Someone sued you. The court already picked your date.
Being served doesn't mean you've lost. It means there is a hearing on the calendar with your name on it — and in Florida, the thing that costs people their case is walking in unprepared, or not walking in at all. We prepare your defense documents and hand you a plain-English plan for your pretrial conference.
Prepare My Defense — $149 Flat fee. One case. Documents ready within one business day.
Florida doesn't give you 20 days to file an answer. It gives you a date to show up.
This is the single most misunderstood thing about being sued in Florida — and it's why generic, out-of-state "answer templates" are the wrong tool here.
You are served
Your summons/notice to appear names a date, a time, and a courtroom. That date is the whole ballgame.
Pretrial conference
You must appear — in person or by counsel. Many counties send you straight into mediation the same morning.
Trial is set
Your trial date is set at that conference, with at least 10 days' notice. What you say and file early shapes it.
Based on Florida Small Claims Rules 7.010 and 7.090, effective January 1, 2026. Small claims covers demands up to $8,000, excluding costs, interest, and attorney's fees. Always confirm your own date and time against the paperwork you were served.
Miss the date, and the court doesn't hear your side. It just enters a judgment.
A default judgment isn't the end of the trouble. It's the beginning of it.
Default judgment
The other side wins by showing up. Your defenses, your receipts, your version of events — never heard.
Wage garnishment
Money taken from your paycheck. Florida's head-of-family protection exists, but it has to be claimed correctly and on time.
Frozen bank account
A levy can hit your account without warning, sweeping funds you needed for rent and groceries.
Twenty years of pressure
A Florida judgment can be enforced for up to 20 years and accrues interest the entire time.
And the trap almost nobody sees coming
Florida small claims courts routinely order the parties into mediation, often the same morning as the pretrial conference. Whoever appears for you must have full authority to settle the case. Send someone who can't say yes — or show up without having decided what you're willing to accept — and the court can order you to pay the other side's costs and attorney's fees for the wasted trip.
Most people walk into that room having thought about their story. Almost nobody walks in having thought about their number. We prepare you for both.
You shouldn't need $2,500 to defend an $1,800 claim.
That math is the whole problem. When defending yourself costs more than losing, the system quietly stops working — and people stop showing up. That is exactly how most small claims defendants lose: not on the facts, but on the arithmetic.
We built Justice Xpress Florida for the person holding a summons at the kitchen table, doing that math. You know your side of the story. What you don't have is a map of the courthouse. That part we can hand you — properly prepared, in Florida's own format, at a price that makes showing up the obvious choice.
Law That You Can Afford.™
- 25+ years
- Our founder created Peoples-Law.org, the public legal information service now operated by the Maryland Judiciary for the citizens of Maryland.
- Florida only
- Every document is built to Florida's Small Claims Rules and your county's filing practice — not a national template with the state name swapped in.
- Public benefit
- We are organized as a public benefit corporation. Access is the mission, not a marketing line.
- One flat fee
- $149 for your case. No hourly billing, no retainer, no surprise invoice after the hearing.
From served to ready, in one business day.
No office visit. No waiting room. No hourly clock running while you explain yourself.
Tell us what happened
A guided online intake, about 15 minutes. Upload a photo of your summons and statement of claim, and answer plain questions about the dispute in your own words.
We prepare your documents
Your written response and supporting documents are prepared from what you told us, reviewed for completeness and internal consistency, and delivered within one business day.
File, serve, and walk in ready
Step-by-step filing and service instructions for your county, plus a pretrial conference playbook so you know what the morning looks like before you get there.
Everything you need to defend one Florida small claims case.
Prepared for your case, your county, and your hearing date — not a blank form you're left to figure out alone.
- Written response to the Statement of Claim, prepared from your account of the facts, with your defenses stated in Florida's format.
- Notice of appearance and designation of email address, so court filings actually reach you.
- Pretrial conference playbook — what happens that morning, in what order, what the judge will ask, and what to bring.
