Ontario Small Claims Court fees in 2026

Who charges what

Court fees are paid to the clerk of the Small Claims Court under O. Reg. 332/16. They are separate from party-and-party costs a judge may order at the end of a case, separate from what a lawyer or paralegal charges you, and separate again from the amounts an enforcement office or bailiff charges to attempt an enforcement step. Only the first of those four is set by the fee regulation.

Three practical consequences follow. Court fees are payable whether you win or lose. They are payable at the moment of the step, not at the end of the case. And they are the part of a costs claim that is easiest to prove, because the receipt is issued by the court.

Fee amounts are taken from O. Reg. 332/16, consolidation period beginning 19 December 2025 (last amendment O. Reg. 394/25), checked against the official e-Laws text on 21 August 2026. These are the continuing amounts rather than a newly increased 2026 schedule: O. Reg. 394/25 deferred the next automatic adjustment to 1 January 2027. Regulations can change, so recheck before filing.

Is there a 2026 fee increase?

No. The amounts below are the continuing schedule under O. Reg. 332/16, confirmed against the official e-Laws text on 21 August 2026. The regulation provides for automatic adjustments, and O. Reg. 394/25 deferred the next one to 1 January 2027. Anything you read describing a fresh 2026 increase should be checked against the consolidation itself.

Current fees for common steps

• Plaintiff's Claim - infrequent claimant: $108; frequent claimant: $228.
• Defence: $77.
• Defendant's Claim: $108.
• Notice of motion: $127.
• Request to fix trial or assessment date - infrequent: $308; frequent: $403.
• Request for default judgment - infrequent: $94; frequent: $128.
• Certificate of judgment: $30; writ of seizure and sale, writ of delivery, or notice of examination: $68.
• Issue or renew notice of garnishment: $144.

Some items are charged per unit rather than once: summonses to witness, copies of documents, file inspections and additional days of recording. Where a fee is per unit, multiply the unit amount by the quantity - the calculator does this for you.

Which fees actually arise in a typical case

A great deal of fee anxiety comes from reading the whole schedule as though every line will be payable. It will not. A claim that settles early attracts one fee for the claimant. A claim that goes to trial attracts the claim fee, the fee to fix a trial date, and any summonses. Enforcement fees only arise once there is a judgment and only for the enforcement routes you actually choose. Budget by step, not by schedule.

Frequent-claimant status

A frequent claimant is a claimant who, on or after 1 January in a calendar year, has already filed 10 or more claims in the same Small Claims Court office in that calendar year. The next claim filed after reaching that threshold is charged at the frequent-claimant rate. Two details are easy to miss: the count is per court office, not province-wide, and it resets each 1 January. Status is assessed at the moment of the filing being priced, so the same party can pay the infrequent rate in January and the frequent rate in October.

Only some items have two rates - notably the claim, the request to fix a trial or assessment date, and the request for default judgment. A defence fee is a defence fee regardless of how many claims the plaintiff has filed.

Filing online

Many Small Claims Court steps can be filed through Ontario's online filing service. The prescribed fee is the same fee; filing online does not create a second charge, and it does not avoid the fee either. What it can change is how and when payment is taken, so check the payment method the service accepts before you rely on being able to file on a deadline day.

Fee waivers

Individuals who cannot afford court fees may apply for a fee waiver on the prescribed form. A waiver granted by the court excuses the listed fees, subject to the terms of the order. Corporate parties cannot obtain a fee waiver. Start the waiver process before the deadline you are working to, not after: applying takes time, and a filing is not made until the fee is paid or waived.

Common mistakes

• Treating court fees as the cost of the case. Service, enforcement charges, witness money and professional fees are all separate.
• Assuming a paid fee will come back. Recovery depends on the outcome and on a costs award or settlement term.
• Applying the frequent-claimant rate province-wide, or forgetting that the count resets on 1 January.
• Budgeting for every line in the schedule instead of the steps the case will actually take.
• Leaving a fee-waiver application until the filing deadline.
• Relying on a fee figure from an article rather than the current consolidation.

Budgeting checklist

• List the steps you have taken and the next step you expect to take.
• Confirm the claimant's rate for that office and calendar year.
• Price per-unit items by quantity, not once.
• Add service, enforcement and witness amounts on a separate line.
• Keep the receipt for every fee paid.
• Recheck the schedule after 1 January 2027.

When fees change

O. Reg. 332/16 provides for scheduled automatic adjustments, and the next one is currently 1 January 2027. Unscheduled amendments can also occur, as O. Reg. 394/25 shows. Check the current consolidation on the day you file.

Next steps

Use the Court Fee Calculator to itemise the steps in your own case, the Costs Estimator to see how paid fees interact with a costs award, and the Claim Value Estimator to confirm the claim belongs in this court before you pay anything.