Riverside County Small Claims Court Locations

Superior Court of California, County of Riverside — Small Claims Division

• In person at the courthouse with venue over the case (bring an original plus one copy per party)
• By mail to that courthouse (original, copies, and a self-addressed stamped envelope)
• Electronically through a court-approved Electronic Filing Service Provider (voluntary for self-represented litigants; mandatory for attorneys under Local Rule 3118)

Walk-in filing is available at 5 locations: Corona Courthouse, Moreno Valley Courthouse, Palm Springs Courthouse, Menifee Justice Center, Blythe Courthouse.

Filing locations

5

Hours

7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday-Friday (clerk phone hours 7:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.)

Filing fee

$30–$75

File without going in

Yes, online

Every location that takes a small claims filing

Riverside County accepts small claims filings at:

• Corona Courthouse
• Moreno Valley Courthouse
• Palm Springs Courthouse
• Menifee Justice Center
• Blythe Courthouse

Riverside County hears small claims regionally at only a subset of its courthouses — currently Corona, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, Menifee, and Blythe; the downtown Riverside Historic Courthouse and several other Riverside courthouses do not hear small claims. Which courthouse has venue is governed by Code of Civil Procedure sections 392-395 together with the court's own community-of-origin filing assignments, which the court updated effective August 1, 2026 (moving Lake Elsinore/Wildomar small claims to Corona and Banning-area small claims to Moreno Valley) — so there is no single central filing office and filers must use the court's location tool before filing.

Is Riverside County the right court for your case?

Which court may hear a small claims case turns on where the dispute belongs, not on where it is convenient for you to go. It is normally:

• Where the defendant lives — or, for a business, where it has its place of business.
• Where the events you are suing about actually happened.
• Where a contract was to be performed, where the claim is about an agreement.

Riverside County hears small claims regionally at only a subset of its courthouses — currently Corona, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, Menifee, and Blythe; the downtown Riverside Historic Courthouse and several other Riverside courthouses do not hear small claims. Which courthouse has venue is governed by Code of Civil Procedure sections 392-395 together with the court's own community-of-origin filing assignments, which the court updated effective August 1, 2026 (moving Lake Elsinore/Wildomar small claims to Corona and Banning-area small claims to Moreno Valley) — so there is no single central filing office and filers must use the court's location tool before filing.

We cannot advise you which venue to choose. Where two courts would both be proper, either is a valid filing.

Going to Superior Court of California, County of Riverside — Small Claims Division in person

If you are filing at the counter rather than by mail or online, this is the shape of the visit.

1. Go during filing hours, not court hours. The counter is open 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday-Friday (clerk phone hours 7:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.). Clerks stop accepting new filings before closing, so arriving in the last half hour is how people end up coming back.
2. Bring the completed claim form and your copies. Bring a copy for the court, one for each defendant, and one for yourself.
3. Bring the fee, in a form this clerk takes. The filing fee is $30–$75. Superior Court of California, County of Riverside — Small Claims Division accepts 2 forms of payment — cash is not always one of them, and cards are not always one either. Service is a further $15 per defendant.
4. Know the defendant's exact legal name and address. The clerk will not look it up for you, and a judgment against a trade name that is not the legal entity is difficult to collect on afterwards.
5. Leave with your court date. Riverside County sets the first court date at filing, so you leave the counter knowing when to come back.

Court staff can explain procedure and check a form is complete. They cannot tell you what to write in your claim, or whether to bring it at all.

Ways to file without standing in line

Superior Court of California, County of Riverside — Small Claims Division accepts a filing:

• In person at the courthouse with venue over the case (bring an original plus one copy per party)
• By mail to that courthouse (original, copies, and a self-addressed stamped envelope)
• Electronically through a court-approved Electronic Filing Service Provider (voluntary for self-represented litigants; mandatory for attorneys under Local Rule 3118)

Free help at the courthouse

Riverside County runs a self-help center for people filing without a lawyer. It can:

• Point you at the right form for your case type
• Check a form is complete before you hand it in
• Riverside Superior Court's Small Claims Advisory Program provides a paralegal advisor who assists free of charge with filing through enforcement (not legal advice); phone 951-274-4499 or 760-393-2163, email SmallClaimsAdvisory@Riverside.Courts.CA.Gov.

Court staff can explain procedure. They cannot tell you what to write in your claim, or whether you should file at all — that is the line they are not allowed to cross, and it is the part most people actually need.

Common questions

Where is small claims court in Riverside County?

Superior Court of California, County of Riverside — Small Claims Division, 505 S. Buena Vista Ave. #201, Corona, CA 92882.

What are the Riverside County small claims court hours?

7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday-Friday (clerk phone hours 7:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.). Confirm before travelling — court hours change around holidays.

Do I have to go to the courthouse to file in Riverside County?

Not necessarily. Riverside County accepts a filing in person at the courthouse with venue over the case (bring an original plus one copy per party); by mail to that courthouse (original, copies, and a self-addressed stamped envelope); electronically through a court-approved electronic filing service provider (voluntary for self-represented litigants; mandatory for attorneys under local rule 3118).

Which Riverside County location do I file at?

Riverside County hears small claims regionally at only a subset of its courthouses — currently Corona, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, Menifee, and Blythe; the downtown Riverside Historic Courthouse and several other Riverside courthouses do not hear small claims. Which courthouse has venue is governed by Code of Civil Procedure sections 392-395 together with the court's own community-of-origin filing assignments, which the court updated effective August 1, 2026 (moving Lake Elsinore/Wildomar small claims to Corona and Banning-area small claims to Moreno Valley) — so there is no single central filing office and filers must use the court's location tool before filing.