Michigan Small Claims Court: How It Works

Michigan’s small claims division sits inside the district court and follows a stripped-down version of civil procedure. A party who files a small claims case gives up the right to a lawyer at the hearing, the right to a jury, the right to appeal the judge’s decision, and the right to recover more than the jurisdictional cap. This page is the orienting reference for that procedure: what kinds of cases fit, what the dollar limit is, how filing fees are structured, who can stand in for a business or local government at the hearing, and how the hearing and any further review work. Spoke articles in the Filing Small Claims category cover individual steps in more depth as they publish.

What the small claims division covers

The small claims division is a division of Michigan’s district court, created by MCL 600.8401. Every district has one. The same statute confines its jurisdiction to cases for the recovery of money, capped at $7,000 since January 1, 2024.

That phrase, “recovery of money,” does the work of excluding most non-money disputes. The small claims division cannot order a person to do something or stop doing something, cannot decide who owns a piece of property, and cannot resolve family-law or landlord-tenant possession questions. Landlord-tenant money disputes (a deposit, unpaid rent) can fit, but eviction itself is summary proceedings under a different statute and a different procedure. A case asking the court to find a contract unenforceable, declare ownership of disputed personal property, or stop someone from doing something has to be filed in the general civil division of district court (claims up to $25,000) or in circuit court (above $25,000), not small claims.

Within the money-only frame, the typical small claims docket is unpaid bills, returned-deposit disputes, car-repair complaints, fender-bender property damage, unpaid wages or loans between individuals, and similar low-stakes commercial disputes. The simplified procedure is designed for parties who can present their case in a single hearing with the documents and witnesses they bring with them. Across the United States, the small claims court concept follows a similar pattern: informal evidentiary rules, pro se litigants, and judgments that carry the same weight as ordinary trial court judgments.

Key terms and concepts

Several phrases recur across small claims procedure and the spoke articles that link from this hub. Knowing them before reading the procedure-specific pieces helps.

Affidavit. Small claims cases begin with an affidavit, not a complaint. The plaintiff swears the facts on a form (DC 84, Affidavit and Claim) and signs under penalty of perjury. Filing the affidavit is what commences the action.

Magistrate. Most Michigan small claims hearings are conducted by a district court magistrate, a licensed attorney authorized by the chief judge of the district to handle small claims, civil infractions, and some other matters. A magistrate is not a district court judge. MCL 600.8427 gives either side a right of appeal de novo to the small claims division of the district court if the magistrate heard the case, but the deadline is tight: 7 days from the entry of the magistrate’s decision.

District court magistrate vs. district court judge. Either party may demand, before trial begins, that a district court judge hear the case rather than a magistrate. The demand has to come before the trial commences. Once the trial begins, the choice is locked in.

Removal to general civil. Either side may also remove the case from small claims to the general civil division of district court before trial. Removing the case gives up the simplified small claims procedure but restores the right to counsel, a jury, and appeal. Removal is governed by MCL 600.8408(4).

De novo appeal. When a magistrate decides a case, the losing party can appeal to a district court judge, who then re-hears the case from scratch. “De novo” means the judge does not review the magistrate’s findings; the judge tries the case as if the magistrate’s hearing had never happened. This is the one and only appeal available out of small claims under MCL 600.8412.

The dollar limit and case-frequency rules

MCL 600.8401 caps small claims jurisdiction at the amount of money claimed. The statute lists every limit the legislature has set over the past several decades; the operative figure today is the last one: $7,000.00, effective January 1, 2024.

The $7,000 cap applies to the total amount asked for, including any costs the court might tax against the losing side under MCL 600.8421. A claim that exceeds $7,000 can still be filed in small claims if the plaintiff waives the excess on the affidavit. Waiving is permanent. The amount waived cannot be recovered later in any forum.

A plaintiff with a claim meaningfully above $7,000 has two practical alternatives, set by the broader district court jurisdiction statute at MCL 600.8301:

• File in the general civil division of district court, which has exclusive jurisdiction for claims up to $25,000 under more formal procedure with counsel and jury rights intact.
• File in circuit court for claims above $25,000.

Either party can also move the case to general civil after filing under the removal procedure described above.

Michigan does not impose a separate per-plaintiff annual cap on small claims filings the way some other states do. A plaintiff may file as many small claims as the underlying disputes support, subject only to the substantive law of the underlying claim and the prohibition on splitting a single claim into multiple smaller suits to evade the dollar limit.

Filing fees and where the money goes

Filing fees are set by MCL 600.8420 and tiered by the amount in controversy:

• $25 for claims of $600 or less
• $45 for claims of more than $600 up to $1,750
• $65 for claims of more than $1,750 (up to the $7,000 cap)

In addition to the filing fee, MCL 600.8420(2) sets a charge of the prevailing postal rate for mailing the affidavit to each defendant who will be served by mail, and $15 for issuing a writ of execution, attachment, or garnishment after judgment, or a judgment-debtor discovery subpoena.

If the affidavit and notice to appear are served by personal service rather than mail, the person serving the documents is entitled to the same fee and mileage as for service of a summons and complaint out of the district court. That fee is separate from the filing fee and is paid to the process server or sheriff, not the court.

