One question, then the right court, the filing fee, and the forms.
If it’s a security deposit your landlord kept, use the
eviction guide
instead — the deposit statute doubles what you can recover.
If you are the one being sued, this guide is the wrong way round.
Read the deadline in the papers you were served with first: doing
nothing produces a default judgment against you, and that is far
harder to undo than answering on time.
How money cases are split up in New Jersey
Three courts, divided by amount. Which one you are in changes the
fee, the speed, and how much the process assumes you have a lawyer.
$5,000 or less — Small Claims. A section of the Special Civil
Part, deliberately built for people without lawyers. The Judiciary’s own
small claims guide puts it plainly: small claims “handles cases in which
the demand is not more than $5,000” (CN 10290). Filing is $50
against one defendant, a few dollars more per extra defendant — the court’s
own fee list reads “$50 for a complaint where the amount claimed is $5,000
or less” and “$5 for each additional defendant” (CN 10281).
Up to $20,000: Special Civil Part
Up to $20,000 — Special Civil Part. The regular track, and the limit
is the court’s own: “Special Civil is limited to cases in which the demand
is $20,000” (CN 10281). $75 to
file against one defendant — “$75 for a complaint where the amount claimed
is more than $5,000” (CN 10281). Suing here for more than $20,000 waives
the excess — you give up the difference permanently.
Over $20,000: Law Division
Over $20,000 — Law Division. Ordinary civil litigation: higher
fees, discovery, and rules written on the assumption that both sides
have counsel. Possible without a lawyer, genuinely hard.
If the fee is a hardship
Fee waivers exist. If the filing fee is a hardship, ask the clerk
for the fee waiver form before paying — not after.
Fees are waived “in any case covered by Court Rule 1:13-2(a)” (CN 10215).
Where you file
You sue where the defendant is. The county where the person or
business you are suing lives or does business, not where you live. The
court states it the same way in three of its own guides: a complaint
“must be filed in the Office of the Special Civil Part in the county
where at least one defendant lives or where the defendant’s business is
located” (CN 10281, CN 11481, CN 10290).
Winning and collecting are different problems
Winning and collecting are different problems. A New Jersey
judgment is collectable for 20 years — “Judgments in New Jersey remain
in effect for 20 years” (CN 11383) — but the court does not
collect it for you. Wage executions and levies are separate filings,
and the forms are in the same category as the complaint.
Amounts and fees follow the Judiciary’s 2022 administrative order
and the court’s current fee pages; both are periodically revised, so
confirm with the clerk before you file. The old $3,000 small-claims
figure still circulates in out-of-date brochures elsewhere.
This is not legal advice. Your answers are encrypted while you work
and erased after 30 minutes of inactivity.