Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 5.1. Limited Civil Cases · Article 1. Jurisdiction in Limited Civil Cases · Last amended 2024 · Last verified July 28, 2026
(a) The following civil cases and proceedings are limited civil cases:
(1) A case at law if the demand, exclusive of interest, or the value of the property in controversy amounts to thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or less. This paragraph does not apply to a case that involves the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, toll, or municipal fine, except an action to enforce payment of delinquent unsecured personal property taxes if the legality of the tax is not contested by the defendant.
(2) An action for dissolution of partnership if the total assets of the partnership do not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or an action of interpleader if the amount of money or the value of the property involved does not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000).
(3) An action to cancel or rescind a contract if the relief is sought in connection with an action to recover money not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or property of a value not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000), paid or delivered under, or in consideration of, the contract; an action to revise a contract where the relief is sought in an action upon the contract if the action otherwise is a limited civil case.
(4) A proceeding in forcible entry or forcible or unlawful detainer if the whole amount of damages claimed is thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or less.
(5) An action to enforce and foreclose a lien on personal property if the amount of the lien is thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or less.
(6) An action to enforce and foreclose, or a petition to release, a lien arising under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 8400) of Title 2 of Part 6 of Division 4 of the Civil Code, or to enforce and foreclose an assessment lien on a common interest development as defined in Section 4100 or 6534 of the Civil Code, if the amount of the liens is thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or less. However, if an action to enforce the lien affects property that is also affected by a similar pending action that is not a limited civil case, or if the total amount of liens sought to be foreclosed against the same property aggregates an amount in excess of thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000), the action is not a limited civil case.
(7) An action for declaratory relief if brought pursuant to either of the following:
(A) By way of cross-complaint as to a right of indemnity with respect to the relief demanded in the complaint or a cross-complaint in an action or proceeding that is otherwise a limited civil case.
(B) To conduct a trial after a nonbinding fee arbitration between an attorney and client, pursuant to Article 13 (commencing with Section 6200) of Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, if the amount in controversy is thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or less.
(8) An action to issue a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction; to take an account, if necessary to preserve the property or rights of any party to a limited civil case; to make any order or perform any act, pursuant to Title 9 (commencing with Section 680.010) of Part 2 (enforcement of judgments) in a limited civil case; to appoint a receiver pursuant to Section 564 in a limited civil case; or to determine title to personal property seized in a limited civil case.
(9) An action under Article 3 (commencing with Section 708.210) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2 for the recovery of an interest in personal property or to enforce the liability of the debtor of a judgment debtor if the interest claimed adversely is of a value not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or the debt denied does not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000).
(10) An arbitration-related petition filed pursuant to either of the following:
(A) Article 2 (commencing with Section 1292) of Chapter 5 of Title 9 of Part 3, except for uninsured motorist arbitration proceedings in accordance with Section 11580.2 of the Insurance Code, if the petition is filed before the arbitration award becomes final and the matter to be resolved by arbitration is a limited civil case under paragraphs (1) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (a) or if the petition is filed after the arbitration award becomes final and the amount of the award and all other rulings, pronouncements, and decisions made in the award are within paragraphs (1) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (a).
(B) To confirm, correct, or vacate a fee arbitration award between an attorney and client that is binding or has become binding, pursuant to Article 13 (commencing with Section 6200) of Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, if the arbitration award is thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or less.
(b) The following cases in equity are limited civil cases:
(1) A case to try title to personal property when the amount involved is not more than thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000).
(2) A case when equity is pleaded as a defensive matter in any case that is otherwise a limited civil case.
(3) A case to vacate a judgment or order of the court obtained in a limited civil case through extrinsic fraud, mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect.
Section 85 sets the general rule for a limited civil case. Section 86 fills in the specifics, listing the exact kinds of lawsuits and proceedings that qualify — each one paired with its own $35,000 ceiling.
The list covers common contract and property disputes: actions to recover money or enforce an obligation, partnership dissolutions where the partnership’s total assets don’t exceed $35,000, interpleader actions, suits to cancel or rescind a contract tied to that amount, unlawful detainer proceedings where the damages claimed stay at or under $35,000, and actions to foreclose liens on personal property, mechanics’ liens, or common interest development assessment liens within the same limit. It also covers narrower situations: certain declaratory relief claims (an indemnity cross-complaint, or a trial after nonbinding attorney-client fee arbitration), ancillary relief like a temporary restraining order or a receiver appointment within an otherwise limited civil case, and petitions tied to arbitration awards that themselves fall within these dollar limits.
