Cost to sue · Pennsylvania
What it costs to sue in Pennsylvania small claims court
Filing a small claims case in Pennsylvania costs $81–$116.50 in court fees, plus $15.50 or more to deliver the papers to the person you're suing. You can sue for up to $12,000. Everything below is read from Pennsylvania's own fee schedules and statutes, each one linked.
Informational only — this is not legal advice, and it doesn't predict how a case will turn out. Court fees change without much notice; confirm the exact figure with your court clerk before you file. Last reviewed: September 2026.
Does your claim qualify?
An individual can sue for up to $12,000 in Pennsylvania small claims court. A business or other entity is held to the same limit.
Source: Pennsylvania Magisterial District Judge Cost Table (42 Pa.C.S. §1725.1)
How long you have to file
Pennsylvania sets a different deadline depending on what the claim is about. Miss it and the court can throw the case out no matter how strong it is.
| Type of claim | Deadline | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Written contract | 4 years | 42 Pa. C.S. §5525(a)(8) |
| Oral contract or agreement | 4 years | 42 Pa. C.S. §5525(a)(3) |
| Property damage | 2 years | 42 Pa. C.S. §5524(7) |
| Personal injury | 2 years | 42 Pa. C.S. §5524(2) |
What the court charges to file
Pennsylvania charges by how much you're suing for, in bands:
| Claim amount | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $2,000 | $81 |
| Over $2,000, up to $12,000 | $116.50 |
Set by the statewide Magisterial District Judge cost table; constable or sheriff service costs are billed separately.
Source: Pennsylvania Magisterial District Judge Cost Table (42 Pa.C.S. §1725.1)
Getting the papers to the other side
Filing isn't enough — the person you're suing has to be formally notified, and Pennsylvania recognizes these methods:
| Method | Cost |
|---|---|
| Constable | $15.50 |
Constable. $13 base service fee plus a $2.50 return-of-service fee, for one defendant, plus mileage (varies by district). Add $5 for each additional defendant served at the same address. 44 Pa.C.S. §7161
A sheriff can also serve in Pennsylvania, but that fee is set locally by each county rather than by statute, so it isn't shown here — ask your county sheriff's office directly.
If you can't afford the fee
Pennsylvania can waive the filing fee entirely for someone who can't afford it. There's no published income threshold — the court decides case by case.
Until November 1, 2026, Pennsylvania's small claims (magisterial district court) fee waiver has no bright-line income or asset test at all — a judge decides case by case whether you have the financial resources to pay costs, weighing your income, assets, debts, and household size, under Pa.R.Civ.P.M.D.J. No. 206. A new, unified statewide standard (Pa.R.J.A. 1990 and new Rule 206.1) takes effect November 1, 2026 and introduces a 200%-of-poverty-guideline threshold with a $10,000 asset cap — this calculator will switch to that standard once it actually governs.
Source: Pa.R.Civ.P.M.D.J. No. 206 (Costs; Proceedings In Forma Pauperis), in effect until Nov. 1, 2026
Bringing a witness to the hearing
Subpoenaing someone to testify in Pennsylvania costs $5 per day plus $0.07 per mile round trip. It has to be paid when the subpoena is served, or the witness doesn't have to show up.
This is the witness-fee statute, separate from the sheriff's service-of-process fee (already covered by DocketClear's Service of Process Cost Calculator). Pennsylvania's sheriff fee is set county by county; its witness fee is a single statewide rate.
Source: 42 Pa. C.S. §5903
Interest on what you're owed
An unpaid Pennsylvania judgment earns 6% a year from the day it's entered until it's paid.
Source: 41 P.S. §202
Garnishing the debtor's wages
Pennsylvania caps how much of one paycheck a judgment creditor can take, based on the debtor's disposable earnings.
Pennsylvania is one of the few states that bars wage garnishment entirely for an ordinary judgment — unpaid credit card, medical, personal-loan, or damages debt. The one small claims exception is a landlord's judgment for unpaid residential rent, capped at 10% of net wages (and further capped so it can't push your income below the federal poverty guideline, which this calculator doesn't model on top of the 10%).
Source: 42 Pa. C.S. §8127
How long the judgment lasts
A Pennsylvania judgment stays enforceable for 20 years. There's no renewal mechanism — once that runs out, it's gone.
Pennsylvania sets a flat 20-year outer limit on executing against personal property (bank accounts, wages, most everyday assets) with no renewal or revival mechanism at all — once it passes, that collection right is gone for good. A judgment lien against real property runs on a separate, narrower 5-year revival cycle, not modeled here.
Source: 42 Pa. C.S. §5529(a)
What isn't shown for Pennsylvania
These costs are real, but Pennsylvania doesn't publish a single statewide figure for them — they're set county by county, or by an authority that doesn't publish a citable rate. Rather than show a number that would be wrong for your court, this page leaves them out:
- What it costs to appeal a judgment
- What it costs to levy a bank account
Your court clerk can give you the figure for your county.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page is read from Pennsylvania's own statute, court fee schedule, or judiciary guidance, and each section links the source it came from. Nothing here is estimated, averaged, or copied from another site's summary. Where a cost genuinely varies by county or isn't published anywhere citable, this page says so rather than showing a number.
This page is a summary — the calculators it links to do the arithmetic for your specific claim amount, dates, and circumstances.
Last reviewed: September 2026