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Florida small claims cost guide

In Florida you can claim up to $8,000 (excluding costs, interest & attorney fees). The filing fee is State tiers: $55 (to $100) · $80 (to $500) · $175 (to $2,500) · $300 (to $8,000).

Florida at a glance	Figure
Maximum claim	$8,000 (excluding costs, interest & attorney fees)
Court	County Court — Small Claims
Filing fee	State tiers: $55 (to $100) · $80 (to $500) · $175 (to $2,500) · $300 (to $8,000)
Service of process	Sheriff service is a flat $40 by statute (Fla. Stat. §30.231); private servers $50–$150

Where you file

You file a Statement of Claim in the County Court of the county where the defendant lives, where the contract was entered into, or where the incident occurred. Florida small claims are governed by the Florida Small Claims Rules (Rules 7.010–7.350) and cover claims up to $8,000, excluding court costs, interest, and attorney fees.

Filing fees by claim amount

State tiers: $55 (to $100) · $80 (to $500) · $175 (to $2,500) · $300 (to $8,000). Because the schedule is tiered, the exact fee for your claim is in the calculator on the homepage — select Florida and enter your amount.

Service of process: options and costs

Method	Cost	Notes
Sheriff	$40 per summons — the fee is fixed by statute (Fla. Stat. §30.231)	The standard, predictable choice
Certified (private) process server	$50–$150 typical	Often faster; must be certified in the judicial circuit
Clerk's certified mail	Available for Florida-resident defendants; the clerk's charge varies by county	Valid only if the defendant signs for it

Step by step: filing in Florida

File the Statement of Claim and pay the tiered filing fee: $55 up to $100, $80 up to $500, $175 up to $2,500, $300 up to $8,000. Some counties also charge a $10 summons issuance fee per defendant.
Have the summons served — sheriff at the flat $40 statutory fee, or a certified process server.
Attend the mandatory pretrial conference. This is not optional and it is not your trial: the judge checks the paperwork and typically refers the case to mediation (county mediation in small claims usually runs $60–$120, typically split between the parties).
If mediation doesn't settle it, the court sets a trial date. A defendant may demand a jury trial under Rule 7.150.
A counterclaim over $2,500 carries its own filing fee ($295 on the Citrus County schedule, for example).
If you win, Rule 7.175 taxes your filing and service costs into the judgment — the defendant reimburses them.

Timelines and extra fees

Pretrial conference: set by the clerk when you file; mediation usually happens the same day or shortly after.
Enforcement if unpaid: sheriff execution processing $40, plus $50 per levy, $40 to advertise, and $40 per sale (Fla. Stat. §30.231).

The honest summary: Ignore any blog quoting a '$400' Florida small claims tier for claims up to $8,000 — the official clerk schedules top out at $300; $400 is the county-civil fee for claims above the small claims limit. Florida's other quirk is the built-in mediation step: budget the conference and a possible $60–$120 mediation charge (usually split) into your total, not just the filing fee.

Worked total: what a case costs to file

Claim amount	Filing fee	Service	Total to file
$500	$80	$40	$120
$2,500	$175	$40	$215
$5,000	$300	$40	$340

These totals are filing fee plus service only, for one defendant, before any mediation, jury, or enforcement charges itemised above. If you win, courts generally order the defendant to reimburse these costs — see recovering your court costs.

Sources: Miami-Dade Clerk of Court — Small Claims · Florida Statutes §30.231 — Sheriff service fees. Researched October 2026 — confirm current figures with the court clerk.

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