Indiana: Small Claims Court Dollar Limits
The short answer
Indiana's small claims dollar limit is $10,000 statewide, the same figure whether you're an individual or a business, and the same figure whether you file in one of the 91 counties' circuit/superior court small claims docket or in one of Marion County's nine separate township Small Claims Courts. A recent rule change (effective January 1, 2025) means a business no longer needs a lawyer above a lower dollar threshold: a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or LLC can now be represented by a non-lawyer owner or designated full-time employee for any claim within the small claims limit. Either side can appeal within 30 days, directly to the Indiana Court of Appeals, not to a trial-level do-over.
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This is the general rule in Indiana. Ezel applies current Indiana law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | IC 33-29-2-4 (jurisdiction of the small claims docket in the 91 counties' Circuit/Superior Courts); IC 33-34-3-2 (jurisdiction of Marion County's township Small Claims Courts); Indiana Small Claims Rule 1(A) (these rules govern small claims proceedings in every Indiana court, Marion County included) |
|---|---|
| Dollar limit | $10,000 statewide, the same figure in both court systems: IC 33-29-2-4(b)(1) ('not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000)') for the 91-county docket and IC 33-34-3-2 ('does not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000)') for Marion County township courts, both current since a 2021 amendment (P.L.125-2021) harmonized what used to be separate, lower county-by-county figures. A plaintiff may waive the excess over $10,000 to stay within small claims jurisdiction (IC 33-29-2-4(b)(1); Ind. S.C.R. 2(A)(2)) |
| Limit for businesses/entities | Same $10,000 limit as an individual: no separate lower or higher figure for a business plaintiff. Both governing sections state the ceiling without regard to plaintiff type, and Ind. S.C.R. 2(A)(2) applies the same excess-waiver rule to any plaintiff |
| Court name and where to file | Indiana splits by geography, not by plaintiff type. In 91 of the state's 92 counties, small claims is simply a docket of the county's Circuit or Superior Court (IC 33-29-2). Marion County (Indianapolis) is the sole exception: it has nine separate, independently-run township Small Claims Courts, each with its own elected judge, established under IC 33-34: not a division of the circuit or superior court |
| Can you bring a lawyer? | A natural person may represent themselves or hire counsel (Ind. S.C.R. 8(C)(1)). Effective January 1, 2025, a Supreme Court rule amendment (In re: Order Amending Rules for Small Claims, Cause No. 24S-MS-1) removed a prior $6,000 dollar cap on non-attorney business representation: a sole proprietorship or partnership (S.C.R. 8(C)(2)) and a corporate entity, LLC, LLP, or trust (S.C.R. 8(C)(3)) may now be represented by its owner or a designated full-time employee for ANY claim within the small claims jurisdictional limit, not just claims under the old $6,000 threshold: a designated employee must still be authorized by a filed corporate resolution or sworn statement (S.C.R. 8(C)(4)-(5)). Many older county court forms and secondary sources still describe the superseded $1,500 or $6,000 caps; the current rule has no such lower cap |
| Limit on how many claims you can file | None found in Ind. Small Claims Rules 1-16 (read in full) or IC 33-29-2 / IC 33-34-3: no limit on how many claims a single plaintiff may file in a given period |
| Can you appeal? | Symmetric, either party may appeal. Per the Indiana Office of Court Services' own Small Claims Manual (2026 edition): 'If one or both parties are not satisfied with the court's decision and judgment, an appeal of the decision may be taken to the Indiana Court of Appeals,' and the appealing party must act within thirty (30) days of judgment. Unlike states that give a losing party a full new trial in a higher trial court, Indiana's small claims appeal goes directly to the state's intermediate appellate court, a genuine appellate review, not a retrial |
| What you can sue for | Primarily money damages: personal injury, property damage, money owed, and recovery of wrongfully taken property or money paid for faulty work, all capped at $10,000. Landlord-tenant possessory actions (including emergency ones under IC 32-31-6) are also within jurisdiction if the rent due doesn't exceed $10,000. IC 33-34-3-5 (Marion County) affirmatively excludes injunctive relief, partition of real estate, enforcing any lien (other than a judgment lien), appointment of a receiver, and divorce or marriage annulment from small claims jurisdiction regardless of dollar amount |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Indiana's small claims scheme splits across two statutes depending on where you are: IC 33-29-2-4 sets jurisdiction for the small claims docket used in the 91 non-Marion counties' Circuit and Superior Courts, while IC 33-34-3-2 sets jurisdiction for Marion County's separate township Small Claims Courts. Both are backed by the same statewide Indiana Small Claims Rules, which by their own terms (Rule 1(A)) apply "to all small claims proceedings in all courts of the State of Indiana, including Marion County Small Claims Courts."
Dollar limit
$10,000, identical in both systems. This is a relatively recent harmonization: before a 2021 amendment, Marion County and the rest of the state used to have different (lower) figures; a 2021 change brought both up to the same $10,000 ceiling. A plaintiff who's owed more can still file in small claims by formally waiving the excess over $10,000 — but can't come back later for the difference.
