The Court charges a fee to issue the claim. This fee is $175 as at 1 July 2024. To view a list of the current fees for minor civil actions, visit the Courts website.

The filing fee must usually be paid upfront. If the claim succeeds, it will be added to the amount the respondent must pay. To learn how to request a fee reduction or waiver, read our Court and tribunal fee waiver guide (PDF download, 657KB).

The Court gives each new claim an action number and stamps each copy of the claim with the Court seal to show that it has been issued. The Court will need the action number to provide information parties may request about the progress of the claim.

If the claim is filed online through CourtSA, it is conditionally accepted by the Court if a claim number is allocated to the proceeding, a file number is allocated to the document and the Court’s seal is applied to the document by the electronic system [Uniform Civil Rules 2020 (SA) r 32.1]. The Registrar may reject a document lodged for filing if [r 32.3]:

If a document is filed electronically and conditionally accepted but then rejected by the Registrar, it is treated as not having been filed [r 32.3(2)].