How to Fill Out the Ontario Plaintiff's Claim (Form 7A) — a 2026 Guide with the New $50,000 Limit

Ontario's Small Claims Court is the most-used civil court in Canada, and the Plaintiff's Claim (Form 7A) is the document that starts most of those cases. It looks simple — a few boxes for names, a couple of lines for "what happened" — but the boxes have traps. A Form 7A that is filed with the wrong party name, an unspecified interest rate, or an incorrect address for service will either be rejected at filing or will come back to haunt you when you try to enforce judgment.

This is a section-by-section guide to filling out Form 7A in 2026, including the increased Small Claims monetary jurisdiction and the interest calculation rules under the Courts of Justice Act.

Important disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The Courts of Justice Act, the Rules of the Small Claims Court (O. Reg. 258/98), and Ontario court procedures change over time. For advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed lawyer or paralegal. BeProSe is not a law firm.

The 2026 Monetary Jurisdiction: $50,000

Effective January 1, 2026, Ontario's Small Claims Court monetary jurisdiction increased from $35,000 to $50,000, by regulation under the Courts of Justice Act. This is the first increase since 2010 and significantly broadens the kind of disputes that can be brought in Small Claims rather than the Superior Court.

Practical consequences:

Claims for amounts up to $50,000 (exclusive of interest and costs) can now be filed in Small Claims.
Claims for more than $50,000 must either proceed in Superior Court or be brought in Small Claims with the plaintiff abandoning the excess.
Parties whose Simplified Procedure matters were caught in the old $35,000–$200,000 band will now often have a choice: file in Small Claims if ≤$50,000, or Simplified Procedure in Superior Court if >$50,000 and ≤$200,000.
The jurisdictional threshold is calculated on the principal claim, not including pre-judgment interest or costs.

If your claim is for exactly $50,001, you have two options: either file in Superior Court, or file in Small Claims and abandon $1 (Rule 1.03(2) — abandonment of excess). Most self-reps choose the latter to keep the cheaper, simpler Small Claims process.

What Form 7A Is (and Isn't)

Form 7A — Plaintiff's Claim is the document that formally commences a Small Claims Court action. It is governed by Rule 7 of the Rules of the Small Claims Court (O. Reg. 258/98).

Form 7A is not:

A demand letter (demand letters go to the defendant directly, not to the court)
An affidavit (it is a pleading, not sworn evidence)
A motion (motions come after the claim is filed)
A small claims garnishment or enforcement document (those come after you have judgment)

You file Form 7A to start the clock on your case. Once filed and served, the defendant has 20 days (if served in Ontario) to file a Defence (Form 9A). If no defence is filed, you can move for default judgment.

You can download Form 7A from the Ontario Court Forms website (ontariocourtforms.on.ca) or file online through the Small Claims Court e-filing portal at ontario.ca/page/file-small-claims-court-online.

Section-by-Section Walkthrough

Form 7A is two to three pages depending on the number of parties. Here is what each section needs.

The Heading: Court File Number, Court, and Location

Court File Number: leave blank — the court assigns one when you file.
Court: "Small Claims Court."
At [location]: this is the name of the Small Claims Court where you are filing — typically the municipality. You must file in the correct territorial jurisdiction (Rule 6.01), which is generally where:
- The defendant lives or carries on business, or
- The cause of action arose (e.g., where the contract was to be performed, where the accident happened)

Filing in the wrong territorial division is a common reason claims get transferred or dismissed — costing you weeks. If unsure, file where the defendant lives; that is rarely wrong.

Plaintiff Information

For each plaintiff, you need:

Full legal name (individuals: legal name as on ID; businesses: registered business name)
Address for service, including postal code
Phone number (daytime)
Email (optional but recommended)
Lawyer / paralegal details — leave blank if self-represented. The form has a box for this.

Common mistake: using a nickname or a business operating-name that is not the legal name. If you are suing as "ABC Landscaping" but your business is legally "1234567 Ontario Inc. o/a ABC Landscaping," use the corporate name. If you later get judgment against someone, they may challenge enforcement on the basis that "ABC Landscaping" is not a legal entity.

