DocketXDocketX / Can't afford a lawyer
Small claims court was built for people without lawyers
It is the one court where self-representation is the norm, by design: simplified procedure, modest filing fees, and judges who expect non-lawyers. If someone owes you money or damaged your property within your state's limit, this is the venue that was made for you.
The shape of a small claims case
You file a short petition saying who owes what and why, pay a filing fee, and the court serves the other side. At the hearing, both parties tell their story with documents and witnesses; formal evidence rules are relaxed. Judgment follows, and collecting it has its own procedures.
Prepare like it matters, because it does
Bring every document: contracts, texts, invoices, photos, receipts. Organize the story by date. Our Texas justice-court rules page quotes the controlling rules verbatim.
Free and low-cost help, right now
- Legal Services Corporation — find free legal aid near you by ZIP code; eligibility is income-based.
- ABA Free Legal Answers — post a civil legal question and a volunteer lawyer answers, free, income-qualified.
- TexasLawHelp.org — plain-language guides and court-approved Texas forms.
- Texas Judicial Branch self-help — the courts' own resources for people without lawyers.
Free tools
What we built for exactly this
DocketBuster
Sits beside your live hearing in any state and explains each step in plain language, with the real rule behind it.
Open →Citation checker
Verify any case citation against 18.1 million real ones, free, before you rely on it.
Check →The rules, verbatim
Eviction, small claims, custody procedure and more, with the controlling rules quoted word for word.
Browse →The honest limit
When you really should have a lawyer
Some situations carry consequences that are hard or impossible to undo, and handling them alone is genuinely dangerous: criminal charges that risk jail, cases involving child protective services or termination of parental rights, appeals, immigration consequences, and complex property or custody disputes. If your case is one of these, exhaust the free options above and the state bar's lawyer referral service (referral consultations are typically low-cost) before going alone. We would rather lose you as a user than watch you lose something that mattered.
Not legal advice and not a law firm. We never promise outcomes: self-representation carries real risk, courts dismiss cases on procedure, and the honest version of help includes saying so. If you qualify for free legal aid, take it.