Bring the matter before the local court
Verified 14 September 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)
You have a dispute and the amount of claims is less than or equal to €10,000. You can refer the matter to the local court. We present you the information to know.
Warning
Depending on where you need to start the procedure, you may need to refer the matter to the court and not the local court. The procedure for bringing a civil dispute before the court until €10,000 is identical to that before the local court.
The local court deals with most of the small civil disputes of everyday life. For example: unpaid debt, non-compliant delivery, poorly executed works, repayment of a product, a service.
The local court has jurisdiction where the amount of claims is less than or equal to €10,000.
If you cannot quantify the value of your dispute (for example, if you request the cancelation of a contract), you must refer the matter to the court.
The local court shall have jurisdiction to:
- Dispute whose amount is less than or equal to €10,000
- Performance of a contract obligation less than or equal to €10,000
- Contestation of funeral
- Contestation of costs, emoluments, disbursements of court commissioners, lawyers, notaries, auctioneers
- Boundary action
- Damage to crops, fields, fences, agricultural buildings...
- Action of damage caused to crops, harvested by game
- Dispute relating to the sale of abandoned items in a storage unit, at a repairer, a transporter
- Action relating to loss, damage, diversion of packages and luggage
- Action relating to plantations (distance, pruning of hedges or trees)
- Action relating to digging a well, construction of a chimney, a furnace...
- Action on cleaning ditches and channels
- Management of Mayor's decisions on the establishment or revision of the list of electors (delisting....))
- Order to pay and order to make
FYI
Within the local court, the protection litigation judge may be seized for specific disputes such as:
- Protective measure (guardianship, guardianship, family...) empowerment
- Presumption of absence of a major
- Residential lease (eviction, return of deposit...))
- Consumer credit or real estate credit (request for payment terms...))
- Over-indebtedness of individuals or personal recovery procedure
- Order to pay in case of unpaid rent or consumer credit and injunction to make
To obtain, in emergency, provisional measures (expertise, provision, on-call dutypending ...), the main trial, called trial on the merits, you can use the interlocutory proceedings.
You can apply to the local court as private to act against another individual.
Example :
You buy an item at €500 put up for sale on the internet by another individual. You pay the seller but they don't send you the item. You can go to court to get the seller to pay you back €500.
You can also apply to the local court as private to act against a professional (a trader or a craftsman for example).
Example :
A craftsman must make works at home for an amount of €6,000. You pay a deposit of €600 to the craftsman, but the latter does not come to realize the works on time. You can apply to the court to order the craftsman to repay the deposit.
If you are an association or a professional, you can also take action against an individual in the local court.
You must obligatory attempt a conciliation, mediation or participatory procedure when the amount of your requests is less than or equal à €5,000. This is also the case for certain specific disputes (e.g. abnormal neighborhood disturbances, boundary actions...).)
The court with territorial jurisdiction is that of where your opponent resides.
However, for some disputes, you can choose to go to a court other than your opponent's.
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General scenario
The competent court shall be that of where your opponent resides.
If your opponent does not have a known domicile or residence, you can apply to the court of your domicile (or the court of your choice if you live abroad).
Who shall I contact
Contract (purchase of goods or services)
In the field of contract (purchase, rental, sale, provision of services, etc.), you can take the matter to court of the place of delivery or the the place where the service is provided.
If you are a consumer in your dispute, you may bring the matter before the court in the place where you lived at the time the contract was concluded or the damage occurred.
In any case, you can also choose to refer the case to the where your opponent resides.
Who shall I contact
Damage (excluding contract)
In the field of compensation for damage (outside contract), you can also apply to the place where you suffered the damage or the court of place where the event giving rise to the damage occurred.
In any case, you can also choose to refer the case to the where your opponent resides.
Who shall I contact
Insurance
The court of competent jurisdiction depends on the type of dispute in which the insurance is to intervene.
General scenario
The competent court is that of the insured person's domicile.
Who shall I contact
In case of accident
The competent court shall be the court of the insured person's domicile or the court of the place of the accident.
Who shall I contact
Home insurance
The competent court shall be the court of the place of the goods concerned.
Who shall I contact
You must send your request to judge the local court.
