Ontario Small Claims Court: the limit just rose to $50,000, and a judgment is not the same as being paid

The limit just changed, and $35,000 is the old figure

The monetary jurisdiction of the Ontario Small Claims Court rose to $50,000 on October 1, 2025. The notice sits at the top of the official page:

Small Claims Court monetary increase
Effective October 1, 2025, the monetary jurisdiction of Small Claims Court will increase from $35,000 to $50,000. The minimum appealable amount will increase from $3,500 to $5,000.

Monetary jurisdiction means how large a claim this court can take. Two numbers changed the same day, and the second one is the less widely known of the two.

Plenty of write-ups still give the limit as $35,000. That is the figure from before October 1, 2025. The pages carrying it were not wrong when they were written; they were simply never updated afterwards. Measure a debt in the forty-thousands against the old figure and you reach a conclusion that does not match the current rule.

Where the amount is above the limit, two routes are set out:

If you believe you are owed money for the return of personal property, you can sue that person or business in Small Claims Court for $50,000 or less. For anything over $50,000, you need to go to the Superior Court of Justice.
If what you are owed is more than $50,000, you can still file in Small Claims Court if you are willing to waive the amount over $50,000.

One route is the Superior Court of Justice. The other is to stay in Small Claims Court and give up the portion above $50,000; the word used is waive. Both are set out side by side, with nothing said about which is better. Which side to take is the claimant's own call.

Official material says it plainly: you do not need to hire a lawyer or paralegal

You don't need to hire a lawyer or paralegal to sue someone. However, you may want to consult a lawyer or paralegal to assist you with the process.

Two sentences. The first: suing someone does not require hiring a lawyer or paralegal. The second: you may want to consult a lawyer or paralegal to help with the process.

The wording in the second sentence is may want to, not should. It is set out as an option, in the same paragraph. What that option is for is written out as well: assist you with the process.

This sits on the official page that explains how to sue someone. What it states is that hiring is not required.

What can be sued over: the official list is by example

You can sue for claims for money owed under an agreement, such as:
• goods or services sold and delivered that weren't paid for
• unpaid loans
• unpaid rent
• NSF (non-sufficient funds) cheques
You can sue for claims for damages, such as:
• property damage
• clothes damaged by a dry cleaner
• personal injuries
• breach of contract

Two categories. One is money owed under an agreement, which presupposes that there was an agreement between the parties to begin with. The other is damages, where what is claimed is the loss the other side caused. Four examples are given under each.

The words that matter are such as. These are examples, and the text does not count off everything that can be sued over.

The limitation period: two years in most cases

a claim can't be filed more than two years after the incident in most cases.
To learn more, see the Limitations Act, 2002

In most cases a claim cannot be filed more than two years after the incident. The wording is after the incident, so the starting point falls at the incident. The statute contains exceptions, and this same sentence points the reader to the Limitations Act, 2002. Which exceptions those are is not listed here.

Raising the monetary limit gave no old debt any additional time.

A judgment is not the same as being paid

One sentence on the official page is worth noting for where it sits as much as for what it says. It is not at the end of the process under collecting the money. It is inside the first step, deciding whether to sue:

One thing to consider before deciding to sue is whether you will be able to collect the money if you "win" but the person you sued doesn't pay. In this case, it will be up to you to enforce the judgment to collect the money.

The quotation marks around win are in the original.

There are two things inside it.

The first is what a judgment is. Where the court accepts the plaintiff's position, that confirms the money is legally owed to them. Confirmation is not payment, and a step still sits between the two. What has to be cleared on the hearing day is whether the claim stands up. Clearing it moves the debt from disputed to settled, and no further.

The second is whose move the next step is. Where the other side holds a judgment against them and still does not pay, the wording is it will be up to you to enforce the judgment. Enforcement falls on the plaintiff's side, and the court does not go out and collect the money on its own. What the specific means of enforcement are is not covered here. Nor does the sentence assert that the money cannot be recovered. What it sets out is whose step this is.

Whether there is anything on the other side to enforce against once a judgment issues is a separate question, and it is already sitting there before anyone sues. The act of suing does not change it, and neither does obtaining a judgment.

What has to be weighed before suing is concrete: whether the claim still stands within the two-year limitation period, which court's range the amount falls into, and whether there is anything on the other side to enforce against once a judgment issues. None of the three happens in a courtroom.

Rates are published on the consultation rates page.

Common questions

Start a claim. This involves filling out paperwork to start the claim, sending the claim to the person or business you are suing and paying some fees. You can file a claim in-person, by mail or online (where eligible).

The same passage also states that some fees are payable. The amounts, and the conditions for fee waivers, are governed by the official publication.

Wait for a response. The person or business you are suing may or may not agree to pay you back. If they agree, the process may end, and you won't have to go to court.

The court step is reached only where the other side does not agree. It is not a stage every claim has to pass through.