Chapter 10 of 13 · Civil and small claims · 6 of 6
The Small Claims procedure in Ireland: what qualifies, the €25 fee and how it runs
Checked 15 Oct 2026the Road Traffic Acts, the Criminal Justice Acts and the District Court Rules as amended.
The Small Claims procedure covers consumer, property-damage, holiday-deposit and business claims up to €2,000 for a €25 fee, online through CSOL. What is excluded, the 15 days and the hearing.
Written for the person who has to go to court. This guide covers the District Court of the Republic of Ireland.
The Small Claims procedure is the District Court's way of dealing with consumer and minor property disputes without solicitors, for a €25 fee, with no risk of being ordered to pay the other side's costs. It is run by the Small Claims Registrar in each District Court office under Order 53A of the District Court Rules. This guide explains what qualifies and what does not, how to lodge a claim online through CSOL, what the respondent can do in the 15 days, how the Registrar tries to settle it, what happens at the hearing, and what the 2025 figures say about how claims end.
The small claims checker applies the rules below to your claim and tells you where to go instead if it does not fit.
What qualifies
A claim under the procedure must be for €2,000 or less and fall into one of four categories:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Goods or services bought for private use from a business | A faulty appliance, a phone that stopped working, a botched repair, a course not delivered |
| Minor damage to your property, not personal injury | A car damaged in a car park, a fence knocked down, a coat ruined by a dry cleaner |
| Non-return of a deposit for a holiday or short-term letting | A holiday home or short let where the deposit was withheld |
| A business claim against another business for goods or services, not a debt | A supplier who delivered the wrong goods, a service not performed |
The claim must be against a person or business that can be served at an address in the State, and it must be within the limitation period, which is six years for a contract (a figure the Courts Service asks you to verify for your case).
What is excluded, and where it goes instead
The procedure cannot be used for:
- A debt, meaning an agreed sum owed under a contract. That includes a business owed money by another business. A debt goes through the ordinary civil list with a claim notice; the guide to a claim up to €15,000 explains it.
- Personal injury. The Injuries Resolution Board comes first, then the courts; the personal injuries guide explains the route.
- A landlord and tenant dispute, including a rent deposit. The RTB, the Residential Tenancies Board, has that jurisdiction.
- Hire purchase or leasing agreements. The District Court civil list, or the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman.
- A family matter. The District Court family law office.
A claim over €2,000 cannot be split into two. You can bring a claim for €2,000 and give up the balance; the Registrar will ask you to say so on the form.
Lodging the claim: CSOL or the office
Most claims are lodged online through Courts Service Online at csol.ie. You register, complete the claim form, upload any documents and pay the €25 by card. You can also lodge at any District Court office on the paper form, with the fee; use find a court. Either way the claim goes to the Small Claims Registrar for the district where the respondent lives or carries on business.
The form asks for:
- your name and address, and the respondent's: for a company, its registered name and address, which you can check on the Companies Registration Office website; for a sole trader, their own name and the trading name;
- what the claim is about, in plain words, with the dates;
- the amount, and how you arrive at it;
- what you have done to resolve it already.
Attach the receipt, the contract or booking, the photographs, the correspondence and any expert's or repairer's report. The Registrar reads the claim before sending it on and may come back to you if something is missing or the claim does not fit the procedure.
The respondent's 15 days
The Registrar sends the claim to the respondent, who has 15 days to reply. The respondent can:
- Admit the claim and pay, or offer to pay by instalments. The Registrar passes the offer to you; if you accept, the claim ends.
- Dispute the claim, by returning the notice of dispute setting out why. The respondent can also counterclaim against you, for a €25 fee.
- Do nothing. If no reply arrives within the 15 days, you can ask the Registrar to have a decree marked in your favour in default. In 2025, 322 small claims ended with a default decree.
If you are the respondent and the claim has arrived, the 15 days run from service, so reply within them; a default decree can be set aside, but you have to apply to the court and explain the delay.
