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Freelancer, consultant, contractor, agency: you delivered, and the client stopped answering. In Texas you can take it to small claims yourself, for up to $20,000. Talk with Eleanor about what happened, about six minutes, and walk away with a demand letter built for Texas.
Eleanor totaled the $3,600 still owed for your demand letter.
Plain numbers, current law, every figure sourced at the bottom of the page.
In short: yes, you can sue a client for an unpaid invoice in Texas. Small claims cases are heard in Justice Court, the limit is $20,000, no lawyer is required, and oral agreements count. You have four years from the missed payment to file.
Texas Justice Courts hear civil claims up to $20,000, and you can represent yourself; attorneys are allowed but not required.
Tex. Gov’t Code §27.031 · Tex. R. Civ. P. 500.4Claims are filed in the Justice Court precinct where the defendant lives or where the contract was to be performed. Squabble identifies the right one.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.4A spoken services agreement is generally enforceable; a writing is required mainly for contracts that can’t be performed within one year.
Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §26.01(b)(6)No written contract? Work done in good faith can be recovered at its reasonable value, and money paid for work never done can be recovered back.
Texas common lawBreach of contract, written or oral: four years, measured from when payment was due and not made. Older invoices inside the window still count.
Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§16.004, 16.051A services engagement, whether freelance, consulting, design, trades, accounting, or an agency retainer, is a contract. When the work is done and the client doesn’t pay, that’s a breach, and Texas small claims exists for exactly this. Emails, texts, proposals, invoices, and payment records are what prove the terms; a signed contract helps, but it isn’t required.
Even without any written agreement, quantum meruit lets you recover the reasonable value of work performed in good faith, and partial payments don’t erase the balance. The court can add your filing costs to the judgment, and interest your agreement provides for, where the law allows.
Reflects Texas law as of July 2026. Limits and deadlines change. Confirm the current rule for your situation before you file.
Most unpaid-invoice cases fall into one of these. The clearer your records, the stronger the claim.
Work delivered and accepted, then silence. A claim for breach of contract, the cleanest case in small claims.
A deposit or first installment came through. The balance never did. Partial payment proves the deal; it doesn’t erase the debt.
A handshake engagement, done in good faith. Quantum meruit lets you recover the reasonable value of what you performed.
You don’t need a written contract. A few ordinary records usually carry it: the deal, the delivery, and the balance.
An email, text, proposal, or invoice showing what was agreed: the scope, the price, the deadline.
The delivered work, timesheets, and files, or the transfers and receipts showing what you paid.
The unpaid balance, the refund owed, or quotes for putting defective work right: the number the court can award.
What’s left after any payments received.
This page is Texas. Every state sets its own limit and filing rules; each guide below is mapped and sourced the same way.
One path, six steps. You tell the story once; Squabble carries it the rest of the way, and you review everything before anything is filed.
You tell Eleanor what happened, in plain words. About six minutes.
Your demand letter and any court papers are prepared and Triple-Checked.
Squabble files with the right court, or hands you a file-ready packet.
The other side is formally notified, the way your court requires.
You walk in prepared, evidence organized, case in order.
You reach a resolution, by settlement or judgment.
If any of these is your story, these are exactly the disputes Squabble is built for.
Delivered, accepted, invoiced. Then the replies stopped. Net-30 became net-never.
Half up front got the project started. The balance on delivery never came.
Months of work under a standing arrangement, then a quiet exit with the last invoices open.
The work was approved and in use. The budget, suddenly, wasn’t there.
Extras delivered in good faith on a promise to “true it up later.” Later never came.
No signed contract, just emails, deliverables, and an unpaid balance. Quantum meruit exists for this.
We'd rather you walk in clear-eyed. Squabble isn't a law firm and doesn't give legal advice. Here's the honest scope.
Created by a practicing attorney and law professor, on patented technology (U.S. 11,328,375 B2), not a generic form mill.
Every document is checked for administrative and jurisdictional accuracy against your court's requirements before it goes anywhere.
Your Formal Demand Letter is $19 per party, included at no extra cost with every package, and you review and attest to every document before anything is filed.
Yes. If you did the work under an agreement, written or oral, and weren’t paid, you can sue for breach of contract in Texas small claims for up to $20,000. Even without a signed contract, quantum meruit lets you recover the reasonable value of the work you performed.
No. Emails, texts, proposals, invoices, deliverables, and payment records can prove the deal. The statute of frauds (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §26.01(b)(6)) requires a writing mainly for contracts that can’t be performed within one year, so most ordinary engagements don’t have to be written.
Yes, for the unpaid balance. Partial payment doesn’t erase the debt; if anything, it’s evidence the agreement existed and the client knew it.
That’s a defense they can raise, and your records answer it. The agreed scope, the deliverables, acceptance emails, and any revision history show what was promised and what was delivered. The court weighs both sides’ evidence.
You may still have a claim. Under quantum meruit, a provider who performed work in good faith can recover its reasonable value; invoices, time records, and the work product itself establish what that value is.
The Texas small-claims limit is $20,000, heard in Justice Court (Tex. Gov’t Code §27.031). Larger claims go to county or district court. The unpaid balance, the reasonable value of extra work performed, and your court costs can all count toward the judgment.
Four years for breach of contract, written or oral (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§16.004, 16.051), measured from when payment was due and not made. Older invoices inside that window are still fair game.
No. Justice Court is built for self-representation; attorneys are allowed but not required (Tex. R. Civ. P. 500.4). Squabble prepares your court-ready documents and identifies the right Justice Court. Squabble is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
Every figure on this page traces to Texas statute or the courts’ own guidance.
Squabble is attorney-founded and attorney-supervised. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or representation; using Squabble does not create an attorney-client relationship. This page is general information about Texas law, not advice about your situation, and laws change. Verify the current rules for your case before filing.
Modern civil recourse
Small-claims court exists so ordinary people can be heard without a lawyer or a fortune. Over time it filled up with forms, deadlines, and procedure most were never shown, and too many quietly gave up what they were owed.
Squabble puts it back within reach. Talk with Eleanor about what happened, and your demand letter, court-ready paperwork, filing, and follow-through are prepared and moving, in about six minutes, off your shoulders.
Free to start: your Formal Demand Letter is $19.
