[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":159},["ShallowReactive",2],{"form-content-j141":3},{"guide":4,"faq":101,"capsule":158},{"slug":5,"formName":6,"title":7,"subtitle":8,"description":9,"capsule":10,"keyFactsHeading":11,"keyFacts":12,"documentsRequired":37,"howToSteps":42,"commonMistakes":67,"tips":78,"formSlug":5,"sources":85},"j141","J141 — Summons (Small Claims Court, Form 1)","J141 Summons Guide for the Small Claims Court","The form that starts a Small Claims Court case, and what to do with it once it is completed.","The summons (Form 1, J141) is the document that starts a case in the Small Claims Court. Under the court rules you complete it and sign it yourself, then take it to the clerk of the court, who issues it. This page fills in the plaintiff's parts of the official Form 1 (J141) itself. You may only take it to the clerk after you have sent a letter of demand and 14 days have passed since the other side received it.","A Small Claims Court case starts with a summons. You complete and sign Form 1 (J141), then take it to the clerk of the court with your letter of demand and proof that it was delivered. The clerk sets the hearing date and issues it. You then serve it on the other side at least 10 days before the hearing.","What you need to know",[13,16,19,22,25,28,31,34],{"label":14,"value":15},"Legal basis","Section 29, Small Claims Courts Act 61 of 1984, and rule 8 of the court rules",{"label":17,"value":18},"Who completes it","You, the plaintiff, complete and sign it. The clerk issues it",{"label":20,"value":21},"Who can sue","Only a natural person, not a company",{"label":23,"value":24},"Before you start","You are a person, not a company (s7(1)). Your claim is not against the State (s14(2)). Your letter of demand was delivered by hand or registered post and 14 days have passed since it was received (s29(1)(a))",{"label":26,"value":27},"Before you go","A letter of demand, and 14 days since the other side received it",{"label":29,"value":30},"Take to the clerk","The summons with a copy for each defendant, your letter of demand and proof it was delivered",{"label":32,"value":33},"Serving it","At least 10 days before the hearing",{"label":35,"value":36},"Court limit","R30 000 from 1 August 2026",[38,39,40,41],"The completed summons, signed by you, with as many copies as there are defendants","A copy of your letter of demand (Form 4, J993)","Proof that the letter was delivered: the registered post receipt, or, if you delivered it by hand, a sworn Form 5 (J994) affidavit","Photocopies of any documents you rely on, not your originals",[43,46,49,52,55,58,61,64],{"name":44,"text":45},"Check you can use this court","Only a natural person can sue in the Small Claims Court, so a company cannot be the plaintiff. The court's limit is R30 000 from 1 August 2026. Section 14(2) bars any action against the state. Under section 14(4) the court has no jurisdiction over a claim based wholly or partly on a cession or assignment of rights. That means rights taken over from someone else. Section 29(1)(b) applies to a business or profession you carry on. Until judgment is given in one action from it, you may not deliver a summons for another.",{"name":47,"text":48},"Send the letter of demand first","Section 29 of the Act requires a written demand. Deliver it to the other side by hand or by registered post. It must give them at least 14 days from the date they receive it to pay. Our letter of demand page fills in the official Form 4 (J993). Do not take the summons to the clerk before those 14 days have passed.",{"name":50,"text":51},"Give the other side's details","Say whether you are suing a person or a business. The rules allow a business to be summoned under the name by which it is known to you. Give the address where they can be found, as far as you know it. Email and phone details are optional.",{"name":53,"text":54},"Set out the date, the amount and the facts","The form asks for four things. They are the date the claim arose and the amount or what you want from the defendant. They are also a brief explanation of why it is due to you, and the outcome you want from the court. It says to be brief and concise. Set out the important features in point form, with names and dates. Do not give a detailed history. A mere reference to attached correspondence is not acceptable.",{"name":56,"text":57},"If you claim more than R30 000","You may give up part of the claim in paragraph 7 to bring it within the court's limit. Under section 18 of the Act, a part given up this way is extinguished, so you cannot claim it later. What is left must be R30 000 or less, and you cannot give up the whole claim. The form shows the amount left after you give up. Check that it is R30 000 or less. This page fills in paragraph 7 only. The form tells you to cross out paragraph 7 or 8 if it does not apply. Do that by hand after printing. Paragraph 8 deals with set-off under section 19 of the Act.",{"name":59,"text":60},"Print, sign and date it","Print all six pages. Sign the summons yourself, where the form says \"Signature, mark or fingerprint of Plaintiff\". Leave the case number, unique reference number and clerk's signature at the top of page 1 for the clerk. The form does not say who fills in the court area or the hearing details in paragraph 1. Ask the clerk first. Leave the defendant's part on page 2 blank. That is where the defendant admits the claim and consents to judgment.",{"name":62,"text":63},"Take it to the clerk of the court","Take the signed summons