To bring an action in small claims court, you must be over 18 or an emancipated child. Parties who are mentally incompetent or who do not meet the age requirements must be represented by a court-appointed attorney called a guardian ad litem., The jurisdictional limit is the maximum amount of money for which you can sue in small claims court. You can also ask for other specific types of non-monetary relief. The limit may be different based on what kind of case you have. The following types of cases can be filed in Wisconsin small claims court:


$10,000.00 for debts or other civil actions for claims of money;
$5,000.00 in damages for torts and personal injuries;
Any eviction action, regardless of how much rent is owed;
Return of personal property where the property is worth no more than $10,000.00 and was not the subject of a lease or credit from a dealer;
Return of personal property that was the subject of a lease or credit from a dealer where the amount financed was no more than $25,000.00;
Return of earnest money (money deposited by the buyer into a trust account while the buyer seeks financing) for the purchase of real property;
Actions to enforce an arbitration award for the purchase of real property; and
Eviction actions due to foreclosure., Unlike some other states, Wisconsin's small claims paperwork does not instruct you to make a demand to the defendant before you file your case. However, making a written demand shows a good-faith effort to resolve your claim out of court, and may even prompt the defendant to settle.Put your demand in writing, explaining how much the defendant owes you and why.


Describe the transaction or incident giving rise to your claim, what your demand is, and how long you will give the other party to respond before you file your case. For example, "Dear James Smith: On June 1, 2015, I paid you $500 to paint my house at 215 Cliff Street. You did not paint the house, and I am now demanding that you return my $500. Please respond by July 30, 2015, after which date, I will be forced to take legal action."
Make sure you have proof of when you sent the demand. If you send it by mail, request a return receipt. If you email you demand, print the email with the date and time showing. Whether the defendant refuses or does not respond, you can show a judge that you tried your best to settle out of court. If you are not sure where the defendant lives, mail the demand to his or her last known address.
 Small claims courts use simplified rules of discovery and evidence, and you present your case to the judge, not a jury. Part of what makes regular litigation so expensive and time-consuming is that parties and their attorneys can try to bury each other with discovery requests and depositions and trip each other up with complicated evidence rules. By using limited discovery and evidence rules, small claims court avoids those added costs and complications. You give up the opportunity to use those tactics, but you ensure that they can't be used against you either.


Limited discovery and evidence rules help parties represent themselves effectively without having to hire an attorney. Hiring an attorney is usually not cost-effective when suing for a small amount of money, as the attorney's fees will eat into your recovery.
You may still want to hire an attorney for a case you don't think you could win on your own. For example, if you are suing a wealthy corporation with attorneys on staff, or if the facts of your case are particularly complicated, you may fare better with your own attorney, especially if winning is more important to you than the monetary reward.
 The Wisconsin court system operates an online forms assistance program, which helps you select the right forms and fill them in correctly. The program asks you questions and generates your forms based on your answers.You can access the Small Claims Forms Assistant at https://myforms.wicourts.gov/.
 To file a small claims case, you need to complete the Summons and Complaint, which is made up of two parts. The complaint section is where you enter the details about your case and for how much money you are suing. The summons section informs the defendant that he or she has been sued and must respond. You must have the form notarized when you sign it. You can find the Summons and Complaint, complete with instructions, at https://www.wicourts.gov/formdisplay/SC-500I.pdf?formNumber=SC-500I&formType=Form&formatId=2&language=en.


If you are suing to enforce a prior judgment via a garnishment, use this Summons and Complaint instead: https://www.wicourts.gov/formdisplay/SC-301.pdf?formNumber=SC-301&formType=Form&formatId=2&language=en.
If you are suing to recover possession of personal property, use this Summons: https://www.wicourts.gov/formdisplay/SC-516.pdf?formNumber=SC-516&formType=Form&formatId=2&language=en.
 Naming the defendant can be complicated. If an individual person or group of people are liable for the harm you suffered, you can easily name those people. But if those people work for a corporation, LLC, or partnership, naming the right defendant, then you want to make sure that you sue the right organization and name it correctly in your complaint. For more detailed information on naming the right defendant, see Appendix B of the instructions at https://www.wicourts.gov/formdisplay/SC-6000_instructions.pdf?formNumber=SC-6000&formType=Instructions&formatId=2&language=en.
 You must sue the defendant in a court that has jurisdiction over the claim. Generally, you can sue a defendant in the county where he or she resides, or in a county where the claim arose.For example, suppose that the defendant breached a contract for a business deal in Chippewa County, WI. You live in Dane County, and the defendant lives in California. You can sue the defendant in Chippewa County, or even in California, but not in Dane County.
 Make two copies of your Summons and Complaint for each defendant in addition to the original. Take your forms to the court clerk, who will assist you in filing your case. The clerk will stamp your forms as "filed" and return the copies to you. The clerk will give you a hearing date. The date may be a few weeks or a few months away, depending upon how busy your court is.


