Skip to content
Oakclause

Small Claims Court Limits in Tennessee

In Tennessee, General Sessions Courts, which handle small civil claims, hear cases up to $25,000.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Tennessee at a glance

Maximum claim
$25,000
Attorney fees and court costs are not counted toward the limit. Eviction and personal property recovery cases have no cap.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Tennessee

What is the small claims court limit in Tennessee?

Maximum claim in Tennessee: $25,000. Attorney fees and court costs are not counted toward the limit. Eviction and personal property recovery cases have no cap.

Where do the Tennessee small claims court limits come from?

The rules above come from Tenn. Code Ann. 16-15-501. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

Tennessee has no separate small claims court; small civil cases are filed in General Sessions Court.

What this means in practice

Before filing, send the other side a written demand that states what is owed, why, and a deadline to pay. A clear demand letter sometimes settles the dispute without court, and some courts ask whether you tried to resolve the matter first.

Bring organized evidence to the hearing: contracts, receipts, invoices, photos, text messages and any written promise to pay. Prepare a short timeline of what happened. Judges in small claims court decide cases quickly, so a clear, document backed explanation helps.

Winning a judgment does not mean you are paid automatically. If the other side does not pay voluntarily, you may need to use collection tools such as wage garnishment, a bank levy or a lien, and each of those has its own forms, fees and rules.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.