In England and Wales, a claim for an unpaid invoice of up to £10,000 normally goes on the small claims track. The court fee runs from £35 to £455 depending on the amount, you add it to what you're claiming, and you generally can't recover a solicitor's costs, so the process is designed for you to run yourself. Send a letter before action first, and check the customer can actually pay.
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The short version
- Unpaid invoices up to £10,000 normally go on the small claims track in England and Wales.
- Court fees run from £35 to £455, and you add the fee to your claim.
- You generally can't recover a solicitor's costs, so the process is built for you to run yourself.
- Defended claims go to a free mediation call of up to an hour before any hearing.
- Send a letter before action first and check the customer can actually pay.
What a small claim costs
The small claims track isn't a separate court. It's the route the county court uses for claims worth up to £10,000, with informal hearings designed for people who don't have a lawyer. The fee to issue a claim depends on how much you're claiming:
| Claim amount | Court 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 |
You add the fee to your claim, so if you win and the customer pays, you get it back. Further fees can apply if the case goes to a hearing and if you have to enforce the judgment.
The bigger cost question is legal fees. On the small claims track the court can order the losing side to pay your court fees, fixed issue costs and some limited expenses such as travel to the hearing, but not what you paid a solicitor. If you instruct one for a £4,000 claim, that bill is yours whatever happens.
Before you issue a claim
The court expects you to have sent a letter before action. If the customer is an individual or sole trader, that means a letter under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, with its enclosures and 30 days to reply. If it's a limited company, a clear letter and normally 14 days is enough. Skipping this can count against you when the court decides how to run the case and who pays costs.
Before you spend the fee, make sure the debt is genuinely undisputed. If the customer raised a query and you never answered it, that's the first thing they'll point to, so deal with it in writing now.
Then check the customer can pay, because a judgment against a business with no money doesn't get you paid. A company's accounts and any insolvency notices are on Companies House at no cost, and a dissolved or insolvent company changes your decision entirely.
How to make the claim and what happens next
Most invoice claims can be made online through the government's money claim service, which works out the fee for you. You'll need a paper form if you don't know the exact amount, if you're claiming against more than two people or organisations, or if either side has no address in England or Wales.
The claim needs the debt, the dates, what you supplied and the interest you're adding. On a business invoice you can claim statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, currently 11.75% a year, plus fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100. Show the working rather than a single total: the invoice amount, the days overdue, the rate and the compensation band.
Once the claim is served, the defendant normally has 14 days to respond, or 28 if they first acknowledge the claim. They can pay, admit it and offer instalments, defend it, or do nothing. If they do nothing, you can ask the court for judgment. If they defend a claim of £10,000 or less, you'll both be asked to attend a free mediation call of up to an hour, and if that doesn't settle it, the case goes to a short hearing.
Winning gets you a judgment, not the money. If the customer still doesn't pay, enforcement is a separate step with its own fee.
When a claim is worth it
The sums are usually simple. If a solvent business owes you a few thousand pounds and has stopped replying, a claim is often the quickest way to a resolution, and you recover the fee. On a £6,000 invoice the fee is £455, about 7.6% of the debt. You'll get it back from a customer who can pay, and lose it against one who can't. If the business is in genuine trouble, a documented instalment agreement 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 usually the slowest and most expensive way to sort out a late payment, so it helps to keep invoices from getting that far. For regular customers, a direct debit mandate takes the chasing out of it. For the rest, Adfin's collection agents send reminders and statements and can offer an instalment plan within limits you set, which gives a customer who's struggling a way to pay before you'd ever think about a claim.
Common questions
What is the small claims limit for an unpaid invoice? In England and Wales, claims worth up to £10,000 normally go on the small claims track. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own procedures and limits.
How much does it cost to make a small claim? From £35 for a claim up to £300 to £455 for a claim between £5,000.01 and £10,000. Above £10,000 the fee is 5% of the claim.
Can I recover my legal costs if I win? Generally not on the small claims track. You can recover court fees, fixed issue costs and limited expenses, but not a solicitor's fees, unless the other side has behaved unreasonably.
Can I add late payment interest to the claim? Yes, on a business-to-business invoice. Add statutory interest and the fixed compensation, and show how you calculated them.
Do I have to go to mediation? If the customer defends a claim of £10,000 or less, you'll both be told to attend a free mediation call of up to an hour. Not attending can lead to sanctions from the judge.
What if the customer has no money? A judgment doesn't create funds. Check Companies House before you issue, and consider a documented instalment plan instead.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Make a court claim for money: court fees (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees
- GOV.UK - Make a court claim for money: resolve your claim through mediation (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/mediation
- Ministry of Justice - Civil Procedure Rules Part 27: the small claims track (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part27
- Ministry of Justice - Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol/pre-action-protocol-for-debt-claims
- GOV.UK - Late commercial payments: charging interest on commercial debt (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/charging-interest-commercial-debt
- Adfin - Credit control (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/credit-control
