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Small claims forms · South Carolina

South Carolina small claims court forms, filled in for you

Answer a few questions once. Vera fills in the South Carolina court's own forms from your answers, walks you through anything left, and gives you one packet to file, with how to file it.

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If you were sued: your answer is due 30 days after you were served. Source: South Carolina Magistrate Court Rule 7(b) and the Answer (SCCA 703).

To sue (you're the plaintiff)

  • Complaint (SCCA 701)

    The court's own form (www.sccourts.org)

    What to know
    • File in the Magistrates Court. A civil action may be filed in a magistrates court in the county where at least one defendant resides or where the most substantial part of the cause of action arose; a civil action against a domestic corporation may also be filed in the county of its principal place of business (Rule 4(a), SCRMC).
    • Magistrates hear claims for money on a contract, and for damages to a person or property, only "if the sum claimed does not exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars" (S.C. Code 22-3-10). The Judicial Branch states: "Magistrates have civil jurisdiction when the amount in controversy does not exceed $7,500" (sccourts.org, Magistrate Court).
    • Check what Vera filled: the county only when your court's name says which, the Civil Case Number only if you have one, you as Plaintiff and the other side as Defendant in the caption, your name after "I,", the defendant's name in item 1, and the county in "this Complaint is properly filed in ___ County" (SCCA 701). Add every other plaintiff or defendant.
    • From your answers in Court forms, Vera filled your address, city, state and zip, telephone and email, the defendant's address and telephone, the defendant's address again in item 1, what the claim is about in item 2 (why, the date, and how you figured the amount, in your words), and the amount of judgment in item 3. Check each one. If you said you ask for interest, Vera wrote it (the amount, rate and date it runs from, as you gave them) as the relief "requested below" in item 3; the amount of judgment is the amount you gave, without it. Still yours: in item 1, the county where the defendant resides, and in item 3 any other relief you ask for (SCCA 701). If you are suing more than one defendant, Vera filled only the first: add each other defendant's name in the caption and their address and telephone under Defendant(s) Information (SCCA 701). If item 2 needs more room, attach a supplement (SCCA 701).
    • The complaint ends "I state under penalty of perjury that the above is correct and truthful": date it and sign it (SCCA 701). Vera never signs or dates a form. File it with a copy, with any attachments, for each defendant (Rule 6(a), SCRMC).
    • When the complaint is filed, the court issues the Summons (SCCA/700), which the magistrate signs (Rule 6(a), SCRMC; SCCA/700). It tells the defendant to answer within the days it states, warns that "a judgment by default may be rendered" if the defendant does not, and says a jury trial must be requested "in writing at least five (5) working days prior to the date set for trial" (SCCA/700).
    • The summons and complaint are served together, by the sheriff or a deputy, a magistrate's constable, or any other person at least 18 years old who is not an attorney in or a party to the action. You give the person serving as many copies as are needed. An individual is served personally, at the dwelling with a resident of suitable age and discretion, or through an authorized agent; service may also be made by certified mail, return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the addressee, but a default judgment needs a return receipt showing the defendant accepted it (Rule 6(c) and (d), SCRMC).
    • The defendant has thirty days from the first day after service to file an answer and any counterclaim (Rule 7(b), SCRMC). If the defendant answers, the court sends notice of the time and date of the trial (SCCA/702, Instructions to Defendant).
    • A party may be represented by an attorney but is not required to have one (SCCA/702); the complaint may be signed by the plaintiff "or their attorney" (SCCA 701). If a party is a business, a non-lawyer officer, agent or employee may represent it, but the court requires written authorization from the entity's president, chairperson, general partner, owner or chief executive officer (Rule 21, SCRMC). The court's form for this is the Authorization for Non-Lawyer Representation (SCCA/762, for civil actions in Magistrate's Court), sworn before a magistrate or notary (SCCA/762).
    • If the claim is for a residential security deposit: the landlord must send a written notice itemizing any deduction, with the amount due, within thirty days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered or after the tenant's demand, whichever is later; the tenant must give the landlord a forwarding address in writing; if the landlord does not return the deposit with that notice, the tenant may recover "three times the amount wrongfully withheld and reasonable attorney's fees" (S.C. Code 27-40-410(a) and (b)).
    • Vera does not know the filing fee: the Judicial Branch's magistrate court page lists none. Ask the magistrate's office for the fee and any cost of service. By statute, "an assessment equal to twenty-five dollars is imposed on all summons and complaint filings in magistrates court" (S.C. Code 22-3-340; sccourts.org, Magistrate Court, checked 2026-09-28).