Defendant Information

You need the same information for each defendant:

Full legal name
Address (for service)
Phone number if known
If the defendant is a corporation: use the exact legal name from the Ontario Business Registry. Minor differences (e.g., missing "Inc." or "Ltd.") can create enforcement problems later. Do a corporate search ($12 at serviceontario.ca) before filing.
If the defendant is a sole proprietorship operating under a business name: you name the individual and add "carrying on business as [business name]" — e.g., "John Smith c.o.b. as Smith Renovations."

If you do not know the defendant's residential address and only have a PO Box or a business address, you can serve the business address but you may need to move for substituted service later. Courts increasingly require plaintiffs to try reasonable steps to locate a defendant before permitting alternative service.

The "Reasons for Claim" (paragraph 1 of Form 7A)

This is the most important part of the form. It is where you state, in plain language, what happened and why you are owed money.

Format your reasons as numbered paragraphs, each stating one fact. Do not write a novel. Do not editorialize. Do not argue.

Good example:

The plaintiff and the defendant entered into a written contract on March 1, 2025, for the installation of a new roof on the plaintiff's home at 123 Main Street, Toronto.

The total contract price was $18,500, of which the plaintiff paid a deposit of $9,250 on March 1, 2025.

The defendant was to commence work on April 15, 2025 and complete by May 15, 2025.

The defendant did not commence work on April 15, 2025 and has not commenced work as of the date of this claim.

On June 1, 2025, the plaintiff demanded in writing that the defendant either commence the work or return the deposit. The defendant did neither.

The plaintiff claims the return of the $9,250 deposit, plus pre-judgment interest and costs.

Bad example:

The defendant is a fraud who took my money and ran. He is a liar and a cheat and I want my money back plus damages for my stress.

The bad version tells the judge nothing actionable. The good version sets out, in plain paragraphs, the elements of a breach of contract claim: existence of contract, performance by plaintiff, non-performance by defendant, demand, continued non-payment.

The Claim Amount

Specify:

The principal amount claimed (the actual money owed or damages)
Pre-judgment interest (you state the rate; see next section)
Post-judgment interest (usually the court rate)
Costs (you list these in the court's scale; you do not calculate these yet)

The principal claim must be $50,000 or less. If the actual amount owed exceeds $50,000, you must write "abandoning any amount over $50,000" in the reasons.

Calculating Interest Under the Courts of Justice Act

Section 127 of the Courts of Justice Act governs interest on judgments in Ontario. Two rates apply:

Pre-judgment interest rate — the rate applicable on the first day of the last month of the quarter preceding the quarter in which the cause of action arose. This is published quarterly by the Attorney General.
Post-judgment interest rate — the rate applicable on the first day of the last month of the quarter preceding the quarter in which the judgment is made.

Current quarterly rates are published at ontario.ca on the "Court Interest Rates" page. As of Q2 2026, pre-judgment and post-judgment rates are both in the range of 5.0%–5.5% (verify the exact rate at filing — they move with the Bank of Canada).

If the Claim Is for a Liquidated Debt with a Contractual Interest Rate

If your contract specifies an interest rate (e.g., an invoice that says "1.5% per month after 30 days"), you may claim that rate instead of the statutory rate, provided the contractual rate does not violate the Interest Act (Canada). The Interest Act caps criminal interest at 60% per annum — contractual rates above that are unenforceable. Also note that interest charged monthly without an annual equivalent disclosed can be limited to 5% under s. 4 of the Interest Act.

If the Claim Is for Unliquidated Damages

You cannot claim pre-judgment interest until the date the damages became ascertainable — typically the date of the breach or the date of a demand. State the start date in your claim.

Show Your Math

On Form 7A, state:

The principal amount
The interest rate being claimed
The start date for interest calculation
Whether you rely on the Courts of Justice Act rate or a contractual rate

This is not strictly required on the initial Form 7A but will make life easier when you move for default judgment (Form 11B).

Filing Fees (2026)

As of April 2026, Small Claims Court filing fees in Ontario are:

| Document | Infrequent claimant | Frequent claimant | |----------|--------------------|-------------------| | Plaintiff's Claim (Form 7A) | $108 | $235 | | Defence (Form 9A) | $55 | $145 | | Default judgment (Form 11B) | $35 | $85 | | Notice of Motion | $55 | $145 |

A frequent claimant is someone who filed 10 or more claims in the court in the prior calendar year (Rule 1.06). Most individuals are infrequent claimants. Corporations are frequent if they meet the threshold.

