How do I file a small claims application online?
Short answer
In Quebec, the Small Claims Application form (SJ-870E) does not exist as a PDF: it has to be filled out online. The application is legally filed once the courthouse’s court office receives the form and the court fees are paid.
In detail
Before filling out the form, the Gouvernement du Québec recommends gathering three things: your supporting documents, the important dates in the dispute, and proof that the formal notice (mise en demeure) was sent. The form will ask you to set out the facts and the amount claimed.
One point often surprises people: the evidence itself cannot be filed online. It must be filed in person at the courthouse or sent by mail, within 10 days after the application is legally filed.
A free assistance service is available. A clerk can check your form, inform you of your obligations and answer your questions during a telephone interview of about 20 to 25 minutes, by appointment (1-866-536-5140). Your form is kept for 45 days: if you do not make an appointment within that time, it is destroyed and you have to start over.
What to document
A list of your exhibits with, for each one, its date and what it shows — that is exactly what the form will have you set out. Also note the chronology of the facts: the form asks for the important dates, and writing them down calmly avoids contradictions.
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
- Small Claims Application form (SJ-870E) — Gouvernement du Québec
- Assistance from the clerk — Gouvernement du Québec
- Evidence in small claims — Gouvernement du Québec
Related questions
- Can someone help me fill out the form for free?
- When do I have to file my evidence in small claims?
- What evidence can I file in small claims?
- I received a small claims application how long do I have to respond?
- What happens if I don't respond to a small claims lawsuit?
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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.