District of Columbia: Small Claims Court Dollar Limits
The short answer
D.C.'s Small Claims and Conciliation Branch of the Superior Court hears money-only claims up to $10,000, exclusive of interest, attorney fees, and costs: the same limit for an individual, corporation, or partnership. Either side may bring an attorney, but a corporation or partnership can only file as a plaintiff through a D.C. Bar member; as a defendant, it can instead send a non-lawyer officer or employee who files a sworn affidavit of authority. Appeal isn't a right here: a party must apply to the D.C. Court of Appeals within just 3 days of judgment, and the appeal only proceeds if at least one of three reviewing judges votes to allow it.
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This is the general rule in District of Columbia. Ezel applies current District of Columbia law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | D.C. Code § 11-1321 (jurisdiction and dollar limit); §§ 16-3901 to 16-3910 (Small Claims and Conciliation Branch procedure); §§ 17-301, 17-307(b) (appeal by allowance) |
|---|---|
| Dollar limit | $10,000, exclusive of interest, attorney fees, protest fees, and costs (D.C. Code § 11-1321), raised from $5,000 by Pub. L. 114-257 § 5(a) (2016), applicable to cases filed on or after December 14, 2016 |
| Limit for businesses/entities | Same $10,000 limit as an individual: D.C. does not lower the dollar cap for a corporate or partnership plaintiff, though its access to the forum as a plaintiff is restricted (see attorney_representation) |
| Court name and where to file | The Small Claims and Conciliation Branch of the Civil Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia |
| Can you bring a lawyer? | Individuals may appear with or without an attorney (the statutorily prescribed notice form itself tells the defendant, 'You may come with or without an attorney,' D.C. Code § 16-3902(e)). A corporation or partnership cannot appear as a plaintiff except through a member in good standing of the D.C. Bar (Super. Ct. Sm. Cl. R. 9(a)-(b)); as a defendant, it may instead appear through an authorized officer, director, or employee under D.C. Court of Appeals Rule 49(c)(11), who must file an affidavit of authority to bind the entity, but the entity needs a lawyer if it files a cross-claim or counterclaim, if the case is appealed, or if it's certified to the Civil Division |
| Limit on how many claims you can file | None found in D.C. Code § 11-1321 or the Chapter 39 procedural sections governing the Branch |
| Can you appeal? | Not an appeal of right: a party must file an application for allowance of appeal with the D.C. Court of Appeals within 3 days of the judgment (D.C. Code § 17-307(b)). The clerk presents the application to 3 judges; if any one judge favors allowance, the appeal is granted and heard like any other appeal; if all three vote to deny, the denial stands as an affirmance and there is no further appeal (§ 17-301) |
| What you can sue for | Money damages only: the Branch has no jurisdiction over a claim affecting an interest in real property, and a case is certified out to the Civil Division if a counterclaim, cross-claim, or defense affecting real property is raised (D.C. Code § 11-1321). A judgment founded wholly or partly on wages or personal-services pay carries a special post-judgment remedy: the winning party can require the judgment debtor to appear (up to once a week for four weeks) for an oral examination under oath about their ability to pay (§ 16-3908) |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
D.C. Code § 11-1321 sets the Branch's jurisdiction and dollar limit. Chapter 39 of Title 16 (§§ 16-3901 to 16-3910) governs the Branch's procedure. Appeals run through §§ 17-301 and 17-307(b).
Dollar limit
$10,000, exclusive of interest, attorney fees, protest fees, and costs. This figure was raised from $5,000 by a 2016 federal law amending the D.C. Code (Pub. L. 114-257 § 5(a)), applicable to cases filed on or after December 14, 2016.
Business/entity limit
No lower tier. The $10,000 limit is the same for a corporation or partnership as for an individual, though, as covered below, a corporate or partnership plaintiff faces a different representation requirement than an individual does.
Court and forum
The Small Claims and Conciliation Branch, a branch of the Civil Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Can you bring a lawyer?
Individuals can appear with or without an attorney, the statute's own prescribed notice form tells every defendant, "You may come with or without an attorney." Corporations and partnerships face a split rule: as a plaintiff, an entity can only appear through a D.C. Bar member (no self-representation for entity plaintiffs). As a defendant, an entity can instead send a non-lawyer officer, director, or employee, but that person must file a sworn affidavit from another corporate officer confirming they have authority to bind the entity at settlement or trial. That non-lawyer privilege disappears if the entity files a cross-claim or counterclaim, if the case is appealed, or if it's certified up to the Civil Division, at that point it needs an actual attorney.
Limit on how many claims you can file
None found. Neither § 11-1321 nor the Chapter 39 procedural sections impose a numeric cap on how many claims a plaintiff can file in a year.
Can you appeal?
Not automatically. A party has only 3 days from the date of judgment to file an application for allowance of appeal with the D.C. Court of Appeals. The court's clerk presents the application to three judges; if even one of them thinks the appeal should be allowed, it's granted and proceeds like a normal appeal. If all three vote to deny it, that denial itself stands as an affirmance of the trial judgment, there's no further appeal from that point. This is a narrower, gatekept process, not a guaranteed fresh trial.
What you can sue for
Money damages only. The Branch has no power over a claim that affects an interest in real property, if a counterclaim, cross-claim, or defense involving real property comes up in a case, the whole action gets certified over to the Civil Division instead. One notable post-judgment tool: if a judgment is based even partly on unpaid wages or pay for personal services, the winning party can force the losing party into a sworn oral examination about their finances and ability to pay, up to once a week for four weeks.
What trips people up
The 3-day deadline to apply for allowance of appeal is dramatically shorter than the 30-day notice-of-appeal deadline that applies to ordinary D.C. Superior Court judgments, missing it by even a day or two forfeits the right to challenge the judgment at all.
A corporation being sued often doesn't realize it can send its own employee to represent it without hiring a lawyer, but that privilege depends on filing the right sworn affidavit first, and it evaporates the moment the case becomes a counterclaim, cross-claim, or appeal.
Common questions
Can my small business represent itself if it's suing someone? No. A corporation or partnership can only appear as a plaintiff through a licensed D.C. Bar attorney, the self-representation option only exists for a business that's the defendant.
If I lose, do I automatically get to appeal? No. You have to apply within 3 days for the D.C. Court of Appeals to allow the appeal, and at least one of three reviewing judges has to agree before it goes forward.
Can I sue over a security deposit dispute or an eviction in this court? Only the money-damages part. The Branch can't decide any claim that affects an interest in real property, so a case with that kind of issue gets moved to the Civil Division.
Statutes and sources
- D.C. Code § 11-1321, https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/11-1321 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- D.C. Code § 16-3902, https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/16-3902 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- D.C. Code § 16-3904, https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/16-3904 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- D.C. Code § 16-3908, https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/16-3908 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- D.C. Code § 17-301, https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/17-301 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- D.C. Code § 17-307, https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/17-307 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- Super. Ct. Sm. Cl. R. 9, https://www.dccourts.gov/sites/default/files/superior-rules/Superior-Court-Rules-of-Procedure-for-the-Small-Claims-and-Conciliation-Branch.pdf (accessed 2026-07-09)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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