Small claims court for UK freelancers

When should you go to small claims court?

Court is a last resort, not a first instinct. Before you get here, you should have already sent reminders, a final warning, and a Letter Before Action with a 14-day deadline. If all of that has been ignored, court is the next logical step.

It is worth doing a quick cost-benefit check first:

• Is the amount large enough to justify the court fee and your time?
• Do you have evidence the work was done and agreed upon (emails, contracts, deliverables)?
• Is the debtor a real, operating business (not a shell company or someone who has disappeared)?
• Can they actually pay if you win? (A judgment against someone with no assets is just a piece of paper.)

For most freelance invoices (£500 to £5,000 owed by a trading company), small claims court is a sensible, proportionate step. The process is designed for regular people, not lawyers.

Court fees and limits

Small claims court handles claims up to £10,000 in England and Wales. Here are the fees for online claims:

Remember: court fees are added to your claim. If you win, the defendant pays them. You can also include statutory interest and compensation in your total claim amount.

Step 1: Send a Letter Before Action first

This is not optional. Courts expect you to have sent a formal demand letter and given the debtor a reasonable chance to pay before filing a claim. If you skip this step, a judge may penalise you on costs.

Give them at least 14 days to respond. If the deadline passes with no payment or response, you are ready to file.

If you have not done this yet, see the Letter Before Action template and guide.

Step 2: File your claim via Money Claim Online

Money Claim Online (MCOL) is the government’s online portal for filing court claims. It is available 24/7 and cheaper than filing by paper.

You will need:

• Your full name and address
• The defendant’s full name and address (for limited companies, use the registered office from Companies House)
• The total amount you are claiming (invoice + interest + compensation + court fee)
• A brief description of why you are owed the money (keep it factual: “The defendant engaged the claimant to [describe work]. An invoice for £[amount] dated [date] with payment due by [date] remains unpaid despite reminders and a Letter Before Action dated [date].”)
• A debit or credit card to pay the court fee

The form takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete. You do not need to upload evidence at this stage. That comes later if the case is disputed.

Step 3: The defendant’s response

Once you file, the court sends the claim to the defendant. They have 14 days to acknowledge it, and then a further 14 days to file a defence (28 days total).

Step 4: What happens at a hearing

Small claims hearings are deliberately informal. There are no wigs, no barristers, no dramatic cross-examinations. It is usually just you, the other side, and a district judge in a small room (or on a video call).

Bring:

• Copies of the invoice(s)
• Your contract or the email thread showing the agreed work
• Evidence the work was delivered (files sent, emails confirming receipt)
• Copies of all your reminder emails and the Letter Before Action
• Your statutory interest calculation (from the calculator)

The judge will ask both sides to explain their position, look at the evidence, and make a decision. For straightforward “I did the work, they have not paid” cases, this is usually very quick. Hearings typically last 30 minutes to an hour.

One important rule: in small claims, each side normally pays their own costs regardless of who wins. This means you will not be ordered to pay the other side’s legal fees if you lose (and they cannot claim theirs from you). The exception is the court fee itself, which is recoverable.

Step 5: Enforcing a judgment

Winning a judgment does not automatically put money in your bank. If the defendant still does not pay after the court orders them to, you have several enforcement options:

In practice, most debtors pay once they receive a court judgment. Nobody wants bailiffs turning up or their bank account frozen. The judgment also stays on their record for six years.

Do you need a solicitor?

For most freelance invoice disputes in small claims court: no. The process is specifically designed so that ordinary people can use it without legal representation. The forms are straightforward, the hearings are informal, and judges are used to dealing with unrepresented parties.

You might want a solicitor if:

• The claim is over £10,000 (it moves to a more formal track)
• The defendant is raising a complex legal defence
• There is a counterclaim against you
• You simply do not have the time or confidence to handle it yourself

Remember: in small claims, you cannot recover solicitor fees from the other side even if you win. So hiring a solicitor for a £2,000 claim may not make financial sense.