Suffolk County District Courts Suffolk Small Claims Complaint Form Instructions

Overview

These instructions are for use with the Suffolk District Court Complaint Form (DC-283).

A one-page version of this information is available at the courthouses.

Who Can File a Small Claim

all of these must be true:

• You are asking for $5,000 or less.
• You are 18 or older.
• The person you are suing lives, works, or does business in one of the five western towns of Suffolk County.

How to Fill Out the Small Claims Form

• Use black ink only. Type or block‑print clearly.
• Choose Day Court or Night Court on the form.
  • Night Court is in Ronkonkoma on certain Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.
  • Day Court is held in five civil courthouses at 9:30 a.m. Contact the court to find out which days they hear Small Claims.
• You are the Plaintiff. Write your first and last name and your street address.
  • A P.O. Box by itself is not accepted.
  • If you have a d/b/a please add it (John Doe d/b/a JD Landscaping)
  • If you are a corporation, partnership, or association, and not a natural person, see the instructions for a Commercial Claim.
• Write the Defendant’s full name and street address.
  • It is important to have the Defendant's true name. 
  • The address must be a street address where the Defendant lives, works, or does business.
  • The Defendant's address must be in the five western towns of Suffolk County: Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip, or Smithtown.
    • except if the claim is about a rental property and you're the tenant, and the defendant/landlord does not have an address in western Suffolk, you can write a mailing address in New York State where you normally pay rent.
  • A P.O. Box by itself is not accepted.
• Check only one cause of action.
  • If you are unsure, choose #85.
• In the box labeled “Briefly state details of your claim,” write the reason you are suing.
  • Do not attach evidence or extra pages.
• In the box labeled “Total amount of damages,” write the amount you are suing for.
  • The maximum is $5,000.
• Review, date and sign the form. You are affirming what you wrote is true, the same as swearing under oath.

Filing Fees

Please refer to the Fees page for the fee to "SMALL CLAIMS - File an action".

The Filing Fee is determined by the amount you are suing for in the area "Total amount of damages."