California Guide & File is free. Should you pay for anything?
Sometimes the honest answer is no. Here is precisely what the courts give you for nothing, and the four things it will not do.
Competitor pricing read from their own published pages on 2026-10-10. Prices change; check theirs before deciding.
Start here: it is free, official, and good
The California courts run Guide & File, a guided interview at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov that asks you questions in plain language and produces a completed small claims form. In many counties it will also submit it electronically. It costs nothing, it is maintained by the Judicial Council, and the forms it produces are the real ones.
Most California counties also run a free, staffed self-help center where a person will look at your paperwork and tell you if it is wrong. Between those two, a determined person can get through a small claims case without paying anyone a cent beyond the court's own fee.
We would rather say that on this page than have you discover it afterwards.
Use Guide & File and nothing else if
- You already know which county and which courthouse your case belongs in.
- You have already asked the defendant to pay, in writing, and can prove it.
- You understand how service of process works and who may do it.
- You are comfortable organizing your own evidence and speaking in a courtroom.
- Your claim is simple and well documented.
If that is you, go and use it. selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/small-claims.
The four things it will not do
Guide & File is a form generator. Its job finishes when the form is complete. That leaves four gaps, and they are not small:
It will not write or send your demand letter
California expects you to have asked the defendant to pay before you file, and the SC-100 asks you to confirm it — but the court's tool does not help you do it. This is also the stage where a large share of disputes genuinely end, meaning the court's free tool skips the step most likely to save you the filing fee entirely.
It will not choose your courthouse
California has 58 county Superior Courts, and the large ones run small claims out of several buildings. Venue is generally where the defendant lives or does business, or where the deal was made or performed — and filing in the wrong place can get your case transferred or dismissed. The interview assumes you have already worked this out.
It will not get service right
This is the step that actually loses winnable cases. You cannot serve the papers yourself, the deadline differs depending on whether the defendant is inside or outside the county, substituted service needs a follow-up mailing on SC-104C, and the proof has to be filed before the hearing rather than handed over on the day.
It will not prepare you to speak, or help you collect
You get a filed form and a hearing date. Nobody tells you what to say first, what order to hand up documents in, or what the judge will ask. And after you win, nothing explains that the court does not collect for you, or that SC-133, SC-134 and EJ-130 are how a judgment becomes money.
Side by side
| Guide & File | File My Small Claims | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free, or $49 a case |
| Official court tool | Yes | No |
| Generates SC-100 | Yes | Yes |
| E-files in some counties | Yes | No |
| Demand letter | No | Yes, free |
| Certified mailing with proof | No | $29 |
| County and branch guidance | Limited | All 58 counties |
| Service deadline calculator | No | Yes |
| Evidence organiser | No | Yes |
| Hearing preparation | No | Yes |
| Collection guidance | Partial | Yes |
What we are actually selling
Not the forms. The forms are free public documents published by the Judicial Council and nobody should charge you for them — every form page on this site links to the official PDF.
What we sell is the work around them: the letter that often ends it before filing, choosing the right court out of 58, getting service done inside the deadline, arriving with organized evidence and something to say, and knowing what to do when a judgment turns out not to be money. If you do not need help with those, you do not need us.
Common questions
Is California Guide & File really free?
Yes. It is run by the California courts, it costs nothing, and it generates real small claims forms through a guided interview. In many counties it will also e-file them. You still pay the court’s filing fee of $30 to $75, which is unavoidable either way.
Why would I pay when the court tool is free?
Only if you need the parts it does not cover: the demand letter and mailing with proof of delivery, working out which of 58 county courts to use, getting service of process right inside the deadline, organizing evidence, preparing for the hearing, and collecting afterwards. If you are confident on all of those, use the free tool.
Can I use both?
Yes, and plenty of people should. Use our free builder for the demand letter, and if you end up filing, use Guide & File to generate and e-file the SC-100 at no cost. That combination is the cheapest sensible route through a California small claims case.
Are the court forms themselves free?
Always. SC-100, SC-104, EJ-130 and the rest are public documents published by the Judicial Council of California. Any service charging you for the form itself rather than for help completing it is selling you something you can download for nothing.
Start with a demand letter
Most California small claims cases settle before anyone sees a courtroom. The letter is free to write, and you can have us print and certified-mail it for $29.
No account needed to start. We are not a law firm and cannot give legal advice.