Subdivision (b) adds three equity-based cases to the list: disputes over title to personal property worth $35,000 or less, equity raised as a defense in a case that’s otherwise limited, and a motion to vacate a limited civil case judgment obtained through extrinsic fraud, mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect.
The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.
1982 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 86 is amended to conform to Title 9 (commencing with Section 680.010) of Part 2 (Enforcement of Judgments Law).
1984 Law Revision Commission Comment. Subdivision (a)(6) of Section 86 is amended to make clear that municipal and justice courts have jurisdiction over actions to enforce and foreclose condominium assessment liens to the same extent as actions to enforce and foreclose mechanics’ and laborers’ liens.
1998 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 86 is amended to accommodate unification of the municipal and superior courts in a county. Cal. Const. art. VI, § 5(e). The matters listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) are not limited civil cases if the amount in controversy exceeds $25,000. See Section 85. Formerly, each county had one or more municipal courts and a superior court, and the matters listed in Section 86(a)–(b) were within the original jurisdiction of the municipal court, unless the amount in controversy exceeded $25,000. A limited civil case is equivalent to a matter within the original jurisdiction of the municipal court under former law, so subdivisions (a) and (b) as amended continue the effect of former law. See Section 85 (limited civil cases) & Comment. Former subdivision (a)(11) is continued in Penal Code Section 1214, with modifications to accommodate trial court unification. Former subdivision (c) is continued without substantive change in Section 580 (relief awardable in civil causes). Former subdivision (d) is deleted as obsolete.
2001 Law Revision Commission Comment. Subdivision (a)(6) of Section 86 is amended to clarify the jurisdictional classification of a petition to release a mechanic’s lien. This is declaratory of existing law. See Section 85 (limited civil cases) & Comment. See also Section 88 (unlimited civil case). Subdivision (a)(6) is also amended to reflect elimination of the municipal courts as a result of unification with the superior courts pursuant to Article VI, Section 5(e), of the California Constitution. For reclassification of an action in a unified superior court, see Sections 403.010–403.090. Subdivision (a)(8) is amended to delete the language on circumstances for appointment of a receiver in a limited civil case, and insert a cross–reference to Section 564, which now governs appointment of receivers in both limited and unlimited civil cases. The language deleted from the first clause of subdivision (a)(8) is continued in Section 564(b)(8), but broadened to apply to all cases. See Section 564 Comment. The language deleted from the second clause of subdivision (a)(8) is not continued, because it is redundant with Section 564(b)(3) and (b)(4).
2010 Law Revision Commission Comment. Paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 86 is amended to correct a cross-reference and eliminate obsolete terminology. The section is also amended to make stylistic revisions.
2012 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 86 is amended to correct a cross-reference to former Civil Code Section 1351(c).
2013 Law Revision Commission Comment. Paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 86 is amended to add a cross-reference to Civil Code Section 6534, reflecting the enactment of the Commercial and Industrial Common Interest Development Act ( Civ. Code §§ 6500- 6876). 42 Cal. L. Revision Comm’n Reports 1 (2012).
Added Stats 1976 ch 1288 § 5. Amended Stats 1978 ch 146 § 1, operative July 1, 1979; Stats 1979 ch 958 § 1; Stats 1981 ch 714 § 57; Stats 1982 ch 466 § 14 (ch 497 prevails), ch 497 § 25, operative July 1, 1983; Stats 1984 ch 538 § 1, ch 1719 § 1.1; Stats 1985 ch 879 § 1, ch 1383 § 1; Stats 1986 ch 88 § 1, effective May 13, 1986, ch 953 § 1; Stats 1987 ch 104 § 1; Stats 1988 ch 463 § 1; Stats 1993 ch 1261 § 1 (SB 401), ch 1262 § 4.5 (AB 1272); Stats 1997 ch 527 § 2 (SB 150); Stats 1998 ch 931 § 29 (SB 2139), effective September 28, 1998; Stats 2001 ch 44 § 1 (SB 562); Stats 2012 ch 181 § 42 (AB 806), effective January 1, 2013, operative January 1, 2014; Stats 2013 ch 605 § 22 (SB 752), effective January 1, 2014; Stats 2023 ch 861 § 3 (SB 71), effective January 1, 2024.