South Carolina: Small Claims Court Dollar Limits
The short answer
South Carolina has no court separately named 'small claims court', the Magistrates Court handles these cases, with a $7,500 jurisdictional ceiling that's the same whether the plaintiff is a person or a business. Attorneys are allowed on either side and never required, and a business additionally has the option (not the obligation) to send a non-lawyer officer, agent, or employee instead, if the magistrate is given written authorization. There's no cap on how many claims a plaintiff can file. Either side can appeal to circuit court within 30 days of judgment, and the magistrate transmits the case record, and trial testimony, if needed, rather than the case being retried from scratch. The Magistrates Court's jurisdiction reaches well beyond plain money damages: it also covers claim-and-delivery actions, bond and confession-of-judgment matters, and all landlord-tenant and eviction disputes, the last of which carries no dollar limit at all.
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This is the general rule in South Carolina. Ezel applies current South Carolina law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | S.C. Code § 22-3-10 (concurrent civil jurisdiction and dollar limit, enumerated by claim type), § 22-3-20 (matters magistrates cannot hear), South Carolina Rules of Magistrates Court (SCMCR) Rule 18 (appeals), and SCMCR Rule 21 together with South Carolina Supreme Court case law (representation) |
|---|---|
| Dollar limit | $7,500, the same figure across every enumerated category in § 22-3-10: contract claims for money only, tort/property damage, penalties/fines/forfeitures, attachment actions, bond and surety-bond actions, confession of judgment, fraud in the sale/purchase/exchange of personal property, recovery of personal property (claim and delivery), interpleader for earnest money, and damages for failing to return leased or rented personal property. A plaintiff whose claim exceeds $7,500 may still file in Magistrates Court but can only recover up to that ceiling |
| Limit for businesses/entities | No difference: the same $7,500 limit applies whether the plaintiff or defendant is an individual, corporation, partnership, or other organization. Section 22-3-10 draws no distinction by party type, and secondary practitioner guidance confirms 'most small claims courts allow business entities, such as corporations or partnerships, to bring actions' |
| Court name and where to file | South Carolina has no institutionally separate small claims court: the Magistrates Court is the forum, one per county, and it also handles minor criminal matters, bail, and search/arrest warrants alongside its civil small-claims-range jurisdiction. Magistrates are gubernatorial appointees confirmed by the Senate for four-year terms and are not currently required to hold a law degree |
| Can you bring a lawyer? | Freely allowed on either side, never required. A LawHelp.org/SC summary states plainly: 'You are not required to hire an attorney unless you so desire.' Beyond that baseline, a business has an ADDITIONAL option South Carolina case law created specifically for Magistrates Court: In re Unauthorized Practice of Law Rules Proposed by South Carolina Bar, 422 S.E.2d 123 (S.C. 1992), modified the older rule from State v. Wells (1939) that had barred any lay representation of a corporation, holding it permissible for 'a business to be represented by a non-lawyer officer, agent or employee ... in civil magistrate's court proceedings': codified in SCMCR Rule 21. That representation is 'undertaken at the business's option,' and the magistrate must have a written authorization from the entity's president, chairperson, general partner, owner, or chief executive officer before permitting it; the business bears the risk of any problems the representation causes |
| Limit on how many claims you can file | None found. Sections 22-3-10 through 22-3-30 (all read this session) contain no limit on how many claims a single plaintiff may file in a year, unlike states with a dedicated anti-abuse filing-frequency statute |
| Can you appeal? | Symmetric, either party may appeal. SCMCR Rule 18(a): the notice of appeal must be served and filed within 30 days of delivery of written notice of judgment (or within 30 days of the judgment being announced at trial in the parties' or their attorneys' presence), with the filing fee paid at that time unless the appellant qualifies to proceed in forma pauperis; the right to appeal also survives for 30 days after denial of a new-trial motion. Rather than a live retrial, Rule 18(b) has the magistrate transmit 'the record, a statement of all proceedings in the case, and, if necessary, the testimony taken at trial' to the circuit court clerk within 30 days of the notice of appeal being filed, the circuit court reviews that transmitted record rather than starting the case over |
| What you can sue for | Reaches well beyond plain money damages. Section 22-3-10 gives Magistrates Court jurisdiction over money judgments in contract and tort up to $7,500; penalty, fine, or forfeiture actions up to $7,500; attachment, bond, and surety-bond actions up to $7,500; confession-of-judgment entries up to $7,500; fraud in the sale, purchase, or exchange of personal property up to $7,500; recovery of possession of personal property (claim and delivery) up to $7,500; interpleader for earnest money on a real estate contract up to $7,500; and damages for failing to timely return leased or rented personal property up to $7,500. Notably, 'all matters between landlord and tenant and the possession of land', meaning evictions, run through the SAME Magistrates Court with NO dollar limit at all (§ 22-3-10(10)). Magistrates cannot hear cases where the State is a party (except a penalty action under $100) or where title to real property is actually in question (§ 22-3-20) |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
South Carolina's Magistrates Court civil jurisdiction comes from S.C. Code § 22-3-10, with § 22-3-20 naming what magistrates can't hear at all. Appeals are governed by Rule 18 of the South Carolina Rules of Magistrates Court, and the option for a business to send a non-lawyer representative traces back to a 1992 South Carolina Supreme Court decision, now reflected in Rule 21.
