How do I bring a witness to small claims?
Short answer
In Quebec, if you believe a witness will not come to the hearing on their own, you must tell the clerk using the List of Witnesses to Be Summoned by the Clerk form (SJ-839A), at least 30 days before the hearing date.
In detail
The form asks for the witness’s name and address. The clerk then issues the official summons, by means of a summons to appear (subpoena). The 30-days-before-the-hearing deadline also applies to filing additional documents.
A witness who agrees to come on their own does not need to be formally summoned. The summons exists precisely for the cases where you doubt the person will show up — a former employer, a neighbour, a professional.
There is an alternative: testimony can be given in writing, by means of a written statement to stand in lieu of testimony, rather than at the hearing. That is sometimes the only way to get the account of someone who cannot travel.
What to document
For each witness: their full name, address and contact information, and above all the specific fact they can confirm. Note how they were involved (they were present, they saw it, they received the message): that is what determines whether their testimony is useful.
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
- Preparing for the hearing and summoning the parties and witnesses — Gouvernement du Québec
- Evidence in small claims — Gouvernement du Québec
Related questions
- 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?
- How long after the hearing will I get the judgment?
- Can I appeal a small claims judgment?
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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.