Maryland small claims
How to fill out Maryland's DC-CV-001 Complaint (small claims)
Official form: DC-CV-001 — Complaint / Application and Affidavit in Support of Judgment · Walkthrough written against DC-CV-001 (District Court of Maryland; rev. 10/2025 current)
Download the official form — free, from the court
The only authoritative copy of this form is the court's own. Courts re-issue forms, so downloading a fresh copy right before filing beats reusing a saved one. We link the official source and never host court forms ourselves.
Get the official DC-CV-001 from the court's site →Link verified 2026-07-04. If it has moved, the court's forms index and clerk's office will have the current version — verify with the court before filing.
What this form is
Maryland uses one District Court complaint form — the DC-CV-001, "Complaint/Application and Affidavit in Support of Judgment" — for both small claims and larger civil money claims. What makes a filing a small claim is checking the "$5,000 or under" box at the top: that routes the case to small-claims procedure, where the rules of evidence are relaxed and discovery is unavailable.
The form packs several jobs into one page: identifying the parties, telling the clerk how to serve each defendant, the case-type checkboxes, the claim narrative and the arithmetic (principal, interest, costs), and — on the same page — the military service affidavit federal law requires before a default judgment can be entered against a non-appearing defendant.
The form, field by field
What each part of the form asks for, in the form's own order. These are descriptions of the questions — what to answer depends on facts only you know, and the court clerk or the form's own instructions are the authoritative sources.
The caption and case-type checkboxes
District Court of Maryland for ___ / located at (court address)
Which District Court location you are filing in. Maryland's District Court sits in every county and Baltimore City; the court locator on mdcourts.gov maps addresses to courthouses.
☐ $5,000 or under / ☐ over $5,000
The box that determines whether the case proceeds as a small claim. Checking "$5,000 or under" is what makes it one.
"Clerk: Please docket this case in an action of" — contract / tort / replevin / detinue / bad faith insurance claim / consumer debt / medical debt
Case-type checkboxes for the clerk's docket. The form notes that a consumer-debt checkbox applies to original creditors, and that a medical-debt filing requires listing the defendant's primary address.
Parties and service instructions
Plaintiff — name, address, telephone number
Your identifying and contact information.
Defendant(s) 1–4 — name, address, telephone number
Blocks for up to four defendants, with a continuation sheet referenced for more.
"Serve by:" checkboxes for each defendant
For every defendant, the form asks how the court should arrange service: certified mail, private process, constable, or sheriff. Each option has different costs, which the clerk can quote.
The claim — particulars and arithmetic
"The particulars of this case are:"
Lined space for describing the claim in your own words — what happened, and why the defendant owes the amount claimed.
Mediation/ADR interest checkbox
A checkbox stating you are interested in trying to resolve the dispute through mediation or other ADR — the form notes you'd be contacted about ADR services after the defendant is served.
"The plaintiff claims:" Principal / pre-judgment interest / post-judgment interest / attorney's fees / court costs
The claim math, itemized: principal; pre-judgment interest at the legal or contractual rate with the percentage, date range, and per-day calculation; the combined total; post-judgment interest election; attorney's fees (where a contract or statute provides them); plus court costs. Replevin and detinue lines exist for return-of-property claims; "Other" covers anything else. It ends with pre-printed "and demands judgment for relief."
Signature, printed name, address, telephone, fax, e-mail
Your signature and contact block (with an attorney-code line used only by lawyers).
Military service affidavit
Military service checkboxes and supporting facts
Three options: naming which defendant(s) are in the military service; stating no defendant is (with a line for the specific facts supporting that statement — the form says specific facts are required for the court to conclude a natural-person defendant is not in the military, and references verification through the Department of Defense's SCRA website); or stating you are unable to determine. It is signed under penalty of perjury with its own date and signature line.
Common reasons clerks reject this form
Clerks bounce filings for mechanical, fixable reasons. These are the patterns that come up with this particular form:
- ⚠Leaving the "$5,000 or under" box unchecked on a claim meant to be a small claim — without it the case doesn't get small-claims procedure.
- ⚠Skipping the military service affidavit or writing a bare "not in the military" without supporting facts — the form itself says specific facts are required, and default judgment stalls without a sufficient affidavit.
- ⚠Not completing a "Serve by" checkbox for each defendant — the clerk needs a service election to issue the writ.
- ⚠Claim arithmetic that doesn't add up — the principal, interest rate, date range, and per-day figures are all on the form, and inconsistent numbers invite rejection or reduction.
- ⚠Claiming attorney's fees with no contractual or statutory basis — the line exists for cases that have one.
- ⚠Naming a business defendant incorrectly — Maryland service on entities runs through a resident agent, and the wrong name breaks it.
What filing costs, and where it happens
Maryland small claims (the $5,000-or-under track) has a $34 filing fee, plus service costs that depend on the method you elect on the form — certified mail is the least expensive; sheriff, constable, and private process cost more. The District Court's published fee schedule is the authoritative source; verify with the clerk.
You file with the District Court clerk in the proper venue — generally where the defendant lives, works, or does business. Maryland also offers e-filing in many locations. After service, the court sets the trial date; in small claims the hearing is informal and the rules of evidence don't apply.
Published fees and court locations for your county are in our Maryland small claims guide and the court directory. Fees change — verify the current amount with the clerk before filing.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I get the DC-CV-001?
From mdcourts.gov — the official fillable PDF is free (linked on this page), and District Court clerk offices provide paper copies.
Is the DC-CV-001 only for small claims?
No — it's the District Court's general money-claim complaint. Checking the "$5,000 or under" box is what files it as a small claim; the same form with "over $5,000" checked proceeds under regular civil procedure.
What is the military service affidavit for?
Federal law (the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) restricts default judgments against active-duty servicemembers. The affidavit on the form is how the court screens for that — which is why it asks for specific supporting facts, and why the form points to the DoD's online SCRA verification tool.
What does filing cost?
$34 for a small claim plus service costs, which vary with the service method you choose on the form. Fee waivers are available for filers who qualify. Verify current amounts with the clerk before filing.
What happens after I file?
The clerk issues a writ of summons, service goes out by the method you elected, and the court schedules trial. If the defendant doesn't respond and doesn't appear, the "Application and Affidavit in Support of Judgment" part of the form — together with the military service affidavit — is what supports a request for judgment.
Related guides
Form link verified: 2026-07-04. Reviewed against our Editorial Standards.
This is general information to help you understand the form — not legal advice, and not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation. Courts revise forms, fees, and procedures; the court's own instructions and your court clerk are the authoritative sources. Always verify with the court before filing.