- Mediation preparation worksheet, including how to think through your settlement range before you're sitting across the table.
- Evidence and exhibit checklist — organizing receipts, texts, contracts, photos, and payment records into something a judge can follow.
- County-specific filing and service instructions, covering all 67 Florida counties and the state e-filing portal.
- Your deadline calendar, with every date on your case mapped out in writing.
- Completeness and consistency review of every document before it's delivered to you.
- Counterclaim preparation available if the other side owes you as well — just tell us at intake.
Walk in as a defendant, not as a no-show.
You can't control how a judge rules. You can control whether your side of the story is filed, organized, and in the room. That's the difference between a case decided on the facts and a case decided by your absence.
Some cases settle at mediation. Some get dismissed. Some go to trial and you win. All of those outcomes require the same first thing: showing up prepared.
Questions people ask after they've been served.
Do I have to file a written answer in Florida small claims?
Under Florida Small Claims Rule 7.090(c), written defensive pleadings generally aren't required unless the court orders them. What is required is your appearance on the date in your summons — and filing a written response does not excuse that appearance.
Many defendants still choose to file one. A written response puts your version of events in the court file, gives the judge something concrete at the pretrial conference, and signals to the other side that you're not a default waiting to happen. If you file, it has to be served on the other parties at or before the pretrial conference.
What's the most a small claims case can be about in Florida?
$8,000, excluding costs, interest, and attorney's fees. If the claim against you is larger, it belongs in county civil court, which uses different rules and a different procedure. Tell us at intake and we'll let you know before you pay.
I already missed my court date. Is it too late?
Not necessarily, but time matters a great deal here. Florida procedure provides a route for asking a court to set aside a judgment entered by default, and it's far easier to pursue in the weeks after than in the months after. Contact us with your case number and hearing date before you do anything else.
Are you attorneys?
No. Justice Xpress Florida is a legal document preparation service, not a law firm. We prepare documents at your direction, from the information you give us, and we review them for completeness and consistency. We cannot select your legal strategy, tell you which defenses to raise, advise you on the merits of your case, or appear in court with you.
If your case needs an attorney, we'd rather tell you that than sell you a document. Ask us about limited-scope attorney referrals.
A debt collector is suing me over an old account. Does this apply?
Yes — collection suits are among the most common small claims cases filed in Florida county courts, and they are also the cases most often won by default simply because the defendant never appeared. Our intake covers the account details, dates, and documents relevant to that kind of claim so your response reflects what you actually know and dispute.
How fast will I get my documents?
Within one business day of completing intake. If your hearing is imminent, say so at intake so we can move accordingly.
What if the other side owes me money too?
Florida small claims procedure allows a defendant to bring a counterclaim, and some counterclaims arising from the same transaction must be raised in that case or they're lost. Tell us at intake and we'll include counterclaim preparation in your package.
Get the Florida Small Claims Defendant's Checklist — free.
One page. What your summons is telling you, what to bring to the pretrial conference, and the mistakes that turn a defensible case into a default.
Don't let a judgment be entered because nobody told you what to do.
Documents prepared for your case and your county, ready within one business day, for a flat $149.
Important notice. Justice Xpress Florida is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. We are a legal document preparation service. We prepare documents at your direction based solely on the information you provide. We do not select legal documents for you, advise you on which defenses to raise, evaluate the strength of your case, predict outcomes, or represent you in court or at mediation.
Document review means a check for completeness and internal consistency of the information you supplied. It is not a legal review and is not a substitute for the advice of a licensed Florida attorney.
Procedural information on this page reflects the Florida Small Claims Rules effective January 1, 2026, and is provided for general information only. Rules, local practices, and deadlines change and vary by county. Always confirm your own hearing date, time, and location against the papers you were served and with the clerk of court in your county. If your matter involves substantial sums, complex facts, or potential claims against you beyond the amount demanded, consult a licensed Florida attorney.