Does small claims mediation cost anything?
Short answer
No. In Quebec, mediation in small claims is free: the Ministère de la Justice covers the mediator’s fees for a maximum of 3 hours.
In detail
The session lasts up to three hours and costs you nothing. That is a short window, which makes preparation decisive: showing up with your figures, your exhibits and a clear idea of what you are prepared to accept completely changes what you get out of those three hours.
The mediator does not decide. They help the parties reach an agreement. If an agreement is reached, the file is closed; if not, the file continues on toward arbitration or trial.
The government notes that in the districts where mandatory mediation has been in place for more than a year, the median time to settle a file after a mediation is about six months, compared with 22 months to obtain a judgment through the traditional route.
What to document
The itemized breakdown of your claim, item by item, and your main exhibits within reach. Also note your limit: the amount below which you would rather carry on before the court. Deciding it calmly beforehand avoids deciding it under pressure.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
- Mandatory mediation in small claims — Gouvernement du Québec
- Mediation and arbitration in small claims — Gouvernement du Québec
Related questions
- What is arbitration in small claims?
- How do I bring a witness to small claims?
- Do I have to pay my witness in small claims?
- I can't be there on the day of the hearing what do I do?
- Can you get a judgment without a hearing?
See all the answers · the full guide collection · Lire en français
What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.