How to file a small claim in Singapore: steps and evidence

To file a small claim in Singapore, you take the Courts’ pre-filing assessment on the Community Justice and Tribunals System (CJTS), file the claim form and pay the fee there, serve the claim on the respondent within 7 days, and attend a consultation with a registrar, followed by a hearing if the dispute does not settle. The Small Claims Tribunals (SCT) handle low-value disputes between consumers and suppliers, including disputes over goods or services you paid for, of up to S$20,000 (S$30,000 if both sides sign a memorandum of consent) filed within two years. Lawyers may not represent either side.

If you only need to know whether a claim fits the limit and the time limit, and what the filing fee would be, our Small Claims Tribunals checker works that out from the Courts’ pages. This guide covers the steps the checker leaves out: filing and service, the consultation and hearing, the evidence to prepare and what to do if the seller does not pay.

It follows one fictional example: a S$1,800 refrigerator starts leaking a few months after delivery, two repairs have not fixed it and the seller has declined a refund. It is general information from the Courts’ own pages, not legal advice. Our Lemon Law action plan treats the tribunal as a later step, after the seller and CASE; that is our suggestion, not a Courts requirement.

Dates are the “Last updated” dates on the Courts’ pages, read on 3 October 2026 and unchanged when we reopened them on 17 October.

• Claim limit: S$20,000, or S$30,000 with a memorandum of consent signed by both parties (2 June 2026).
• Time limit: within 2 years of the event which creates your cause of action (2 June 2026).
• Service: within 7 days of filing, with a Declaration of Service filed before the first consultation (21 January 2026).
• Timing: the Courts say most SCT cases conclude within 4 months of filing (21 January 2026).

Can the Small Claims Tribunals hear my purchase dispute?

The Courts’ eligibility page (last updated 2 June 2026) lists the claims you can file, including a contract for the sale of goods (its example is a TV), a contract for services (a renovation) and a dispute against a supplier over an unfair practice under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. You cannot file a claim worth more than S$30,000, one filed more than 2 years after the event which creates your cause of action, or one against a respondent located outside Singapore. The page says its examples are not exhaustive and refers to the Small Claims Tribunals Act, which we did not read.

Before filing, take the Courts’ online pre-filing assessment on CJTS. The Courts call it “not conclusive” and not legal advice, and you need its assessment ID to file.

Online purchases need one more check. The Courts say the tribunal “can only hear claims that are served on a respondent in Singapore”, and the filing page adds that a claim cannot be served outside Singapore. Our inference: if your seller is an overseas business with no Singapore address, the tribunal may not be available to you. The pages we read do not say which company is the respondent for a marketplace order. Our checkout records guide covers saving the seller’s identity and the terms that applied when you paid.

What does filing cost, and what is not refunded?

The Courts’ filing and service page (last updated 21 January 2026) sets the fee by the amount claimed (“other entity” includes sole proprietorships and partnerships):

• Up to S$5,000: S$10 for an individual, S$50 for another entity
• Above S$5,000 but up to S$10,000: S$20 for an individual, S$100 for another entity
• Above S$10,000 but up to S$30,000: 1% of the amount claimed for an individual, 3% of the amount claimed for another entity

For the fictional S$1,800 refrigerator, an individual pays S$10. Mind the step at S$10,000: a S$10,000 claim costs S$20, while a S$10,001 claim falls in the 1% band at S$100.01 before any rounding, which the page does not address. Our checker works out the fee for your own amount.

The Courts’ preparation page (last updated 30 January 2024) says there are no charges for attending consultations or hearings. Filing fees are not refundable if you withdraw a claim, or if it is discontinued, transferred or dismissed.

How do you file and serve a small claim, step by step?

Both the claimant and the respondent must attend every consultation and hearing.

1. Assess and file. Take the pre-filing assessment, complete the claim form on CJTS and pay the fee, after which your application is processed. Then choose a consultation date and time.
2. Serve the claim within 7 days. You must serve the claim and the Notice of Consultation on the respondent within 7 days of filing, by personal delivery or registered post (to an individual’s last known residential or registered address, or a company’s ACRA registered address). If you cannot, attend the consultation, where the registrar may direct service by other means, such as email. File a Declaration of Service with proof of service on CJTS before the first consultation.
3. Try to settle online (optional). You can try eNegotiation or eMediation before court. Only the respondent can start eNegotiation (up to 5 rounds); either party may apply for eMediation with a court-appointed mediator, subject to the court’s approval. Without agreement, both parties still attend the next court session; with agreement, either party may apply for a consent order, or the claimant may withdraw the claim.
4. Attend the consultation. At the consultation a registrar facilitates a discussion between both parties to try to resolve the dispute without a hearing, and may record a consent order. If you do not settle, a hearing can follow within 24 hours of the consultation, the page says.
5. Attend the hearing if it is not settled. At the hearing, held in private before a tribunal magistrate, each side presents its case and evidence, witnesses take an oath or affirmation, and the magistrate decides on the merits and according to the law.

