Understanding Small Claims Court in Washington County: A Local Guide

Elsewhere on this site, I have explained small claims procedure in Oklahoma. In this post, I’ll discuss small claims court specifically in Washington County.

What is small claims court?

In Oklahoma, “small claims court” refers to cases where the amount in controversy is less than $10,000. In small claims court, the procedure is quick and simple, so that people may bring their cases without lawyers.

“Small claims court” is really a misnomer, because small claims court is not a separate court. In Oklahoma, district courts – the state trial courts that hear almost all legal cases filed in state court – hear small claims suits. A more precise term would be the “small claims docket” – district courts assign small claims cases to the small claims docket, and hear these cases when small claims cases are scheduled.

Can you go to small claims court?

Small claims courts may hear the following types of cases:

·         Most cases for the recovery of money only, if the amount is less than $10,000

·         Most eviction cases, if the amount of rent owed is less than $10,000  

·         Most suits to recover personal property worth less than $10,000  

How do you file a small claims suit in Washington County?

If you have a case that is worth less than $10,000, and you want to go to small claims court, you must first file a petition with the court clerk. Go to the Washington County Courthouse and go to the court clerk’s office on the first floor.

In most cases outside of small claims court, you (or your lawyer) must draft the petition. However, small claims court is designed to work without lawyers, so you don’t have to draft the petition to file a small claims case. Instead, the court clerk has pre-printed forms for you to fill out. Go to the court clerk and ask her to give you a form for small claims court. Fill out all of the information. (You may also find the form online here). When you’re done, give the form back to the court clerk.

The court clerk will then write in a date and time for you to appear in court. Generally, in Washington County, the judge hears small claims cases for recovery of money and personal property on Tuesday mornings at 9:00 am. The judge hears small claims cases for eviction on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 am. So, your court date will probably be at one of those times.

The clerk will then collect a filing fee. In Washington County, as of March 9, 2026, the filing fees are:

·         $58.00 for all cases worth less than $5,000

·         $225.39 for recovery of money and personal property worth more than $5,000

·         $160.39 for evictions where the rent owed is more than $5,000.

After you and the clerk have filled out the small claims form, you must serve the form on the defendant. You may do this by:

·         Having a deputy sheriff deliver the form to the defendant

·         Having a licensed process server deliver the form to the defendant

·         Sending the form by certified mail to the defendant

·         In an eviction suit, if you can’t serve the defendant any other way, you may serve them by having the deputy sheriff or a licensed process server post notice of the suit on the property. However, if you serve them this way, and the defendant doesn’t appear for trial, then you may only recover the premises – you can’t recover any money.

The court clerk will probably ask you if you want a deputy sheriff to serve the defendant. If you do, you will have to pay the clerk an additional sheriff’s fee. The clerk will then give the form to the sheriff to serve.

If you want a process server to serve the defendant, then the clerk won’t handle this for you, you’ll have to contact a process server yourself. (You may ask the clerk to give you names of local licensed process servers.) You’ll also have to make arrangements to pay the process server.

If you want to serve the defendant by certified mail, you will have to go to the post office and take care of this.

What is someone sues you in small claims court?

If someone sues you in small claims court, then, either the deputy sheriff, a licensed process server, or certified mail will deliver a copy of the small claims form to you. You’ll see the date and time to appear in court. If you can’t be in court that day, call the judge’s chambers and ask for a continuance.

What is small claims court like in Washington County?

All small claims cases are heard in the Washington County District Court, at the Washington County Courthouse. The Washington County Courthouse is located at 420 S. Johnstone – the building looks like this:

The Washington County District Court has four judges. All four of those judges are legally authorized to hear small claims cases. However, in practice, they assign almost all small claims cases to Judge Kyra Franks.

Judge Kyra Franks

So, if you’re in small claims court in Washington County, your judge will probably be Judge Franks, unless she is unavailable that day, or recuses herself due to a conflict of interest.  

The Washington County District Court hears most small claims cases on the second floor of the Washington County Courthouse. (The small claims form should tell you where your case will be heard.)

When you go to your hearing, there will usually be many other cases on the small claims docket that day. The judge will read off the names of everyone who is scheduled to appear in small claims court that day. When the judge reads off your name, let the judge know that you are there.

Generally, in Washington County, once the judge reads your name and you announce your presence, the judge will send you and the opposing party in the hallway to negotiate and see if you can work out a settlement. Sometimes there are mediators present in court on small claims days; if a mediator is there, the mediator may try to guide you toward a peaceful resolution.

If you are able to reach an agreement, go back to the judge and tell the judge you’ve reached an agreement. The judge should then record the agreement on paper, and file a memorandum of agreement with the court clerk. The agreement will then be a binding court order, and the judge will be able to enforce the agreement if either party doesn’t follow it.

If you can’t reach an agreement, let the judge know you couldn’t reach an agreement. The judge will then hold a trial. The trial may be on that same day, or the judge may tell you to come back for a trial.

This “trial” will not be like a typical trial. There are usually not lawyers in small claims court. Also, you will not have to follow the rules of procedure that you would have to follow in most court cases. The judge will allow you to state your case, and the judge will allow your opponent to state their case. Either of you may bring in evidence and call witnesses.

After the judge has heard your case, the judge will render a verdict. You may appeal this verdict just as you may appeal any other court decision – to see the appeals process, read my page here.

Where can I find out more about small claims court?

This post only scratched the surface of small claims court. I’ve focused mainly on Washington County here. For more information, you may find the law on small claims procedure here. Also, I’ve written a post on small claims procedure here. You may find the law on evictions (called “Forcible Entry and Detainer”) here. I’ve written two posts on evictions: one for landlords here, and one for tenants here. You may find the law on recovery of personal property (called “replevin”) here. Also, you may read my post on replevin here.

Do you need help in small claims court in Washington County? Contact the Persaud Law Office.

Although most people go to small claims court without lawyers, some people do feel that they need a lawyer for small claims court. (When I was writing this blog post, I looked at all small claims cases filed in Washington County between January 1 and February 10, 2026. Of the 110 cases filed during that time period, attorneys appeared in 14 of the cases. This means that about there was an attorney in about 12.7% of all small claims cases filed during those days.) The Persaud Law Office has represented many clients in small claims court. If you would like us to help you through small claims court, feel free to give us a call.