If you ask for a interim relief or a order on application, you must send your request to president the local court.
You have to go to court by query, by assignment or by joint request.
You can use the query only when the request amount does not exceed €5,000.
In determining the value of the dispute, the total amount of your requests.
Sometimes you can't quantify the value of the dispute (for example, if you ask to cancel a contract). In this case, you must bring the matter before the court by assignment.
If you agree with your opponent to have your dispute decided by the court, you can make a joint request, even if the amount of applications exceeds €5,000.
Query
You can prepare the application yourself or ask a lawyer to do so.
Who shall I contact
You can use the following template or write it on free paper:
Application for referral to the court or local court
You must attach the copies of your supporting documents (invoice, contract, quotation, proof of the attempt to conciliate...) in as many copies as the opponents mentioned in your request.
Warning
You must attach a tax stamp of 50 €, unless you are a beneficiary of legal aid.
You can ask that the the procedure shall take place without a hearing using the following form:
The request must include the following:
- Full identity of the parties
- Court seised
- Subject matter of the claim (damages, delivery of goods, cancelation of a contract...))
- Reasons for the dispute
- Company steps towards an amicable resolution of the dispute or justification for waiving such an attempt
- List of parts.
You need to encrypt your requests (€100 damages, for example).
The request must be dated and signed.
FYI
It is possible to request a sum corresponding to the costs you had to incur for the procedure (travel expenses, stamps...).)
The completed application must be filed or sent by post to the competent court.
Once the request is saved by the graft, you shall be notified by the court of the place, day and time of the hearing. Your opponent is summoned by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
Assignment
You can go to court by having your opponent issue a assignment by a commissioner of justice.
Who shall I contact
Your summons must contain mandatory information:
- Designation of the competent court
- Place, day and time of the hearing (information you must obtain from the court)
- Subject matter of the claim (damages, delivery of goods, cancelation of a contract...))
- Full identity of the parties
- Reasons for the dispute
- Parts List
- Company steps towards an amicable resolution of the dispute or justification for waiving such an attempt
- How your opponent should appear before the court, i.e. whether he should take a lawyer, within what time frame
- Consequences in case of non-appearance of your opponent.
You need to encrypt your requests (€100 damages, for example).
The summons constitutes your conclusions, that is to say, your requests and your arguments.
FYI
It is possible to request a sum corresponding to the costs you had to incur for the procedure (travel expenses, stamps...).)
An assignment template is available:
Assignment template without mandatory representation
The summons may be drafted by a lawyer.
Who shall I contact
You can request in your subpoena that the proceedings proceed without a hearing.
Warning
You must attach to your court summons a tax stamp of 50 €, unless you are a beneficiary of legal aid.
The summons must be filed with the court at least 15 days before the hearing date.
Failure to meet deadlines leads to lapse of the assignment, that is to say that the assignment is null and that you must make a new one.
Joint request
In agreement with your opponent, you can apply to the court by submitting a joint application to the registry.
This request is a simple letter, signed jointly by the parties, which shall indicate points of agreement and points of disagreement.
The request must include the following:
- Full identity of the parties
- Court seised
- Subject matter of the claim (damages, delivery of goods, cancelation of a contract...))
- Reasons for the dispute
- List of parts.
It must be dated and signed.
The proceedings may be conducted without a hearing. In this case, the joint application must include the agreement of the applicants.
FYI
You must attach a tax stamp of €50 with the joint request.
If one of the applicants benefits from thelegal aid, he is exempt from the purchase of this stamp. The other co-applicant, not receiving legal aid, must pay this stamp.
To obtain urgent interim measures, while awaiting the main trial, you can use a interlocutory proceedings.
You have to pay a tax stamp from €50 to bring your claim to court, unless you are a beneficiary of legal aid.
Your eventual lawyer's fees and costs of commissioner of justice (to have the summons issued for example) are at your expense.
If your resources are insufficient, you can receive legal aid to cover all or part of these costs.
Please note
If you lose your business, you may be ordered to repay the costs of the trial to your opponent.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
For further information
For more information on this subject, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Please note: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their progress.
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General rules of territorial jurisdiction
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