to the clerk of the Small Claims Court. Bring as many copies as there are defendants, your copy of the letter of demand and your proof of delivery. If the clerk is satisfied that you are a natural person and the summons complies, the clerk sets a date and time for the hearing. The clerk then issues the summons.",{"name":65,"text":66},"Serve the issued summons","Once it is issued, you or your authorised representative may serve the summons on the defendant. The sheriff may serve it instead. It must be served not less than 10 days before the date of the hearing. Attach a copy of Form 7, the defendant's written statement of defence, and serve it with the summons. After service you lodge the original summons and proof of service with the clerk.",[68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77],"Taking the summons to the clerk before 14 days have passed since the other side received the letter of demand","Arriving without a copy of the letter of demand or proof that it was delivered, which the clerk asks for","Trying to sue in the name of a company, when only a natural person can be the plaintiff","Bringing a claim based on rights you took over from someone else (a cession), over which the court has no jurisdiction under section 14(4)","Starting a second claim from your business or profession before judgment in the first, which section 29(1)(b) does not allow","Writing \"see attached\" instead of the facts, when the form says a mere reference to attached correspondence is not acceptable","Giving a long history, when the form asks for the important features in point form","Forgetting to cross out paragraph 7 or 8 when it does not apply to your claim","Bringing only one copy when there is more than one defendant","Leaving service too late, when the summons must be served at least 10 days before the hearing",[79,80,81,82,83,84],"Print the whole form. The rules require the summons to include a form of consent to judgment and a notice of the defendant's rights, and both are already printed on it","If you change the summons by hand before it is served, the change must be initialled by you and the clerk on the original, under rule 9","The rules require the court's legal assistant to help with drafting court papers, and the clerk may do this instead, so ask if you are unsure","If you use the sheriff, the sheriff is only obliged to serve once the sheriff's fees have been paid beforehand. Ask what they are","Section 7(2) of the Act says a party appears in person and is not represented during the proceedings, so plan to present your own claim. A business that is sued is represented by its director or other officer, under section 7(4)","Keep a photocopy of everything you hand in",[86,89,92,95,98],{"label":87,"url":88},"Form 1 (J141), Summons — Department of Justice","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.justice.gov.za\u002Fforms\u002Fscc\u002Fscc_J141-Form01.pdf",{"label":90,"url":91},"Small Claims Courts Act 61 of 1984 — Department of Justice","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.justice.gov.za\u002Flegislation\u002Facts\u002F1984-061.pdf",{"label":93,"url":94},"Rules for the Small Claims Court, GN R2573 of 2022 — Department of Justice","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.justice.gov.za\u002Fscc\u002Fdocs\u002F20221007-gg47254reg11497gon2573-RulesBoard-SCC.pdf",{"label":96,"url":97},"Small Claims Court amount, GN 7717 of 2026 — Department of Justice","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.justice.gov.za\u002Fscc\u002Fdocs\u002F20260720-gg55038gon7717-SCC-Amount-Increase-R30000.pdf",{"label":99,"url":100},"Department of Justice — Small Claims Courts","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.justice.gov.za\u002Fscc\u002Fscc.htm",{"slug":5,"title":102,"description":103,"formSlug":5,"relatedFormSlugs":104,"items":106},"J141 Summons FAQ for the Small Claims Court","J141 summons FAQ: who completes it, what to take to the clerk, the 14-day wait, serving it, and the R30 000 Small Claims Court limit.",[105],"letter-of-demand",[107,110,113,116,119,122,125,128,131,134,137,140,143,146,149,152,155],{"question":108,"answer":109},"What is the summons (Form 1, J141)?","It is the document that starts a case in the Small Claims Court. It names the plaintiff and the defendant, sets out the particulars of the claim, and, once the clerk has issued it, calls the defendant to appear at the hearing.",{"question":111,"answer":112},"Do I complete the summons or does the clerk?","You do. Form 1 is headed \"To be completed by the Plaintiff\", and rule 8 of the court rules says the summons must be signed by the plaintiff. The clerk of the court then issues it, which means the clerk signs and dates it and gives it a case number and a unique reference number.",{"question":114,"answer":115},"Do I have to use the official Form 1?","Yes. The Department of Justice guide to the Small Claims Court changes from 1 April 2023 says the new Form 1 must be used for the summons. This page fills in Form 1 (J141) itself.",{"question":117,"answer":118},"What must I do before I can take the summons to the clerk?","You must first deliver a written demand to the other side, by hand or by registered post, and allow them at least 14 days from the date they receive it to pay. Our letter of demand page fills in the official Form 4 (J993). The clerk will ask for a copy of the letter and proof that it was delivered.",{"question":120,"answer":121},"What do I take to the clerk?","The signed summons with as many copies