The filing fee for most small claims case $94.50. (Fees may differ in Milwaukee County.)If you cannot afford to pay the filing fee, ask the clerk how to file a petition for a fee waiver. The form for a fee waiver is available at https://www.wicourts.gov/forms/CV-410.PDF.
 After you file your paperwork, the defendant must be served with copies, giving him or her notice of the lawsuit. In most cases, the defendant can be served by mail; otherwise, he or she must be personally served, meaning that the server gives the defendant the documents in person. You cannot serve the defendant yourself. You must arrange to have the defendant served by a professional process server, the sheriff's department, or someone else who is over 18 and not involved in the case.In eviction actions, the server usually must also post a copy on the door of the residence.
Ask the court clerk what forms of service are permitted in your case under the court's rules.
 You must file a form with the court signed by the person who served the defendant. There are several versions of the form, depending upon the type of case and the type of service. Each requires that the server sign the form in the presence of a notary. Once it has been signed, file the affidavit with the court.Use the Affidavit of Mailing if the defendant was served by mail. It is available at https://www.wicourts.gov/formdisplay/SC-5130.pdf?formNumber=SC-5130&formType=Form&formatId=2&language=en.
Use the Affidavit of Service (Eviction) for eviction actions. It is available at https://www.wicourts.gov/formdisplay/SC-5100.pdf?formNumber=SC-5100&formType=Form&formatId=2&language=en.
Use the Affidavit of Service (Individual/Sole Proprietorship/Partnership) if the defendant is an individual or one of those specified organizations. It is available at https://www.wicourts.gov/formdisplay/SC-5120.pdf?formNumber=SC-5120&formType=Form&formatId=2&language=en.
Use the Affidavit of Service (Corporation or LLC) if the defendant is an LLC. It is available at https://www.wicourts.gov/formdisplay/SC-5110.pdf?formNumber=SC-5110&formType=Form&formatId=2&language=en.
 Ask friends, family, employers, landlords, and the post office if you cannot find the defendant's new address. You might even hire a private investigator. If you have made every effort to locate the defendant and still have not been able to successfully serve him or her, you may be permitted to serve the defendant by publication. This means that you publish the notice in a local newspaper as a last resort to give notice to the defendant.
 Ask your process server for an Affidavit of Due Diligence/Not Found/Attempted Service. Process servers and the sheriff's department regularly give out these affidavits when they are unable to successfully serve the defendant. This form is signed by the server and states that he or she made every necessary effort to serve the defendant, but was unsuccessful., This form is available online at https://www.wicourts.gov/formdisplay/SC-5160.pdf?formNumber=SC-5160&formType=Form&formatId=2&language=en. Enter information about the parties to the lawsuit and the hearing date. You will mail this information to the defendant at his or her last known address, and publish it in the newspaper., The letter should include your name, the defendant's name, the defendant's last known address, the case number, and some language akin to the following: "Enclosed, please find a Publication Notice and Summons and Complaint which I have filed in the ______ County Circuit Court." Keep a copy of the letter for your records., Mail the cover letter, Publication Summons and Notice, and Summons and Complaint to the defendant's last known address. Request a return receipt so that you will have proof of the date upon which the documents were delivered.
 Deliver the Publication Summons and Notice to the local newspaper that circulates in the area where you believe the defendant lives and ask the newspaper to publish the notice. The newspaper will charge you a small fee for this service. Although it is unlikely that the defendant will actually see the published notice, courts acknowledge that this method of service as a last resort.


The applicable statute requires only that the notice be published once, not that the notice be repeated for multiple days.Once you have given your Publication Summons and Notice to the newspaper, take all of your forms to the court clerk for filing., In presenting your case, you will have the opportunity to question witnesses and present evidence. Collect any documents and photographs that support your claims and organize them in a binder in such a way that you can quickly refer to them in court. Make copies for the judge and for the defendant. Also arrange for any witnesses to accompany you to court on your hearing date.
 An opening statement should quickly and clearly inform the judge what kind of relief you are asking for and why. Briefly describe what the defendant did that harmed you, what evidence you brought to prove that the harm occurred, and what you would like the court to do, i.e. award money damages, evict a tenant, or order the return of your personal property. The judge will ask you to elaborate where necessary in order to fully understand the dispute.


Write out your opening statement ahead of time if it will help you remember the points you want to make. Having a written statement to refer to can help you to feel less nervous in court.
 Dress professionally, arrive early, and wait for your case to be called. When your case is called, step forward and take your place at the plaintiff's side of the table. Do not address the defendant directly. You should speak to the judge, even when talking about the defendant. When you present evidence, give a copy to the defendant and a copy to the bailiff, who will deliver it to the judge.
 If you win your case, the court will issue a judgment to you, which is a piece of paper that formally states that the defendant owes you money (or that the defendant must move out, for an eviction action). Hopefully, the defendant will voluntarily comply with the order, but collections and evictions are a separate process.


To collect on your judgment, you may need to garnish the defendant's wages, get a lien on his or her real property, or get a writ of execution to take personal property to satisfy the debt.Ask the court clerk what forms you need to proceed with one of those collection tactics.
In order to evict a tenant, take your judgment to the sheriff, who will post a notice at the property instructing the defendant to vacate within 10 days. If the defendant fails to leave, the sheriff will return to remove the defendant.
Satisfy the age requirements.
Verify that your claim is within the jurisdictional limit.
Make a written demand.
Understand the procedural limitations.
Consider using the Small Claims Forms Assistant.
Fill out a Summons and Complaint.
Name the party you want to sue.
Decide where to sue the defendant.
File your forms with the court clerk.
Have the defendant served.
File an Affidavit of Service.
Try to locate the defendant.
Get an Affidavit of Due Diligence.
Fill out a Publication Summons and Notice.
Prepare a cover letter.
Mail your documents.
Publish the Publication Summons and Notice.
Gather witnesses and evidence.
Prepare an opening statement.
Follow court protocol.
Collect on your judgment.
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