Fee waivers are available for people on low income; file Form 2 (Fee Waiver Request).

Filing can be done:

Online via the Small Claims e-filing portal (ontario.ca/page/file-small-claims-court-online) — usually the fastest option
In person at the Small Claims Court registry
By mail with a cheque or money order

Online filing is the default in 2026 and is strongly recommended for self-reps. Keep your confirmation.

Serving the Defendant

Once your claim is issued (stamped by the court with a court file number), you must serve it on each defendant within six months of issuance (Rule 8.01). Miss this deadline and you need leave of the court to extend.

Acceptable methods of service on an individual (Rule 8.02):

Personal service — hand-delivering to the defendant
Leaving with another adult at the defendant's residence — only if the defendant cannot be found, and the other adult appears to live there
Mail to the defendant's residence — with an acknowledgment of receipt form the defendant must sign and return (rarely used; unreliable)
Courier with signature on delivery

For a corporation (Rule 8.03): personal service on an officer, director, or the corporation's registered address. You can find the registered address in a $12 corporate search at serviceontario.ca.

After serving, complete an Affidavit of Service (Form 8A) and file it with the court. Without this, you cannot move for default judgment.

If you cannot effect personal service after reasonable efforts, you may move for substituted service (Rule 8.04) — service by email, social media, a friend's address, or another method the court approves.

What Happens After You File and Serve

The defendant has 20 days (if served in Ontario) to file a Defence (Form 9A). 40 days if served outside Canada.
If no defence is filed, you can file a Request to Clerk for Default Judgment (Form 11A or 11B). The clerk can enter default judgment for a liquidated amount; for unliquidated damages you need to appear before a deputy judge for assessment.
If a defence is filed, the court will schedule a settlement conference (Rule 13) — mandatory in most Small Claims cases. This is held before a deputy judge and is designed to explore settlement and narrow issues.
If settlement fails, the case proceeds to trial (Rule 17), usually scheduled several months later.
If judgment is obtained, you still need to enforce it — wage garnishment, bank garnishment, writ of seizure and sale, or examination of a judgment debtor. Getting judgment and collecting are two different things.

The practical timeline from filing to trial in most Ontario Small Claims courts in 2026 is 12–18 months. Settlement conferences typically happen 4–6 months after a defence is filed.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Suing the wrong entity. The guy who did bad work for you is a shareholder of a numbered company — you need to sue the company, not him. A corporate search solves this.
Understating the claim to stay under $50,000 but then padding with interest and costs. Interest and costs are outside the jurisdictional cap; principal is not. Do not inflate.
Forgetting to claim pre-judgment interest. If you do not claim it in your Plaintiff's Claim, you may not get it when judgment is given. State the rate and start date.
Filing in the wrong territorial division. The case will be transferred at your cost.
Not keeping proof of service. Without an Affidavit of Service, you cannot get default judgment even if the defendant ignores the claim entirely.
Writing emotional, narrative "reasons for claim." Numbered factual paragraphs. No adjectives. No speculation about the defendant's motives.
Missing the six-month service deadline. File and serve promptly. Do not sit on an issued claim.

Next Steps

If you need to prepare a Plaintiff's Claim — or the next document in the sequence (Defence, Affidavit of Service, Request for Default Judgment) — BeProSe generates properly formatted Ontario Small Claims documents with the correct numbered paragraphs, interest calculations, and court forms. You answer a series of questions about your dispute; we output a filing-ready Form 7A in PDF.

Your first court document is free. Generate a free Plaintiff's Claim to see how it works.

The increased $50,000 jurisdiction has opened Small Claims to a much broader range of cases in 2026. The procedure is designed to be accessible to self-reps, but the forms have real consequences — a poorly drafted claim can follow you for years into enforcement. Slow down on the reasons paragraphs. Get the party names exactly right. Claim your interest. The rest is mostly paperwork.

BeProSe is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Documents generated by BeProSe should be reviewed by a licensed lawyer or paralegal before filing. Last reviewed: April 2026.