Of the filing fee collected, a portion funds the local district court and, in districts that have one, a drug treatment court. The rest goes to the state treasurer for the civil filing fee fund created by MCL 600.171.

Plaintiffs with low income can apply to waive the filing fee using SCAO form MC 20 (Fee Waiver Request). The waiver is decided by the court based on the applicant’s income and household.

Representation rules: no attorneys at the hearing

The defining feature of Michigan small claims is the no-attorney rule. MCL 600.8408(1) forbids any attorney from taking part in filing, prosecuting, or defending a small claims case, with one narrow exception: the attorney’s own case as a party. The same provision excludes collection agencies and their employees from appearing on behalf of others.

A business that wants to sue or defend in small claims has to send someone with personal knowledge of the dispute. Under MCL 600.8408(2), a sole proprietor, partner, officer, or employee may represent the business if that person has direct and personal knowledge of the facts. If the person who had that knowledge has left the company or is medically unavailable, a supervisor, sole proprietor, partner, officer, or board member may step in.

Local governments (counties, cities, villages, townships, school districts) face a similar limitation under MCL 600.8408(3). An elected or appointed officer or an employee with direct knowledge represents the entity. The representative also needs authorization from the governing body to appear in the specific case.

The no-attorney rule applies only at the hearing. Both sides remain free to consult an attorney before filing or before the hearing, to prepare a defense, to evaluate settlement, or to advise on whether removal makes sense. Many parties do.

Service, hearings, and the magistrate option

Once the affidavit is filed, the court issues a notice to appear. The clerk mails the affidavit and notice to the defendant at the prevailing postal rate, or the plaintiff arranges for personal service through a process server, sheriff, or other competent adult who is not a party.

Personal service is the more reliable method when the defendant might dispute receiving the notice, because the server’s affidavit of service documents who delivered the papers, when, and where. Mail service is cheaper but depends on the defendant signing for the certified mail.

Hearings are typically scheduled a few weeks after the affidavit is filed; the exact lag varies by district court calendar. Both sides come with their documents and witnesses. Each side speaks. The magistrate or judge asks questions and rules, usually from the bench, sometimes by mailed decision a few days later.

A magistrate handles the bulk of the docket. MCL 600.8427 requires the magistrate to be an attorney licensed in Michigan and authorized by the chief judge to handle small claims. Either party can demand, before the trial starts, that a district court judge hear the case instead. The demand is informal, a statement on the record or to the clerk, but the timing matters: once the trial commences before the magistrate, that choice is waived.

Costs, judgments, and the de novo appeal

The prevailing party recovers costs under MCL 600.8421. Costs include the filing fee, the cost of service, and the cost of execution on the judgment. The statute is short and the list is narrow. Small claims does not allow attorney fees as costs, and discretionary expense categories that appear in regular civil procedure are not available here.

A judgment is just the court’s order. Collecting on it is a separate procedure. The clerk issues a writ of execution, garnishment, or attachment for $15 once the judgment becomes enforceable under MCL 600.8420. The judgment creditor then directs that writ to a sheriff or, in the case of garnishment, serves it on a bank or employer holding the debtor’s assets or wages.

If a magistrate decided the case, either side can appeal de novo to a district court judge under MCL 600.8427. The deadline is 7 days from entry of the magistrate’s decision. The judge then re-hears the case in full. The judge’s decision is final. No further appeal is available out of the small claims division.

If a case was heard by a district court judge in the first instance (because one party demanded a judge rather than a magistrate), there is no appeal. The waiver in MCL 600.8412 forecloses it.

When small claims is the wrong court

Cases that nominally fit the dollar limit can still belong somewhere else. The most common mismatches:

• The amount realistically exceeds $7,000. Filing for the cap in MCL 600.8401 and waiving the rest is permanent. A plaintiff with a $12,000 contract dispute who waives down to $7,000 gives up $5,000 forever, with no way to recover it in a later suit. General civil division (up to $25,000 under MCL 600.8301) keeps the full claim alive.
• The dispute is about something other than money. Possession of property, an injunction to stop conduct, a declaration of rights: none of these belong in small claims. They belong in general civil or circuit court depending on the amount in controversy and the nature of the relief.
• The defendant is judgment-proof. A small claims judgment is only as good as the defendant’s ability to pay. If the defendant has no wages to garnish, no bank accounts to attach, and no non-exempt assets, a judgment in hand may not translate into recovery. This is a strategic question, not a jurisdictional one, but it shapes whether filing is worth the time.
• The case is genuinely complex. Complicated cases involving multiple parties, contested questions of law, or extensive document discovery can be filed in small claims but tend to fit poorly there. The hearing is short, document exchange is informal, and the no-attorney rule cuts both ways. Removing the case to general civil before trial is one path; filing it in general civil from the start is another.

The choice between small claims and general civil is, at its core, a choice between speed and procedural depth. Small claims is faster, cheaper, and simpler. General civil is slower, costlier, and admits the procedural tools (counsel, jury, discovery, appeal) that complex cases benefit from.