If you are absent, the Courts say, “the court may make a default order against you”: a claimant’s claim may be dismissed, and if the respondent is absent, an order may be made in the claimant’s favour. An order made in your absence cannot be appealed, but you may apply to set it aside; the outcomes page says within 1 month of the date of the order.

For an illustrative timeline, suppose you file on Monday 12 April 2027. Seven days later is Monday 19 April 2027. The page does not say how the days are counted, and an older Courts guide (correct as of 1 December 2022) says 7 working days, so our inference is that the shorter reading is the safer one to plan around. The Declaration of Service is due before the first consultation, so note that date too.

What evidence should I prepare?

The Courts’ preparation page (last updated 30 January 2024; check it for current methods) asks you to:

• submit all your evidence: documents go on CJTS, and recordings have separate steps on the page
• bring the originals of everything you uploaded, at least 3 copies of anything you did not, and English translations of any document not in English
• for witnesses, contact them in advance, tell the registrar at the consultation and, for a reluctant witness, apply on CJTS for a Summons to Witness at least 3 days before the hearing
• bring your NRIC or passport and dress properly: shorts and slippers are not allowed

Free interpretation is available for Mandarin, Hokkien, other local Chinese dialects, Tamil and Malay. The filing page lists supporting documents as PDFs, such as invoices, receipts, contracts, photographs, emails or messages.

Our suggestion for organising the claim file, in the order a stranger would need it (this is not a Courts template):

1. The order: listing screenshot, order confirmation, receipt, delivery note and total paid.
2. The promise: the warranty and return terms in force when you paid.
3. The fault: dated photographs or video, repair job sheets and technician reports.
4. Your requests: each message asking for repair, replacement or refund, with the seller’s reply or the date it went unanswered.
5. The amount: one line showing what you claim and how you reached it.

For the fictional refrigerator, the summary might read: paid S$1,800 on 14 November 2026; delivered 20 November; leak found 3 March 2027; repairs on 10 and 24 March; written refund request on 26 March; refusal on 2 April; claim of S$1,800. Every line points to a document in the file.

Do I have to try CASE or mediation first?

The Courts say you and the respondent “may choose” to resolve the dispute online, and the eligibility page does not list a prior approach to the seller or to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) among its filing conditions, though its table is not exhaustive.

CASE is a separate route. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) names CASE as the first point of contact for local consumers’ complaints under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act and says it will assist aggrieved consumers to obtain redress through negotiation or mediation, on 6277 5100 (page last updated 23 May 2025). CCS itself does not assist consumers in disputes with suppliers or in obtaining redress (8 May 2026).

Seller first, then CASE, then the tribunal is the order our Lemon Law guide suggests for a faulty product, not a Courts or CCS requirement. For a change-of-mind return, see our home-trial guide.

What if I win and the seller does not pay?

The tribunal can make several kinds of order, including a money order (pay a stated sum by a due date) and a work order (rectify a defect in goods or make good a deficiency in services). If the other side does not comply, you must start execution or enforcement proceedings yourself; the tribunal cannot do it for you.

The Courts’ enforcement page (last updated 2 June 2026) says SCT orders are enforced like District Court orders, in the civil courts, where you may engage a lawyer. It adds that enforcing an order “does not guarantee an outcome” and that you should weigh the pros and cons first.

Appeals are narrow. After a hearing, either party may appeal certain orders only on a question of law or jurisdiction, not on a finding of fact, and new evidence is not allowed, according to the appeal page (last updated 9 March 2026). The appeal goes to the General Division of the High Court, and you first need permission from the District Court, which the page says to apply for within 14 days of the tribunal magistrate’s order.

What to check before you file

• Deadline: within 2 years of the event which creates your cause of action. Our inference: if you are unsure which date counts, use the earlier one.
• Amount: within S$20,000, or S$30,000 with a memorandum of consent; fee worked out from the table above.
• Respondent: located in Singapore, with a name and address you can give; for a business entity, its ACRA business profile obtained within 1 month of filing.
• Paper trail: your written requests, the seller’s replies and the pre-filing assessment ID from CJTS.
• Service: the 7-day deadline, the consultation date and the Declaration of Service in your calendar.
• Hearing kit: originals, copies, translations, witnesses and identification.

For the wider picture, see the ownership topic.

Common questions