Court Preparation Tool

Procedure guides

Small Claims Filing in Argentina: Format Checklist

What an Argentine court reads first in a self-prepared small claim, how the index of annexes is built, and the provincial boundaries on proceeding without sponsoring counsel.

Argentina (only the provinces and tracks where acting without sponsoring counsel is permitted)

How it works

  1. Check your province's judiciary pages to see whether the matter may be brought without sponsoring counsel and what the ceiling of the regime is.
  2. Complete the prior mediation where the law of that jurisdiction requires it for this kind of claim, and keep the record of it.
  3. Write the heading with the court, the parties and their addresses, the object, the facts as numbered paragraphs, and the petition.
  4. Set the page: A4 paper, 2.5 cm margins, 12 point type, 1.5 line spacing, paragraphs numbered from 1.
  5. Number the annexes from 1, build the index, sign the claim and file the original with one copy for each respondent.

Next

Can a small claim be filed in Argentina without a lawyer?

Only in the provinces and tracks where proceeding without sponsoring counsel is expressly permitted. In other matters provincial law requires that sponsorship, which this tool neither arranges nor replaces.

Is prior mediation required?

Where the law in force in your jurisdiction requires prior mediation for that kind of claim, yes: it must be evidenced before the claim is filed.

In which language is the claim filed?

In Spanish, the language of the courts. A document in another language is filed with a translation.

Format requirements for this court

This pack covers only the provinces and tracks where proceeding without sponsoring counsel is expressly permitted. Provincial judiciary portals and provincial pequeñas causas regimes (Buenos Aires, Mendoza, La Pampa and others)
Where the law of the jurisdiction requires it for that claim, prior mediation is completed before the claim is filed. Ley 26.589 de mediación y conciliación (compulsory prior mediation)
The ceiling of the small claims regime and the requirement of sponsoring counsel differ from province to province. Provincial judiciary portals and provincial pequeñas causas regimes (Buenos Aires, Mendoza, La Pampa and others)
The language of the courts is Spanish and claims are written in Spanish. Código Procesal Civil y Comercial de la Nación, arts. 101, 136 and 330 (form, domicile and content of the claim)
The claim is filed on A4 paper with 2.5 cm margins, 12 point type and 1.5 line spacing. Código Procesal Civil y Comercial de la Nación, arts. 101, 136 and 330 (form, domicile and content of the claim)

Every format rule is listed with its source so you can check it yourself.

Every format rule is listed with its source so you can check it yourself.