Small Claims Tribunal Fees in Hong Kong

As long as a debt goes unrecovered, there's usually a voice in the back of your mind doing the maths: is it worth a special trip to court for this amount? Many people get stuck before they even file, simply because they don't know the costs — worried they'll discover a pile of hidden charges once they're in, and end up worse off than when they started.

In fact, the Small Claims Tribunal's fee schedule is quite transparent — every charge is written down in black and white, no guesswork needed. This article breaks down every cost from filing to enforcing a judgment, with a practical way to work out the numbers before you file — if you want the full picture of the filing process first, see our Complete Guide to the Small Claims Tribunal.

Filing Fees — The Four Tiers at a Glance

How much does it cost to file a Small Claims Tribunal claim?

The filing fee is tiered into four bands by the amount claimed, paid in one go when you submit your claim form. According to the Hong Kong Judiciary's Small Claims Tribunal fee schedule, updated October 2024:

Claim amount (HK$)	Filing fee (HK$)
Not exceeding 5,000	20
Above 5,000 up to 25,000	40
Above 25,000 up to 50,000	70
Above 50,000 up to 75,000	120

Example: claiming HK$30,000 in unpaid goods falls into the "above 25,000 up to 50,000" band, so the filing fee is HK$70; claiming HK$75,000 (the ceiling amount) still only costs HK$120 in filing fees.

Note that the filing fee is payable when you submit your form, and it is non-refundable regardless of the outcome. However, if you win, the Adjudicator will typically approve an order for the defendant to reimburse the filing fee you've already paid (see "Can You Recover Costs After Winning?" below).

Other Charges Beyond the Filing Fee

What other common charges might come up besides the filing fee?

Beyond the basic filing fee, the same fee schedule lists a few other charges you might encounter over the course of a claim. These are also taken from the Judiciary's published fee schedule:

Charge	Amount (HK$)	When it typically applies
Application for review / setting aside a determination or order / leave to appeal (each)	61	You disagree with the decision and want the original Adjudicator to review it, set aside an order, or apply to the High Court for leave to appeal
Witness summons with copy (per witness, including service)	33	You need to summon a witness to give evidence
Filing a writ of execution	55	The other party won't pay voluntarily after you win, and you're applying for a bailiff to enforce the judgment
Filing amended documents	20	Your claim form or defence needs to be revised and resubmitted

None of these individual amounts is high, but if you go through several of these steps in sequence — say, amending your claim form ($20), then summoning a witness ($33), then finding the other party still won't pay and needing a writ of execution ($55) — the total naturally adds up. That's why it's actually most cost-effective to get your details right at the form-filling stage. If you're unsure how to fill in Form 1 or Form 2, or how to word your amount and grounds clearly, see our Claim Form Writing Guide to reduce the chance of having to file "amended documents" later.

Is It Worth It? A Cost Framework for Deciding

How large does a claim need to be before it's worth filing?

Simply comparing "the fee" against "the amount claimed" doesn't tell you much — even at the HK$75,000 ceiling, the filing fee is only HK$120, less than 0.2% of the amount. In other words, the filing fee itself is almost never the deciding factor in whether a claim is worth pursuing.

What's actually worth your time weighing up is:

• Whether the other party can actually pay. The Tribunal won't chase the losing party for payment on your behalf — even if you win, if the other side has no assets, no income, or has become uncontactable, the HK$55 writ of execution fee and the time you've invested could easily end up as "won the case, recovered nothing."
• Time and effort. From filing the form, to attending the first hearing, to possibly preparing for a further mention and the full hearing — you need to follow through in person the whole way. That time investment is often worth more consideration than the tens or low hundreds of dollars in official fees.
• Whether to handle it yourself or get help. If you assess that you don't have the time or confidence to handle the paperwork and hearing on your own, a filing consultant is worth considering — but that's an additional cost calculated separately from the Tribunal's official fee schedule. To weigh up whether doing it yourself or getting help is more cost-effective, see our DIY Filing vs. Getting Help comparison. If you'd like to see what that actually involves and what it costs, take a look at what our filing assistance service covers.
• You still have to chase after judgment. Even after winning, the money doesn't land in your account automatically — enforcing the judgment still requires a separate application and fee. See our Judgment Enforcement Guide for the details.

In short: the numbers on the official fee schedule are low. The real "cost" lies in time, effort, and whether the other party can actually pay — and that's what's genuinely worth thinking through before you file.

Can You Recover Costs After Winning?

After winning, can you get back the filing fee and other costs?

In theory, yes — but you need to actively request it; it doesn't happen automatically.

When filing your claim form, you can ask the Adjudicator to include in the final judgment:

• The filing fee you've already paid
• Other reasonable related charges incurred in pursuing the claim (such as witness summons fees)

The Adjudicator will generally exercise discretion to grant this, though there's no guarantee of full recovery — whether it's granted, and how much, still depends on the Adjudicator's assessment of the case. Costs incurred separately when enforcing the judgment (such as the HK$55 writ of execution fee) need to be dealt with separately when applying for enforcement — they aren't automatically included in the original judgment amount.

Legal Fees and Other Potential Costs

Do you need a lawyer for the Small Claims Tribunal? Will it get expensive?

Generally, no — in fact, the procedure doesn't allow a lawyer to represent an individual party at the hearing (unless that lawyer is personally a party to the case). This means legal representation costs are, for most individual claimants, close to zero.

That said, there are a few potential costs worth keeping in mind that don't appear on the official fee schedule:

• Filing consultant fees (if you engage one): a private service fee that varies by scope of service — not an official Tribunal charge.
• Transport and time costs: filing forms and attending hearings in person both require your physical presence, and this time cost is easy to overlook.
• Organising and photocopying documents: a small amount, but still worth factoring in if you have a lot of evidence.

As for Legal Aid, the Legal Aid Department's Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme explicitly excludes Small Claims Tribunal claims, so you can't rely on Legal Aid to offset costs — but the Duty Lawyer Service's Free Legal Advice Scheme can still offer preliminary advice, and it's worth making use of.