Oregon: Small Claims Court Dollar Limits
The short answer
Oregon runs a two-tier system: a claim of $750 or less MUST go to the Small Claims Department of the Circuit Court, and a claim up to $10,000 MAY go there instead of the regular civil docket. The limit is the same whether you're an individual or a business. Attorneys need the judge's permission to appear at all, there's no as-of-right lawyer participation for either side, though a business may appear on its own through a non-lawyer officer or employee. There's no cap on how many claims you can file in a year. Small claims judgments can't be appealed at all; the only way out is for the defendant to demand a jury trial before the hearing, which moves the whole case to the regular circuit court docket.
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This is the general rule in Oregon. Ezel applies current Oregon law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | ORS § 46.405 (jurisdiction and dollar limits); § 46.415 (procedure, attorney rule); within ORS ch. 46, Small Claims Department of Circuit Court |
|---|---|
| Dollar limit | $750 or less MUST be filed in the Small Claims Department; up to $10,000 MAY be filed there (ORS § 46.405(2)-(3)). A plaintiff aggregating claims from more than one transaction is capped at $10,000 total (§ 46.425(3)) |
| Limit for businesses/entities | Same $750/$10,000 limits as any plaintiff: no separate lower or higher figure for a business or entity |
| Court name and where to file | The Small Claims Department of the Circuit Court in the county (§ 46.405(1)): a department inside the Circuit Court, not a separately named court. If a circuit court shares a city with a justice court, the two may agree by intergovernmental agreement to route all small claims work to the justice court instead (§ 46.405(6)) |
| Can you bring a lawyer? | Not barred outright, but requires the judge's consent for any party (§ 46.415(4)): no as-of-right lawyer participation for either side. A business or other non-natural-person party may appear without a lawyer at all, through an officer or employee (§ 46.415(5)), a carve-out from the general rule elsewhere requiring a corporation to appear through counsel |
| Limit on how many claims you can file | None: ORS ch. 46 has no provision limiting how many claims a party may file in a year |
| Can you appeal? | None. A small claims judgment is "conclusive upon the parties and no appeal may be taken" (§ 46.485(4)). The only escape route is pre-judgment and asymmetric: if the amount claimed exceeds $750, the DEFENDANT alone has a right to demand a jury trial before the hearing, which removes the whole case to the regular circuit court docket (§ 46.455(3)) |
| What you can sue for | Money, damages, specific personal property, or "any penalty or forfeiture" (§ 46.405(2)-(3)): no broader equitable relief (injunctions, specific performance) is authorized in the small claims chapter itself. Class actions are barred outright, as are suits by one incarcerated person against another incarcerated person (§ 46.405(4)) |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Oregon's small claims scheme lives in ORS Chapter 46, captioned "Small Claims Department of Circuit Court." Section 46.405 sets the dollar-based jurisdiction; § 46.415 sets the informal-hearing procedure and the attorney rule; several shorter sections (§§ 46.425 through 46.570) handle filing, notice, counterclaims, judgments, and fees.
Dollar limit
Two figures, not one. Under § 46.405(2), a claim of $750 or less "must be commenced and prosecuted in the small claims department", it's mandatory, not a choice. Under § 46.405(3), a claim above $750 but not more than $10,000 "may be" filed there instead of ordinary circuit court, the plaintiff's option. A plaintiff combining claims from more than one transaction against the same defendant is still capped at $10,000 total (§ 46.425(3)).
Limit for businesses/entities
No separate figure exists. Section 46.405 draws the same $750/$10,000 lines regardless of whether the plaintiff is a person or a business.
Court name and where to file
The forum is the "small claims department" of the Circuit Court (§ 46.405(1)), a department inside the same court that handles Oregon's ordinary civil docket, not a separately named court. There's one real exception: where a circuit court sits in the same city as a justice court, the two courts may sign an intergovernmental agreement moving all small claims work to the justice court instead (§ 46.405(6)), so in a handful of Oregon counties the actual filing location is a justice court rather than the circuit court.
Can you bring a lawyer?
Only with the judge's permission, for anyone. Section 46.415(4) provides that "no attorney at law or person other than the plaintiff and defendant and their witnesses shall appear on behalf of any party in litigation in the small claims department without the consent of the judge of the court." That's a genuinely restrictive rule, not an outright bar (a judge can and does allow it), but nobody has an automatic right to bring one. Separately, § 46.415(5) lets a business or other non-natural-person party appear "without appearance by attorney" through its own officer or employee, an express exception to ORS 9.320's usual rule that a corporation must be represented by counsel in Oregon courts.