as there are defendants, a copy of your letter of demand, and proof that it was delivered: a registered post receipt, or a sworn Form 5 (J994) affidavit if you delivered it by hand. Also bring photocopies, not originals, of the documents you list in paragraph 5 of the form.",{"question":123,"answer":124},"Who can bring a claim in this court?","Under section 7(1) only a natural person can sue in the Small Claims Court. A company cannot be a plaintiff, although it can be sued there. Section 14(2) bars any action against the State.",{"question":126,"answer":127},"Can I bring a claim I bought or took over from someone else, or a second claim from my business?","Not a ceded claim: section 14(4) says the court has no jurisdiction over a claim or counterclaim based in whole or in part on a cession or assignment of rights. And if your claim arises from a business or profession you carry on, section 29(1)(b) says that until judgment has been given in one such action you may not deliver a summons to the clerk for any other action arising from that business or profession.",{"question":129,"answer":130},"What is the limit, and what if I am owed more?","The limit is R30 000 from 1 August 2026. If you are owed more, you may give up part of the claim in this summons to bring it within the limit: section 18(1) of the Act lets a party explicitly abandon a part of a claim in the summons, and paragraph 7 of the form is where you do it. Under section 18(2) the part you give up is extinguished, so you cannot claim it later. Section 18(1) speaks of abandoning \"a part\" of a claim, so what is left must be R30 000 or less and you cannot give up the whole claim.",{"question":132,"answer":133},"Can I split a big claim into smaller ones to get under the limit?","No. Section 20 of the Act says a claim that is over the court's limit and based on one and the same cause of action may not be split with the object of recovering it in more than one action, if the parties to those actions and the point in issue would be the same. To bring a claim over the limit into this court, give up the excess in paragraph 7.",{"question":135,"answer":136},"Can I claim something other than money, like goods or a repair?","Only what the Act allows. The court can hear an action for the delivery or transfer of property, movable or immovable, if its value is not more than the limit, R30 000 (sections 15(a) and 16(d)(ii)). It can also order an account to be rendered where the claim is not more than the limit (section 16(d)(i)). Under section 16(d) and (g) it has no jurisdiction where specific performance is sought without an alternative claim for payment of damages (in everyday terms, an order that someone do something), or where an interdict is sought. If you are not sure whether the court can order what you want, ask the clerk before you issue the summons.",{"question":138,"answer":139},"What are paragraphs 7 and 8?","Paragraph 7 is where you give up part of a claim to bring it within the court’s limit. Paragraph 8 deals with set-off under section 19 of the Act, which is the deduction from your claim of an amount that you admit you owe the defendant. The form tells you to cross out whichever of the two does not apply to your claim. This page fills in paragraph 7 only, so cross out the paragraphs you do not use by hand after printing.",{"question":141,"answer":142},"Which parts do I leave blank?","Leave the case number, the unique reference number and the clerk’s signature at the top of page 1 for the clerk, as rule 3(2) gives them to the clerk. The form does not say who fills in the court area or the hearing details in paragraph 1. Section 29(2) has the clerk set the hearing date and time, so ask the clerk before you write there. The defendant completes the admission and consent to judgment on page 2.",{"question":144,"answer":145},"How is the summons served on the other side?","Once the clerk has issued it, it may be served by you or your authorised representative, or by the sheriff. It must be served on the defendant not less than 10 days before the date of the hearing, with a copy of Form 7 attached. After service you lodge the original summons and proof of service with the clerk.",{"question":147,"answer":148},"What can the other side do when they receive it?","The summons has a section where the defendant can admit the claim and consent to judgment, or offer to pay in instalments, and lodge it with the clerk. A defendant who denies or disputes the claim may complete Form 7 and lodge it with the clerk before the hearing. The summons says they must appear on the date of the hearing whether they submit Form 7 or not.",{"question":150,"answer":151},"Does it cost anything to issue a summons?","The court rules list no charge for issuing a summons: the only court fee in Annexure 2 is for photocopies of a record made by the clerk. If you use the sheriff to serve it, the sheriff is only obliged to act once the fees have been paid beforehand. Confirm current costs with the clerk.",{"question":153,"answer":154},"Can I change the summons after I have printed it?","Any change before it is served must be initialled by you and by the clerk on the original summons.",{"question":156,"answer":157},"Is this legal advice?","No. This page fills in an official form so that you can complete it correctly. It is not advice about your particular dispute. If your matter is complex, or falls outside what the Small Claims Court may hear, speak to an attorney or your nearest Legal Aid office.",null,1791264610151]