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Text messages as evidence in small claims court: what to print and bring

By Kayabyte · Last updated 11 November 2026

Short answer: for a small claims hearing, print the messages that prove each point, with date, time and sender on every message, make a copy for the judge and one for the other side, and keep the original messages on your phone. Put the pages in an order you can find quickly, because you will not have time to search a pile. Rules differ by country, state and court, so check yours or ask a lawyer or the court’s self-help centre. This is general information, not legal advice.

Small claims cases about an unreturned deposit, unpaid work, a broken agreement or a repair often turn on what two people wrote to each other. Texts are easy to lose track of and hard to read when they are a hundred screenshots. This guide covers the practical side: what to gather, how to present it and what to bring.

Step 1: Decide what each message proves

Write down what you need the judge to see, one line each. For example: “She agreed on 3 May to refund the deposit”, or “He confirmed the price in writing on 12 June”. Each line is a reason to include certain messages. If a message does not help one of those points, leave it out.

Step 2: Keep the originals safe

Step 3: Include the context

For each key message, include the messages just before and after it, so the reader can see what it was replying to. Printing only the one line that helps you can look like picking, and the other side may point it out.

Step 4: Make the pages readable

A printout is easier for a judge to read when every message shows the date, the time and who sent it (a name and a phone number, not only a nickname), and the pages are numbered. Photos that matter should be shown with the message they came with. Do not crop, highlight or retype anything. Point to a message in your own words instead, for example “page 4, the message at 21:14”.

Step 5: Copies and order

The California Judicial Branch’s small claims page “Get ready for your court date” (checked 11 November 2026) says to make copies, with the original paperwork for yourself, a copy for the judge and a copy for the other side. It also says to organise the papers so that if the judge asks to see something you can find it easily, because you will not have time to look through a stack during the hearing, and suggests a 3-ring notebook or an accordion file with dividers. Other courts have their own rules about how many copies to bring and when to hand them over, so check yours.

If the hearing is remote. The same page says you need to find out how to get your evidence to the court, by contacting the small claims clerk, and that you will also need to send it to the other side before the court date. Ask your court how it wants evidence for a remote hearing.

Give yourself time. The same court’s “Before you start” page (checked 11 November 2026) says you do not need all your proof before you start, but you must know what you need and be able to get it in time for the hearing. It lists examples of proof such as repair receipts, photos, emails and business records. Texts are not named there, but they are the same kind of record.

Step 6: Be ready to explain them

The judge may ask whose phone the messages are on, which number is the other person’s, how you made the printout and whether you changed anything. Be ready to answer simply, and bring your phone as well. Whether a message is accepted, and how much weight it gets, is for the court to decide.

Where Exhibitly adds something

You can do all of the above with screenshots and a word processor, and it works for a short conversation. For a longer one, Exhibitly is a Mac app we make. It reads an iPhone backup made in Finder (encrypted ones too, with your own backup password) or the Messages app on your Mac, and writes a PDF with date, time and sender on every message, page numbers (“Page 3 of 41”) and photos inline. It also writes an Excel file with one row per message, the original attachments with SHA-256 fingerprints, and a SHA256SUMS.txt file for every exported file. A verification page says which source was read.

You can export the whole thread, a date range, or only the messages that matter with context around them, and hide private details with redaction, which is kept on your Mac. The Evidence Bundle edition adds Bates numbers and an exhibit cover page, which most small claims cases will not need.

Limits: Exhibitly cannot recover deleted messages, and it does not decide what a court accepts or prove that messages are genuine. It reads iPhone backups, the Messages app on the Mac and WhatsApp export files, not Android phone texts. The free preview has every feature but exports the first 15 messages and watermarks the PDF “PREVIEW, NOT FOR FILING”. Personal is USD 39 one time and Evidence Bundle is USD 69 one time, with one year of updates, up to 3 Macs and a 30-day refund. Download Exhibitly (free preview). macOS 15 or later, Mac only, works offline.

Steps with Exhibitly

  1. On your Mac, open Finder, click your iPhone and choose Back Up Now (encrypted backups work). Or use the messages already in the Messages app on your Mac.
  2. Open Exhibitly and choose the conversation.
  3. Pick a date range, or the messages that matter with some context around them.
  4. Check the preview and redact anything that should not be shared.
  5. Export, read every page, then print the copies your court asks for. Keep the folder, including SHA256SUMS.txt, with your backup.

Questions

Can I use screenshots of texts in small claims court? We did not find a court page that settles this, so check your court’s rules. Whatever you use, make sure the date, time and sender show, and keep the phone.

How many copies do I bring? California’s “Get ready for your court date” page says the original for yourself, a copy for the judge and a copy for the other side. Your court may differ.

Do I have to print them, or can I show them on my phone? Ask the court. California’s page talks about bringing papers and copies, and a remote hearing may need the evidence sent in advance.

Can Exhibitly prove my messages are real? No. It records which source it read and fingerprints every file, but a court decides what it accepts and how much weight it gives.