(a) Where the amount in controversy, as stated in the prayer for relief or an affidavit of a party, or as found by the court where the amount in controversy is questioned by the adverse party, does not exceed One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00), the action shall be tried to the court without a jury.
§ 556.1.Constituency of Juries In Civil Actions - Trial Without Jury In Certain Cases
Chapter 11: Trial · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 556.1 sends civil claims of $1,500 or less to the court without a jury, sets a six-person jury for forcible entry and detainer actions, and calls for a twelve-person jury in other money-or-property actions once at least $10,000 is properly put in controversy, with a six-person jury otherwise.
Full Text of § 556.1
(b) In actions for forcible entry and detainer, or detention only, of real property and collection of rents therefor a jury shall consist of six (6) persons.
(c) Except as provided in parts (a) and (b) of this section, actions for the recovery of money or specific real or personal property or both shall be tried to a jury of twelve (12) persons (1) if a party requests the recovery of money in the sum of at least Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or (2) if a party files an affidavit that the action involves at least Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) and the adverse party does not controvert the affidavit, or (3) if the adverse party controverts such an affidavit, if one is filed, and the court finds that the action involves at least Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00); all other actions for the recovery of money or specific real or personal property or both shall be tried to a jury composed of six (6) persons.
Amendment History
Laws 1968, SB 628, c. 371, § 2; Amended by Laws 1969, SB 244, c. 331, § 1, emerg. eff. 5/7/1969; Amended by Laws 1991, HB 1127, c. 15, § 1.
Plain-English Summary
This section fills in the jury-size and jury-or-no-jury questions that Section 556 leaves open. If the amount in controversy -- as stated in the prayer for relief, in an affidavit, or as found by the court when the adverse party questions it -- doesn't exceed $1,500, the case goes to the court alone; no jury sits at all.
Forcible entry and detainer actions, and actions over the detention of real property and collection of rents on it, always get a jury of six, regardless of the amount involved. Every other action for the recovery of money or specific real or personal property gets a jury of twelve if a party requests recovery of at least $10,000, or files an affidavit that the action involves at least that much and the other side doesn't dispute it, or the adverse party disputes the affidavit and the court itself finds the action involves at least $10,000. Absent one of those three triggers, the jury is six.
Section 575.1 then supplies the mechanics for seating and striking whichever size jury this section calls for, and Section 573 sets the number of peremptory challenges each side gets regardless of jury size.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does an Oklahoma civil case get decided by the judge instead of a jury?
When the amount in controversy, as stated in the prayer for relief, an affidavit, or the court's own finding, doesn't exceed $1,500.
How many jurors sit on an Oklahoma forcible entry and detainer case?
Six, regardless of the dollar amount involved in the case.
How does a case qualify for a twelve-person jury in Oklahoma?
By a party requesting recovery of at least $10,000, by an uncontroverted affidavit that the action involves at least that much, or by the court finding at least $10,000 is at stake after the adverse party disputes the affidavit.
What size jury applies if the amount in controversy is under $10,000 but over $1,500?
Six persons, unless the action is one of the three that triggers a twelve-person jury under part (c).
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: oklahoma six person jury thresholdtwelve person jury oklahoma civil caseamount in controversy jury size oklahomaforcible entry and detainer jury size