How to Write a Small Claims Tribunal Claim Form: Full Example, Form 1 & 2 Guide, and 5 Common Mistakes

Being owed money with no way to get it back, and having no way to make your case heard, is genuinely frustrating. Fortunately, Hong Kong has the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) for exactly this situation — for money disputes of HK$75,000 or below, you don't need to hire a lawyer; an individual can file the claim themselves.

But the single most important step in the whole process usually isn't the hearing itself — it's completing the two forms you submit when filing. Write them clearly and specifically, and the Adjudicator understands the dispute at a glance; write them vaguely, and you risk being asked to supply more information, delays to your hearing date, or even losing a case you should have won because the evidence wasn't there. If you want to understand how the Tribunal works overall first, see our complete guide to the Small Claims Tribunal; this article focuses specifically on how to write the claim form, with a full worked example and the 5 most common mistakes.

First, Confirm Your Case Is Suited to the Tribunal

According to the Hong Kong Judiciary, the Small Claims Tribunal handles money claims of no more than HK$75,000 — this limit was raised from the original HK$50,000 on 3 December 2018, and the legal basis for the Tribunal's jurisdiction is the Small Claims Tribunal Ordinance (Cap. 338).

What Kinds of Debt Can the Small Claims Tribunal Recover?

Common accepted claim types include:

• Debts: private loans, unpaid credit card balances, unpaid goods, and so on
• Service fees: services rendered but unpaid — design fees, renovation fees, consulting fees
• Property damage: compensation for damaged property, such as water-leakage repair costs
• Sold goods and consumer claims: deposits that should be refunded after a cancelled transaction, deposit disputes in tenancy matters

The Tribunal does not handle employment disputes, recovery of possession of land, maintenance, or defamation cases. Note that you cannot split a debt exceeding HK$75,000 into several claims to fit under the limit; but if the amount only slightly exceeds it (say, HK$80,000), you can still choose to abandon the excess and pursue the remainder at the Tribunal. If you haven't yet decided whether filing is worth it, our article on whether to handle it yourself or get help before filing may help you weigh it up.

What Goes in Form 1 and What Goes in Form 2

Many people assume the "claim form" is a single document. In fact it's two forms, each serving a completely different purpose — and you need both.

What's the Difference Between Form 1 and Form 2?

According to the Judiciary, once the claimant has verified the defendant's details, both Form 1 and Form 2 must be completed and filed:

Form	Official Name	Contents
Form 1	Heading of Claim: General Form	The full name and address of the claimant and defendant (individual, corporation, sole proprietorship, or partnership) — a Hong Kong address is required; the Tribunal does not accept a PO box or a "care of" address
Form 2	Particulars of Claim	The amount claimed in Hong Kong dollars, the grounds of claim, a breakdown of the amount claimed, and how each item was calculated; a supplementary sheet may be attached if there isn't enough space

When completing Form 1, take particular care: if the other party is a limited company, you must give the full company name and its registered office address (searchable at the Companies Registry); for a sole proprietorship or partnership, verify the address against its Business Registration application at the Inland Revenue Department's Business Registration Office. Never give just a shop name, a nickname, or a correspondence address.

The signing requirements for Form 2 are also specific: an individual claimant must sign personally and print their name; a sole proprietorship is signed by the proprietor with the words "sole proprietor" added; a partnership is signed by one of the partners with "partner" added; and a corporation must be signed by a director, company secretary, or other authorised officer, and bear the company chop.

How to Write Grounds of Claim That Are Clear and Persuasive

One field on Form 2 — the grounds of claim — is the single most important part of the whole document, and also the part most people visibly get vague on.

How Should the Particulars and Grounds of Claim Be Written?

The principle: concise, specific, chronological. Start with one sentence summarising what you're claiming (Particulars of Claim), then set out what happened point by point (Grounds of Claim), with a date, amount, and supporting evidence for each item. Here's a full example:

Particulars of Claim — example:

The Claimant claims from the Defendant unpaid fees for design services rendered, in the sum of HK$30,000, together with interest and costs.

