Starting your case
If you want to start a case for a small claim, the first step is to complete a statement of claim form and file it in the Local Court. The statement of claim then needs to be served on (given to) the other party.
This section has information about how to:
If you start a case in court you are called the 'plaintiff'. The other party you are taking to court is called the 'defendant'.
The court process will cost you money, time and energy. Think about whether it is worth starting a case in court. For more information, see:
Fill out a statement of claim
To start a case in court you need to fill out a court document called a statement of claim, and file it at court.
For more information, see Completing a statement of claim - Step by step guide.
Serve the statement of claim
After you have filed your statement of claim at court, it needs to be served on the other party. There are different ways of serving a statement of claim depending on whether:
- the other party is an individual or company
- you, a private process server or the court serves the statement of claim.
For more information, see Serving the statement of claim- Step by step guide.
If you file and serve your statement of claim and then need to change or add something you can do this by filing and serving an amended statement of claim.
You may need to change your statement of claim if:
- you forgot to include some detail or add another defendant
- you need to amend some details in the statement of claim
- you need need to delete some detail from the statement of claim.