The Registrar
Where the claim is disputed, the Registrar's job is to settle it if it can be settled. The Registrar contacts both sides, by phone or in writing, puts each side's position to the other and looks for a figure or an arrangement both can accept. In 2025 the Registrar settled 795 claims that way, out of 2,565 lodged (up from 2,081 in 2024). A settlement reached through the Registrar is recorded, and if the respondent then does not pay it, you can ask for a decree in the agreed terms.
The Registrar does not decide who is right. Where no settlement is reached, the Registrar refers the claim to a District Court judge for a hearing; 517 claims were referred in 2025.
The hearing
The hearing is in the District Court on a civil day, in public, and is more informal than a criminal hearing. The judge takes evidence on oath from you and from the respondent, looks at the documents and anything you have brought (the faulty item, the photographs), asks questions, and decides. You can bring a witness. Neither side needs a solicitor, and because no costs are awarded, a solicitor's fee is your own cost whether you succeed or not; most people represent themselves.
Prepare a one-page summary: what you bought or what happened, when, what went wrong, what you asked the respondent to do, what the respondent said, and what you are claiming. Bring three copies of everything: one for the judge, one for the respondent, one for you. Address the judge as "Judge".
The judge may grant a decree for the sum claimed or a lesser sum, dismiss the claim, or grant the counterclaim. In 2025, of the claims referred to court, 218 ended in a decree, 104 were dismissed and 195 were withdrawn before or at the hearing.
After the decree
A small claims decree is a District Court decree like any other. If the respondent does not pay, you enforce it in the same ways as a civil judgment: through the sheriff or county registrar by execution against goods, or by applying for an instalment order after an examination of means. The Registrar will tell you which form. A judgment lasts twelve years.
Either side can appeal to the Circuit Court within 14 days, with a €25 fee; the appeal is a full rehearing, and the Circuit Court can award costs, which the District Court could not.
No costs either way
The rule that makes the procedure what it is: no costs are awarded to either side, whoever succeeds. If you lose, you lose your €25 and your claim. If you succeed, you get your decree but not your expenses. That is why the procedure suits claims where the sum matters more than the principle, and why a respondent cannot threaten you with their legal bill.
The European Small Claims Procedure
Against a respondent in another EU state, the European Small Claims Procedure covers claims up to €5,000. It is a paper procedure using standard EU forms, lodged at the District Court office, not through CSOL. The court can decide on the papers without a hearing, and the judgment is enforceable in the other state without further proceedings.
Where this leaves you
Run your claim through the small claims checker: it applies the €2,000 cap, the four categories, the exclusions and the time limit, and sends you to the right route if the procedure does not fit. If it fits, gather the receipt, the correspondence and the photographs, register on CSOL and lodge it with the €25. If a claim has arrived against you, reply within the 15 days; the debt claim notice guide explains the parallel procedure for ordinary civil claims, and the dog, noise and neighbour guide covers the disputes that are not money claims at all.
Frequently asked questions
What is the small claims limit in Ireland?
€2,000. A claim for more than that cannot be brought under the Small Claims procedure, and you cannot split one claim into two to get under the limit. You can bring a claim for €2,000 and give up the balance, or bring an ordinary District Court claim for up to €15,000.
How much does it cost to make a small claim in Ireland?
€25, paid when you lodge the claim online through CSOL or at the District Court office. There are no further court fees, and no costs are awarded to either side whatever the outcome, so the most you can be ordered to pay the other side is nothing.
Can I use the small claims court for a debt?
No. A debt, meaning an agreed sum owed under a contract, is excluded from the Small Claims procedure, including a business claiming money from another business. Debt claims go through the ordinary District Court civil list with a claim notice; the fee is €25 for a claim up to €5,000.
How long does a small claim take in Ireland?
The Courts Service does not publish a typical duration. The respondent has 15 days to reply once the Registrar sends the claim; if they do not, a decree can be marked in default. If they dispute it, the Registrar tries to settle it between you and, failing that, lists it for a judge on the next available civil day in your district.
Can I make a small claim against a company outside Ireland?
Against a business in another EU state, the European Small Claims Procedure covers claims up to €5,000; it is paper-based, not online through CSOL, and the District Court office will give you the form. Against a business outside the EU, the Irish Small Claims procedure does not apply.