Small Claims DeskWho Can Sue, MI

Small Claims Desk is a private company — not a court or government agency, and not affiliated with any court.

Michigan · District Court

Who Can File a Small Claims Case in Michigan

Before the amount, before the forms: Michigan decides who is allowed to bring the case at all, and what that filer has to put on the paperwork. Getting this wrong is one of the few mistakes that survives all the way to the judgment.

Who Michigan permits to file

Michigan allows a small claims case to be brought by:

Whoever files has to be the person or entity that actually holds the claim. Suing in your own name over a debt owed to your company — or the reverse — is the kind of defect a defendant raises at the hearing.

Claim limit
$7,000
Court
District Court
File online
Yes (statewide)
Appeal window
Generally waived

The three that catch people out

Can I sue as my LLC or company?

Michigan permits it, and the form needs the full registered legal name and address of the entity — not the trading name. Some courts also limit how a company may be represented at the hearing.

Can I sue on behalf of someone else?

A parent or guardian may bring a claim for a minor child in Michigan. Otherwise you cannot file for a friend, a relative or a tenant — they file for themselves.

Do I need a lawyer?

No. Small claims exists so that people can represent themselves, and most attorneys will not take a case of this size. That is the whole design of the division.

Common questions

Who can file a small claims case in Michigan?

Individual (including a guardian, conservator, or next friend filing on behalf of another); Business (sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation); Government entity (county, city, village, township, or school district).

Can an LLC or corporation file small claims in Michigan?

Yes. The claim form requires the entity's full legal business name, address and phone.

Can I sue someone in Michigan if I live in another state?

Usually yes — what matters is that the court has jurisdiction over the defendant, which normally means suing where the defendant lives or where the dispute happened, not where you live.

Do I need a lawyer to file small claims in Michigan?

No. District Court small claims is designed for self-representation.

Pick the county where you would sue

Small claims is filed at the county level. Pick your county for its court, fee, and forms — or start your claim and we'll ask where you'd sue.

Start my claim

Your small claims filing packet — $49

Everything above, assembled and filled in with your facts:

Start my claim

Answer a few questions first. See your claim written out before you pay anything.

Related tools

Reviewed by Small Claims Desk · Last reviewed 2026-08-23 · Sourced from Michigan judiciary self-help resources and each county's clerk of court and MCL 600.8401 (Small Claims Division; $7,000 limit effective January 1, 2024, up from $6,500 in 2021, $6,000 in 2018, $5,500 in 2015, $5,000 in 2012). See how we verify.