Respond when you receive a small claim
Resources, agencies and counties · resources
What this source covers
File the official Defendant’s Response with the correct payment, denial or counterclaim selection.
How to use it
Who this route is for: Defendants served in Oregon circuit-court small claims cases.
Prepare: Small Claim and Notice and date of service; Defendant’s Response with case number; Proof of payment or return of property if paying; Contracts, receipts and other defense evidence; Filing fee or Fee Deferral or Waiver application
How to proceed:
1. Read the January 2026 defendant instructions and identify the filing court and service date.
2. Choose payment, denial and any related counterclaim carefully; if paying, select only that response and attach proof.
3. Complete and sign the response; each defendant generally files separately except the allowed spouse/domestic-partner joint response.
4. File in the court where the claim was filed with the required fee or fee-relief application.
5. Keep confirmation and attend scheduled mediation or hearing with your evidence.
Timing and notices: The current packet requires a signed response within 30 calendar days after service. Follow the notice and contact the court immediately if time is short.
Get the small-claims response forms: https://www.courts.oregon.gov/forms/Pages/small-claims.aspx
Limits and questions to verify
Jury requests and larger counterclaims change procedures and fees. Small claims decisions generally cannot be appealed; lawyers need the judge’s permission to participate in a small claims hearing.
Procedure-navigation guidance reviewed 2026-10-11 against retained primary publisher evidence. Captured HTML/PDF and labeled web-tool extracts retain their own evidence types and hashes. Source review does not validate legal currentness, personal deadlines, eligibility, service availabi
Source: Respond when you receive a small claim - official instructions · https://www.courts.oregon.gov/forms/Documents/SC-INSTR.pdf
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Source file: data/source-evidence/2026-10-11/all-categories/96d331c1388b408c88833263a9a5cd1131e7bb9aa00d134f8d85ebf5eab6f8c1.pdf
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Passage SHA-256: 7b1e9e43ed02a39989dd7bb913fde8b3e30e7a06818a86e68b1fdf9018112f48
Retained source evidence SHA-256: 96d331c1388b408c88833263a9a5cd1131e7bb9aa00d134f8d85ebf5eab6f8c1
Source location: Procedure applicability, preparation, next steps, timing and limitations; statewide source; discovered from https://www.courts.oregon.gov/forms/Documents/SC-INSTR.pdf
Source checked: 2026-10-11 (access date, not legal effective date)
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What this source covers
File the official Defendant’s Response with the correct payment, denial or counterclaim selection.
How to use it
Who this route is for: Defendants served in Oregon circuit-court small claims cases.
Prepare: Small Claim and Notice and date of service; Defendant’s Response with case number; Proof of payment or return of property if paying; Contracts, receipts and other defense evidence; Filing fee or Fee Deferral or Waiver application
How to proceed:
1. Read the January 2026 defendant instructions and identify the filing court and service date.
2. Choose payment, denial and any related counterclaim carefully; if paying, select only that response and attach proof.
3. Complete and sign the response; each defendant generally files separately except the allowed spouse/domestic-partner joint response.
4. File in the court where the claim was filed with the required fee or fee-relief application.
5. Keep confirmation and attend scheduled mediation or hearing with your evidence.
Timing and notices: The current packet requires a signed response within 30 calendar days after service. Follow the notice and contact the court immediately if time is short.
Get the small-claims response forms: https://www.courts.oregon.gov/forms/Pages/small-claims.aspx
Limits and questions to verify
Jury requests and larger counterclaims change procedures and fees. Small claims decisions generally cannot be appealed; lawyers need the judge’s permission to participate in a small claims hearing.
Procedure-navigation guidance reviewed 2026-10-11 against retained primary publisher evidence. Captured HTML/PDF and labeled web-tool extracts retain their own evidence types and hashes. Source review does not validate legal currentness, personal deadlines, eligibility, service availability or a complete filing packet.
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