Small claims courts are included in each state’s court system and are designed for the resolution of disputes involving a limited dollar amount—and for the parties to the dispute to represent themselves (pro se). Small claims courts are often referred to as the People’s Court, and some states such as California prohibit attorneys from representing parties in small claims court.

The limit on the amount of money in dispute (the jurisdictional limit) varies from state to state within a range of $2,500 to $25,000—but is usually between $5,000 and $15,000. The disputes filed in small claims courts are often seeking to recover a debt or involving residential landlord-tenant disputes.

Judges in small claims courts in some states are called Justices of the Peace, and the courts are sometimes referred to as JP courts.

In Maryland, small claims courts are a division of the District Court system and are designed to handle civil cases involving claims for limited amounts of money. The jurisdictional limit for small claims in Maryland is $5,000, which means that the court can only hear cases where the amount in dispute is $5,000 or less. Parties in small claims court in Maryland are encouraged to represent themselves (pro se), but they are not prohibited from having an attorney. The types of disputes commonly resolved in Maryland's small claims courts include debt recovery, property damage, and landlord-tenant issues. Judges preside over these cases, and the proceedings are designed to be relatively informal, with the goal of providing a speedy, inexpensive, and accessible means of dispute resolution.