What evidence can I file in small claims?
Short answer
In Quebec, you can file documents and objects in small claims — the formal notice, a cheque, a receipt or invoice, a contract or warranty, an appraisal, a photograph, an expert’s report, the damaged item — as well as testimony, whether written or given at the hearing.
In detail
The list given by the Gouvernement du Québec is concrete and covers most money disputes. It includes the documents that establish the obligation (contract, warranty, purchase order), those that establish the amount (invoice, receipt, cheque, appraisal) and those that establish the damage (photograph, expert’s report, the item itself).
Testimony is treated as evidence in its own right: a witness can testify in writing, by means of a written statement to stand in lieu of testimony, or be called at the hearing.
A file is not stronger because it is thicker. What counts is that every assertion has a dated exhibit to match it, and that the judge can follow the chronology without having to reconstruct it.
What to document
A dated log of the facts — each call, each promise, each refusal, with the date and what was said — and a list of exhibits in which each one is linked to the fact it establishes. Keep the originals of receipts, contracts and reports, and photograph anything physical before its condition changes.
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
Related questions
- 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?
- Can I sue back the person who is suing me?
- Is mediation mandatory in small claims?
- Does small claims mediation cost anything?
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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.