days of the judgment, to the Court of Common Pleas. It's a genuine trial de novo, a full new trial, not a review of the record below. A small, mostly-technical $5 threshold applies to appeals from a judgment entered without a referee trial.
What you can sue for
Money damages on a contract or tort claim, or replevin, up to $25,000. The Justice of the Peace Court also handles landlord-tenant eviction and back-rent cases (summary possession) under a completely separate set of rules that isn't capped by the same $25,000 limit for a commercial lease, and those cases appeal to a three-judge Justice of the Peace panel instead of the Court of Common Pleas.
What trips people up
A corporation that got used to self-representing at the Justice of the Peace Court level is often surprised that the same privilege disappears on appeal, it needs a licensed attorney once the case reaches the Court of Common Pleas.
Because Delaware's "small claims" forum is really the general-jurisdiction Justice of the Peace Court up to $25,000, don't assume the informal small-claims procedures common in other states (no lawyers, no formal rules of evidence) automatically apply here, Delaware's JP Court runs under its own civil rules, closer to a scaled-down regular civil court.
Common questions
Is there a court in Delaware literally called "small claims court"? No. The Justice of the Peace Court is the forum that functions as Delaware's small-claims-equivalent court, with a $25,000 limit.
Can my small business represent itself without a lawyer? Yes, at the Justice of the Peace Court level, once it files a Certificate of Representation and pays the $20 annual fee, but it needs a lawyer if the case is appealed.
If I lose, do I get a new trial on appeal? Yes. An appeal to the Court of Common Pleas is a full trial de novo, not just a review of what happened below.
Statutes and sources
- 10 Del. C. § 9301, https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c093/index.html (accessed 2026-07-09)
- 10 Del. C. § 9525, https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c095/sc02/index.html (accessed 2026-07-09)
- 10 Del. C. § 9570, https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c095/sc02/index.html (accessed 2026-07-09)
- 10 Del. C. § 9571, https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c095/sc02/index.html (accessed 2026-07-09)
- Justice of the Peace Court Civil Rule 91, https://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=39328 (accessed 2026-07-09)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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