If you were sued (you're the defendant)

  • Answer (SCCA 703)

    The court's own form (www.sccourts.org)

    What to know
    • "You must file this document with the Court within thirty (30) days" (SCCA 703): the answer and any counterclaim are due within thirty days from the first day after the date of service, or, when service was made by other means, within the time stated in the summons (Rule 7(b), SCRMC). You may instead answer orally by appearing in person at the magistrate's court within that time; the answer is then put in writing (Rule 7(a), SCRMC).
    • If you do not answer in time, "a judgment by default may be rendered against you for the amount or other remedy requested in the attached complaint, plus interest and costs" (SCCA/700).
    • Check what Vera filled: the county only when your court's name says which, the Civil Case Number only if you have one, the plaintiff and you as Defendant in the caption, and the county in "filed with the ___ Magistrate Court" (SCCA 703). Add every other plaintiff or defendant.
    • From your answers in Court forms, Vera filled the plaintiff's and your address, city, state and zip, and telephone, and your email. Fill in the date you were served with the complaint (SCCA 703).
    • The form says to check one: you contest the court's jurisdiction, you admit everything and do not want a trial, you admit responsibility but not for the total amount, or you deny responsibility at all, with the reasons (use additional pages if necessary) (SCCA 703). If you said you disagree with part of the claim, Vera checked "I admit that I am responsible, but not for the total amount"; if all of it, "I deny that I am responsible at all"; and wrote your reasons under it, for the first after the amount you agree you owe if you gave it. Check that it is the right one. If you agree you owe it, Vera checks nothing: "I admit everything in the complaint and do not want a trial" also says you do not want a trial, which is yours to decide. Vera never checks the jurisdiction box (SCCA 703).
    • Date and sign the answer; it may be signed by the defendant "or their attorney". "Keep a copy of this answer and bring it to Court" (SCCA 703). Vera never signs or dates a form.
    • If you answer in time, the court notifies you of the time and date of the trial. Keep a correct mailing address with the court and appear for trial, bringing all books, papers, witnesses and evidence you have. A jury trial must be requested in writing at least five (5) working days before the date set for trial (SCCA/702, Instructions to Defendant).
    • You may be represented by an attorney but are not required to have one (SCCA/702). If you are a business represented by a non-lawyer, "a Non-Lawyer Authorization Form must be included with your Answer/Counterclaim" (SCCA/702). If a party is a business, a non-lawyer officer, agent or employee may represent it, but the court requires written authorization from the entity's president, chairperson, general partner, owner or chief executive officer (Rule 21, SCRMC). The court's form for this is the Authorization for Non-Lawyer Representation (SCCA/762, for civil actions in Magistrate's Court), sworn before a magistrate or notary (SCCA/762).

  • Counterclaim (SCCA/705)

    Only if you have a claim against the plaintiff that grows out of the same transaction or occurrence.

    The court's own form (www.sccourts.org)

    What to know
    • A counterclaim is for a claim against the plaintiff "that grows out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim". It must be filed within the time the summons gives for answering, in writing or orally in person. If it exceeds the magistrate's jurisdiction, "the entire matter will be transferred to the circuit court" (SCCA/702, Instructions to Defendant; Rule 7(b), SCRMC). The magistrate's limit for a counterclaim is seven thousand five hundred dollars, except in matters between landlord and tenant (S.C. Code 22-3-10(12)).
    • A claim that does not grow out of the same transaction is filed as a separate claim (complaint) against the plaintiff and heard separately (SCCA/702).
    • Check what Vera filled: the county only when your court's name says which, the Civil Case Number only if you have one, and the plaintiff and you as Defendant in the caption (SCCA/705). Add every other party.
    • From your answers in Court forms, Vera filled each party's street address, city, state and zip, and telephone, and, if you said you are suing back, the amount of your claim and what it is for as the events it arose from, with the date if you gave it. Check that they say how the counterclaim arose out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim (SCCA/705). If the events are longer than the form's five lines, the first line says "See attached page." and they are on a page at the end: file it with the form.
    • The counterclaim ends "I state under penalty of perjury that the above is correct and truthful": date it and sign it. "KEEP A COPY OF THIS COUNTERCLAIM AND BRING IT TO COURT" (SCCA/705). Vera never signs or dates a form.

Checked against the court's own forms and rules. Courts change forms; check with the clerk before you file. This page is general information, not legal advice.