Grounds of Claim — example:

1. On 1 February 2026, the Claimant and Defendant reached agreement by email that the Claimant would design the Defendant's company logo and website, for a total fee of HK$50,000.
2. Under the agreement, the Defendant was to pay a deposit of $20,000, with the balance of $30,000 payable within 14 days of completion of the project.
3. The Defendant paid the $20,000 deposit on 5 February 2026.
4. The Claimant completed and delivered all design work on 30 March 2026, evidenced by email records.
5. As at the date of filing, despite repeated reminders, the Defendant has still not paid the outstanding $30,000.
6. The Defendant is in breach of the agreement between the parties, and the Claimant now claims the above sum.

Notice the features of this example: every point carries a date, amount, and corresponding evidence — the Adjudicator grasps the crux of the dispute at a glance, without having to guess at the missing facts. If you sent a formal demand letter before filing, the amount and repayment deadline stated in that letter make a useful skeleton for your grounds of claim — see our article on how to write a demand letter for more.

How to Submit the Forms Correctly Once They're Complete

A lot of outdated information leads readers to believe claims can be filed online or by post. In fact, according to the Judiciary's current guidance, Form 1 and Form 2 must be submitted by the claimant in person at the Tribunal registry — post, fax, and email are not accepted; if the claimant cannot attend in person, they may appoint a representative to file on their behalf.

Can the Claim Forms Be Filed Online or by Post?

No. Filing takes place at the Small Claims Tribunal registry on 3/F, Block B, West Kowloon Law Courts Building (501 Tung Chau Street, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon). If you have procedural questions before filing, you can also visit the Tribunal's Advice Centre on the same block, 1/F, or call the hotline 2877 4068.

The filing fee must be paid at the same time, tiered into four bands by claim amount:

Claim Amount (HK$)	Filing Fee (HK$)
Not exceeding 5,000	20
Over 5,000 up to 25,000	40
Over 25,000 up to 50,000	70
Over 50,000 up to 75,000	120

(The fee schedule is set by subsidiary legislation and may change from time to time — check the Judiciary's latest publication for the current figures; the table above reflects the schedule in effect from October 2024.)

Once filed and paid, registry staff issue Form 3 (the Notice of Date and Place of Hearing), stating the date, time, and courtroom for the first hearing (a brief mention), and the Bailiff's Section posts Forms 1, 2, and 3 to each defendant by ordinary mail. Note that if you want to amend your claim details after filing, you must apply to the Adjudicator in writing for permission, then attend the registry in person to process the change and pay the prescribed fee once approved — you cannot simply amend it whenever you like, which is exactly why getting the details right the first time matters so much.

The forms are only the starting point: a brief mention, possibly further mentions, and a trial still follow. And even a win doesn't enforce itself — the enforcement method set out in the Tribunal's own guidance is to apply at the registry for a writ of fieri facias (fee $55), under which the Bailiff seizes the defendant's property and, after a 5-working-day grace period, may sell it — though the Bailiff cannot force entry into residential premises. Garnishee orders and charging orders, by contrast, are general enforcement procedures of the District Court or Court of First Instance — they are not a published Small Claims Tribunal procedure. If you'd like company through these steps — from completing the forms to filing them — it's worth seeing what our filing assistance service covers.

5 Common Mistakes to Check Before You File

1. Inaccurate defendant details: using a nickname or an incomplete company name means documents can't be validly served, delaying the case — or even preventing the Tribunal from proceeding with the claim at all.
2. Vague grounds of claim: writing only "owes $50,000" with no background, contract terms, or explanation of how the debt arose, leaves the Adjudicator unable to grasp the dispute.
3. No supporting evidence: every material fact stated in your grounds should be backed by a contract, receipt, message log, or similar — otherwise you can't discharge the burden of proof.
4. Wrong interest calculation: to claim interest, you need to state the contractual clause or law relied on and clearly show the calculation — simply writing "plus interest" isn't enough.
5. Wrong address: giving a correspondence address instead of a residential or registered address — the Tribunal explicitly does not accept PO boxes or "care of" addresses, and this can cause failed service and delay your case.

What Documents Count as Strong Evidence

Formal contracts, quotations, invoices, receipts, bank statements, cheque copies, email correspondence, and message logs from WhatsApp, Signal, or WeChat (clearly showing dates and identities), as well as photos or videos, can all serve as evidence. Pay by bank transfer wherever possible to leave a clear payment trail — pure cash transactions are much harder to prove later. If you're not sure whether what you have is enough, or how to organise it into hearing-ready documents, see our guide to preparing evidence for the Small Claims Tribunal, which covers categorisation and submission format in more detail.