You are the plaintiff.  The person you are suing is the defendant.  A lawsuit can be filed in the state where the plaintiff resides or in the state where the defendant resides or in the state where the claim arose. There may be some limitations on the jurisdiction of Small Claims Court regarding the types of cases in which you can sue someone who resides in another state.  That limitation may or may not be applicable and your Small Claims Court advisor can tell you whether or not it is applicable in the state where you are filing your lawsuit.  If you are able to file your Small Claims Court lawsuit in your state, you should have a process server located in or near the city where the defendant resides serve the defendant with the summons and complaint.  The complaint is the lawsuit attached to the summons.  Your damages (the amount of compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) would be the amount you are owed plus court costs.  Court costs would include the court filing fee and process server fee.  You can find process servers listed under attorney services in the Yellow Pages or online.