Dollar limit
$7,500, and it's the same number across every category the statute lists, ordinary money-only contract claims, tort and property-damage claims, penalty/fine/forfeiture actions, attachment, bond and surety-bond actions, confession of judgment, fraud in a personal-property sale, claim-and-delivery actions, earnest-money interpleader, and damages for not returning leased or rented property on time. If your claim is actually worth more than $7,500, you can still file in Magistrates Court, but you'll only be able to collect up to that ceiling.
Limit for businesses/entities
No difference, corporations, partnerships, and other organizations face the identical $7,500 limit as an individual plaintiff or defendant. The statute doesn't distinguish by party type at all.
Court name and where to file
There's no separate small claims court, it's the Magistrates Court, one in each county, which also handles minor criminal matters, bail, and warrants alongside its civil jurisdiction. Magistrates are appointed by the Governor with Senate confirmation for four-year terms and, as of this writing, aren't required to hold a law degree.
Can you bring a lawyer?
Yes, on either side, and nobody's required to have one. On top of that baseline right to self-represent, a South Carolina Supreme Court decision from 1992 created a specific option for businesses: a corporation, partnership, or other entity may choose to send a non-lawyer officer, agent, or employee to represent it in Magistrates Court instead of hiring counsel, but only at the business's own option, and only once the magistrate has a written authorization on file from someone like the entity's president, owner, or CEO confirming that person's authority to represent it. The business takes on the risk of anything that goes wrong as a result.
Limit on how many claims you can file
None found. Nothing in the Magistrates Court civil-jurisdiction statutes caps how many claims one plaintiff can bring in a year.
Can you appeal?
Yes, either side, within 30 days of written notice of judgment (or 30 days from the moment judgment is announced at trial if you or your attorney were there to hear it). Rather than starting the case over, the magistrate transmits the case record, and the trial testimony, if it's needed, to the circuit court clerk within 30 days of the notice of appeal being filed, and the circuit court reviews that record. The right to appeal also survives for 30 days after a new-trial motion gets denied.
What you can sue for
Far more than plain money damages. Magistrates Court covers money judgments in contract and tort, penalty/fine/forfeiture actions, attachment and bond actions, confession of judgment, fraud in a personal-property sale, and recovering possession of specific personal property, all up to $7,500. It also handles every landlord-tenant dispute and eviction action in the state, and notably, that category carries no dollar limit at all. What magistrates categorically can't hear: cases where the State itself is a party (except a penalty action under $100), or a case where the actual title to real property is in dispute.
What trips people up
Evictions run through the same court as small claims, with no dollar cap. If you're dealing with a landlord-tenant dispute, don't assume the $7,500 figure applies; possession-of-land matters have no ceiling at all under this same statute.
A business's non-lawyer representative option comes with paperwork, not just a decision. Sending an employee instead of a lawyer only works once the magistrate has written authorization on file from someone at the top of the business, showing up without it can mean the representative isn't allowed to speak for the company at all.
The dollar limit has been the subject of active legislative debate, but it hasn't moved. Multiple bills to raise the $7,500 figure, to $15,000, $25,000, and even $74,500 under different proposals, were introduced and debated during the 2025-2026 legislative session, with one clearing a House committee and reaching floor debate, but none passed before the session ended. Check for updates if you're relying on this figure for a claim well above the current ceiling.
Common questions
Can my LLC send an employee instead of hiring a lawyer for Magistrates Court? Yes, if the magistrate has a written authorization on file from someone like the LLC's owner or chief executive confirming that employee's authority to represent it, it's the business's choice, not a requirement.
Is there a limit on how many small claims I can file in South Carolina in a year? No, nothing in the governing statute caps how many claims one plaintiff can bring.
I'm suing over an eviction, does the $7,500 limit apply? No. Landlord-tenant and possession-of-land matters run through the same Magistrates Court but carry no dollar limit at all.
Statutes and sources
- S.C. Code § 22-3-10 — "in actions arising on contracts for the recovery of money only, if the sum claimed does not exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars" — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t22c003.php — accessed 2026-07-09
- S.C. Code § 22-3-20 — "No magistrate shall have cognizance of a civil action: (1) In which the State is a party ... or (2) When the title to real property shall come in question" — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t22c003.php — accessed 2026-07-09
- SCMCR Rule 18 — "the magistrate shall file the return to the notice of appeal with the Clerk of the Circuit Court ..., together with the record ... and, if necessary, the testimony taken at trial" — https://www.sccourts.org/resources/judicial-community/court-rules/magistrate/rule-18/ — accessed 2026-07-09
- In re Unauthorized Practice of Law Rules Proposed by South Carolina Bar, 422 S.E.2d 123 (S.C. 1992) — "it was permissible for 'a business to be represented by a non-lawyer officer, agent or employee'" — https://www.collinsandlacy.com/the-explainer-permissibility-of-employees-representing-the-company-in-magistrates-court/ — accessed 2026-07-09
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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