Limit on how many claims you can file
None. Nothing in ORS Chapter 46 caps how many small claims actions a party, individual or business, may file in a year.
Can you appeal?
No. Section 46.485(4) states plainly: "A judgment in the small claims department is conclusive upon the parties and no appeal may be taken from the judgment." The chapter does give the defendant one narrow escape valve, but it has to be used before a hearing, not after a judgment: if the amount claimed exceeds $750, "the defendant has a constitutional right to a jury trial" (§ 46.455(3)), and demanding it moves the entire case out of the small claims department onto the regular circuit court docket. That right belongs only to the defendant, a plaintiff who chose to file in small claims has no equivalent option.
What you can sue for
Money, damages, specific personal property, or "any penalty or forfeiture" (§ 46.405(2)-(3)), that's the full list in the jurisdiction section, and the chapter doesn't separately authorize injunctions or other equitable relief. Two categories are barred outright regardless of amount: class actions, and an action by one "adult in custody" against another adult in custody (§ 46.405(4)).
What trips people up
The $750 line isn't just a suggestion, it's mandatory. A claim under $750 has to go through the small claims department; you can't choose to file it as an ordinary circuit court case instead to get more formal procedure or an attorney as of right.
Demanding a jury trial is a defendant-only, pre-hearing move, not a post-judgment appeal. Once the small claims judge rules, that judgment is final. If a defendant wants a different forum, the request has to come before the case is heard, and only the defendant can make it.
A business doesn't need permission to skip a lawyer, only to bring one. Section 46.415(5) already lets a company show up through a regular employee; the judge's-consent requirement in § 46.415(4) is about adding a licensed attorney to the case, not about basic entity representation.
Common questions
My claim is for $9,000, can I still choose small claims instead of regular circuit court? Yes. Anything at $10,000 or below (but above $750) is your choice under § 46.405(3); you're not required to use the small claims department, but you're allowed to.
Can I get a lawyer if the other side has one? Not automatically, either side needs the judge's consent under § 46.415(4). Ask the court about its practice before assuming you'll be allowed one.
I lost my small claims case. Can I appeal? No, not under § 46.485(4). If you wanted a different process, the only lever was the defendant's jury-trial demand, which has to happen before the hearing.
Statutes and sources
- ORS § 46.405(1)-(3), "(1) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, each circuit court shall have a small claims department. (2) ... all actions for the recovery of money, damages, specific personal property, or any penalty or forfeiture must be commenced and prosecuted in the small claims department if the amount or value claimed in the action does not exceed $750. (3) ... an action ... may be commenced and prosecuted in the small claims department if the amount or value claimed in the action does not exceed $10,000.", https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors046.html, accessed 2026-07-09
- ORS § 46.405(4), (6), "(4)(a) Class actions may not be commenced and prosecuted in the small claims department. (b) An action by an adult in custody ... against another adult in custody may not be commenced and prosecuted in the small claims department. ... (6) If a circuit court is located in the same city as a justice court, the circuit court need not have a small claims department if the circuit court and the justice court enter into an intergovernmental agreement that provides that only the justice court will operate a small claims department.", https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors046.html, accessed 2026-07-09
- ORS § 46.415(3)-(5), "(3) The hearing and disposition of all cases shall be informal... (4) No attorney at law or person other than the plaintiff and defendant and their witnesses shall appear on behalf of any party in litigation in the small claims department without the consent of the judge of the court. (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 9.320, a party that is not a natural person ... without appearance by attorney, may appear as a party to any action in the small claims department...", https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors046.html, accessed 2026-07-09
- ORS § 46.425(3), "The plaintiff may include in a claim all amounts claimed from a defendant on more than one transaction or occurrence if the total amount of the claim does not exceed $10,000.", https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors046.html, accessed 2026-07-09
- ORS § 46.455(3), "If the total amount or value claimed, including identified prejudgment or preaward interest, fees and costs, exceeds $750, the defendant has a constitutional right to a jury trial...", https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors046.html, accessed 2026-07-09
- ORS § 46.485(3)-(4), "(3) No attachment shall issue on any cause in the small claims department. (4) A judgment in the small claims department is conclusive upon the parties and no appeal may be taken from the judgment.", https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors046.html, accessed 2026-07-09
Source links
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