If you're claiming up to £10,000 for an unpaid invoice, it will normally be dealt with on the small claims track. You pay a court fee on a published scale and, win or lose, you generally cannot recover your legal costs. That last part is what decides whether your claim is worth making, because the track is designed to be used without a solicitor and the economics only work if you run it yourself.
The short version
- The small claims track is the normal track for a claim of not more than £10,000, under CPR 26.9(4).
- Court fees run from £35 to £455 up to £10,000, then 5% of the claim above that.
- Legal representation costs are generally not recoverable on the small claims track, under CPR 27.14.
- You can add statutory interest and the fixed sum to what you're claiming.
- The pre-action step comes first, and the court expects to see that you've taken it.
What the small claims track is
The small claims track is one of the case management tracks in the civil courts, not a separate court. CPR 26.9(4) sets the threshold:
"the small claims track is the normal track for any claim which has a value of not more than £10,000."
The track is built for people who aren't represented. Hearings are informal, and a claim for less than £10,000 can be heard in a judge's room instead of a courtroom.
What it costs
The issue fee depends on the value of the claim. The current scale, which matches the July 2026 edition of the HMCTS fee schedule EX50A:
| Claim amount | Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to £300 | £35 |
| £300.01 to £500 | £50 |
| £500.01 to £1,000 | £70 |
| £1,000.01 to £1,500 | £80 |
| £1,500.01 to £3,000 | £115 |
| £3,000.01 to £5,000 | £205 |
| £5,000.01 to £10,000 | £455 |
| £10,000.01 to £200,000 | 5% of the claim |
| More than £200,000 | £10,000 |
You add the fee to what you're claiming, so a successful claim usually recovers it. Further fees can come later, at a hearing and again if you have to enforce a judgment, and the fee schedule sets those out separately.
Look at where the £455 band starts. On a £6,000 invoice the issue fee is £455, which is around 7.6% of the debt. You get that back if you win and collect, and you're out of pocket if the defendant has nothing.
Costs you cannot recover
The costs rule decides most cases. CPR 27.14 lists what the court can order the losing side to pay on the small claims track, and ordinary legal costs aren't on the list. What the rule does cover is the fixed costs of issuing the claim, the court fees you actually paid, reasonable travel and accommodation for attending the hearing, capped loss of earnings for a party or witness attending, and a capped amount for an expert's fee. There is also a route to costs against a party who has behaved unreasonably.
So if you instruct a solicitor for a £4,000 claim, the fees are yours whatever the outcome. The track is built on the assumption that you'll run it yourself.
Before you issue
In practice you can't skip the pre-action step. Where the debtor is an individual or a sole trader, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims requires a Letter of Claim with prescribed enclosures and gives 30 days to reply. Where the debtor is a limited company, the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct expects a letter with concise details of the claim and a reasonable time to respond. The court takes non-compliance into account when it manages the case.
Two other checks are worth making first.
Ask yourself whether the debt is genuinely disputed. A defendant who raises a real dispute moves the case away from a straightforward debt claim, and an unanswered query sitting in your own file is the first thing they'll point to.
Then ask whether the defendant can actually pay you. A judgment against a company with no assets is a piece of paper. Companies House filings are free to check, and a dissolved or insolvent company changes your decision entirely.
Making the claim
You can claim online or on paper. GOV.UK lists the situations where paper is the only route: where you don't know how much you're claiming, where you're claiming on behalf of more than one person or organisation, where the claim is against three or more people or organisations, where you or the other side has no address in England or Wales, and where the claim is against a government department.
What the claim needs from you is the debt, the dates, what was supplied and the interest you're claiming. You can include statutory interest and the fixed sum, and it helps to show the calculation rather than a total: the rate, the reference date that fixed it, the days outstanding and the fixed sum as a separate line.
What happens next
The defendant has a period to respond, and they can pay, admit the claim, defend it, or do nothing at all. If they do nothing, you can ask for judgment in default. If they defend it, the claim is allocated to a track and, on the small claims track, usually directed towards a short hearing, with mediation offered along the way.
Winning doesn't get you paid. Once you have judgment the debt carries interest at 8% a year under the Judgment Debts (Rate of Interest) Order 1993, and enforcement is a separate step with its own fees.
When it is worth it
The arithmetic is easier than it looks. If you're owed a few thousand pounds by a solvent business that has simply stopped replying, a claim is often the fastest route to a resolution and you get the issue fee back. If the business is in genuine trouble, an instalment agreement you can document is usually worth more than a judgment you can't enforce. Below a few hundred pounds, your own time tends to cost more than the debt.
Court is the least efficient place to fix a payment problem, and the data points at something earlier in the process. Invoices set to collect automatically are paid 98.0% of the time with 0.9% going overdue, against 90.8% paid and 5.3% overdue when collected on demand (Adfin platform data, requests created in the seven months to the end of January 2026). A direct debit mandate is usually behind the first figure.
Common questions
How do you take an unpaid invoice to the small claims court? Send the correct pre-action letter, then issue a claim online or on paper, paying the court fee for the value of the claim. A claim of not more than £10,000 is normally dealt with on the small claims track.
What is the small claims limit in the UK? CPR 26.9(4) makes the small claims track the normal track for claims of not more than £10,000. Lower limits apply to personal injury and housing disrepair claims.
How much does it cost to make a claim? From £35 for a claim up to £300, rising to £455 for a claim between £5,000.01 and £10,000. Above £10,000 the fee is 5% of the claim. Further fees can apply at hearing and enforcement stages.
Can I recover my legal costs if I win? Generally no. CPR 27.14 limits what the court can award on the small claims track to fixed issue costs, court fees, limited travel and witness expenses and capped expert fees, with a separate route where a party has behaved unreasonably.
Can I add interest to the claim? Yes. Statutory interest and the fixed sum can be claimed on a business debt, and it is worth showing the calculation in the claim.
What if the defendant has no money? Judgment does not create funds. Checking Companies House before issuing, and considering a documented instalment agreement instead, is usually the better use of the time.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk — Judgment Debts (Rate of Interest) Order 1993 (accurate as of August 2026)
- Civil Procedure Rules — Part 26, case management and allocation (accurate as of August 2026)
- Civil Procedure Rules — Part 27, the small claims track (accurate as of August 2026)
- GOV.UK — make a court claim for money, court fees (accurate as of August 2026)
This article explains how a small claim for an unpaid invoice works and is not legal advice. Court fees and rules change, so check the current fee schedule and Civil Procedure Rules before relying on a figure. Last updated August 2026.
