California Small Claims Court Form SC-100

Form Purpose

Form SC-100 is the "Plaintiff's Claim" form used to initiate a small claims action in California.

Standard Sections and Fields

1. Court Information

• Court location: Usually pre-filled or filled during filing
• Cases are filed where defendant lives/works or where contract/injury occurred

2. Plaintiff Information (Left side - "PLAINTIFF")

• Name: Full legal name
• Address: Street, city, state, ZIP
• Phone Number: Contact phone
• Email Address: Optional but helpful
• Defendant represented by attorney: Yes/No checkbox

3. Defendant Information (Right side - "DEFENDANT")

• Name: Full legal name
• Address: Street, city, state, ZIP
• Phone Number: If known
• Email: If known
• Does defendant have employee/workers/agents: Yes/No

4. Claim Information (Main body)

• Nature of Claim: Description of why you're suing
  • Examples: "Failure to return security deposit", "Breach of contract", etc.
• Facts: Detailed description of what happened
• Contract Reference: If applicable, mention any written agreement
• Damages: Amount claimed
  • Broken down by category if needed (e.g., security deposit, lost rent, etc.)
• Amount sought: Total claim amount

5. Dates and Timeline

• Date of incident/contract: When dispute arose
• Filing date: When form is submitted

6. Declaration

• "I declare under penalty of perjury..." statement
• Signature line (sign in front of clerk or notary)

7. Additional Pages

• Page 1: Main claim information
• Optional additional pages for longer fact descriptions

Common Field Names (may vary by PDF version)

Typical naming patterns:

• Plaintiff_Name, Plaintiff_Address, Plaintiff_Phone, etc.
• Defendant_Name, Defendant_Address, etc.
• Nature_of_Claim, Facts_of_Claim
• Amount_Claimed, Amount_Demanded
• DateOfDispute, DateOfIncident
• Various checkboxes for claim types

Important Notes for Filling

1. Leave blank: Case number, date stamped, court use only sections
2. County: Usually auto-filled based on court location
3. Amounts: Write out numerically (e.g., $1500.00)
4. Dates: Format as mm/dd/yyyy or yyyy-mm-dd depending on form
5. Names: Use full legal names
6. Addresses: Include apartment/unit numbers if applicable
7. Phone Numbers: Include area code
8. Signature: Leave blank unless instructed otherwise
9. Checkboxes: Mark with "Yes" or check mark depending on form

Section Priority for Filling

Fill in this order:

1. Plaintiff (you) information
2. Defendant information
3. Nature and facts of claim
4. Amount claimed
5. Dates relevant to the dispute
6. Declaration (automatic wording is usually pre-printed)

Tips for Security Deposit Claims

When filling for a security deposit dispute:

• Nature: "Failure to return security deposit"
• Facts: Mention roommate/tenant relationship, move-out date, sublease agreement
• Amount: Security deposit amount
• Evidence: Reference "signed roommate sublease contract"
• Contact attempts: Mention text messages or communications demanding return