What is arbitration in small claims?
In the United States? This answer is Québec and Canadian law. The US side of this site answers different questions, state by state: different law, and different coverage. Go to the US side
Short answer
In Quebec, arbitration in small claims is a voluntary way of settling a case that can replace the trial: an arbitrator hears the case and renders a decision, rather than a judge at a hearing.
In detail
The Gouvernement du Québec specifies that “recourse to arbitration is voluntary” and that it “can replace the trial”. It is therefore a route you choose, not one that is imposed on you.
Arbitration fits together with mandatory mediation: where a mandatory mediation does not produce an agreement, the file is automatically sent to arbitration if it is eligible, or to trial. Arbitration and mandatory mediation have been available in every judicial district in Quebec since March 2026.
As with a hearing, it is your exhibits and your chronology that carry your position. What changes is who decides and in what setting, not the need to prove what you are asserting.
What to document
The same file as for a hearing: a dated chronology, numbered exhibits, an itemized amount. Note the date you agreed to arbitration and what you were told about how it works.
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
And to put it in order: our free tools · number your exhibits, set your facts in date order, request a copy of your file. No account, and nothing leaves your browser.
Official sources
- Mediation and arbitration in small claims · Gouvernement du Québec
- Mandatory mediation and arbitration in small claims now in place across Quebec · Gouvernement du Québec (French)
Related questions
- 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?
- How long after the hearing will I get the judgment?
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.