Limit for businesses/entities
No difference — a business faces the identical $10,000 ceiling as an individual. Neither governing section singles out entity plaintiffs for a different number.
Court name and where to file
Outside Marion County, "small claims court" is really just the small claims docket of your county's Circuit or Superior Court — not a separately named court. Marion County is the one exception: it has nine independent township Small Claims Courts, each with its own elected judge, courthouse, and clerk, rather than a docket inside the circuit or superior court.
Can you bring a lawyer?
Yes, and as of a January 1, 2025 rule change, you often don't need one even if you're a business. An individual can always self-represent or hire counsel. A sole proprietorship, partnership, corporate entity, LLC, LLP, or trust can now be represented by its owner or a designated full-time employee for any claim within the $10,000 limit — a prior version of the rule capped that non-attorney option at $6,000, requiring a lawyer above that amount, but the 2025 amendment removed the dollar cap entirely. A designated employee still has to be formally authorized (a filed corporate resolution or sworn statement) and can't be someone disbarred or suspended from practicing law.
Limit on how many claims you can file
None. A full read of the 16 Indiana Small Claims Rules and both governing jurisdiction statutes turns up no cap on how many claims a plaintiff may bring in a given period.
Can you appeal?
Yes, and it's available to either side: the Indiana Office of Court Services' own Small Claims Manual states that "if one or both parties are not satisfied with the court's decision and judgment, an appeal of the decision may be taken to the Indiana Court of Appeals," with the appealing party required to act within 30 days of judgment. This is a real appellate review, not a fresh trial in a higher trial court — a meaningfully different model from states where a small claims appeal means starting the whole case over.
What you can sue for
Mostly money damages: personal injury, property damage, money owed (bad checks, wages, unpaid accounts), and recovery of wrongfully taken property or money paid for faulty work, all within the $10,000 ceiling. Landlord-tenant possessory actions — evictions, in effect — are also covered as long as the rent due doesn't exceed $10,000, including an emergency possessory track. What's off the table regardless of amount: injunctive relief, partition of real estate, enforcing a lien (other than a judgment lien), appointing a receiver, or dissolving or annulling a marriage.
What trips people up
Old forms and articles describing a lower non-attorney representation cap are common and now wrong. A 2025 rule change removed the prior $6,000 threshold entirely; some county court forms and legal-blog write-ups still describe the superseded $6,000 or even older $1,500 figures. Check the current rule, not an older printed form, before assuming your business claim needs a lawyer.
Marion County isn't just a "bigger" or "different-numbered" version of the rest of the state — it's a genuinely separate court system. Nine independent township courts, each with its own judge and venue rules, replace the single circuit/superior court docket used everywhere else in Indiana, even though the dollar limit and most procedural rules are otherwise identical.
An appeal here is not a do-over. Unlike states where the losing side gets an entirely fresh trial on appeal, Indiana sends a small claims appeal straight to the Court of Appeals — a real appellate proceeding, with a 30-day deadline that the manual itself warns is easy to blow without a lawyer's help.
Common questions
My LLC wants to sue a customer for $9,000 — do we need a lawyer? No, not necessarily. As of the 2025 rule change, your LLC can send its owner or a designated full-time employee to represent it, as long as the claim is within the $10,000 small claims limit and the required corporate authorization paperwork is filed.
I'm in Indianapolis — do I file in the regular county court? No — Marion County uses its own separate system of nine township Small Claims Courts instead of a Circuit or Superior Court docket; you'd file in the township small claims court covering the relevant township.
I lost my case — can I get a new trial? No — Indiana's small claims appeal goes directly to the Indiana Court of Appeals for appellate review, not to a retrial in a higher trial court, and you have only 30 days to act.
Statutes and sources
- IC 33-29-2-4 — "Civil actions in which the amount sought or value of the property sought to be recovered is not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000)." — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_33/Article_29/Chapter_2.pdf — accessed 2026-07-09
- IC 33-34-3-2 — "the debt or damage claimed does not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), not including interest or attorney's fees." — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_33/Article_34/Chapter_3.pdf — accessed 2026-07-09
- IC 33-34-3-5 — "The small claims court has no jurisdiction: (1) in actions seeking injunctive relief or involving partition of real estate ... or (4) in suits for dissolution or annulment of marriage." — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_33/Article_34/Chapter_3.pdf — accessed 2026-07-09
- Ind. Small Claims Rule 8(C) — "All corporate entities ... may be represented by counsel, owner, or by a designated full-time employee of the corporate entity ... in the presentation or defense of claims arising out of the business." — https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/small-claims/rule8/current.htm — accessed 2026-07-09
- In re: Order Amending Rules for Small Claims, Cause No. 24S-MS-1 (Ind. Dec. 19, 2024) — "to allow greater flexibility for business owners to decide whether to hire counsel in small claims cases ... effective January 1, 2025." — https://www.in.gov/courts/files/order-rules-2025-0101-small-claims.pdf — accessed 2026-07-09
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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