I Was Served With a Lawsuit — What to Do and How Long You Have

Being served with a lawsuit is stressful, but the worst move is to do nothing — silence lets the other side win by default. Tell us your state to see the general window you have to respond, what to look for on your summons, and the paths people usually consider. General information and next steps, not legal advice.

Why you can't ignore a summons

When you're served with a lawsuit and don't respond by the deadline, the court can enter a default judgment — it rules against you without ever hearing your side. The person who sued can then use that judgment to garnish your wages, levy a bank account, or put a lien on property. Responding on time keeps your defenses alive and your options open, even if you ultimately want to settle.

Your deadline starts the day you're served

Every state gives you a limited window — often somewhere around 20 to 30 days — to file a written response after you're served, and the clock starts on the day of service. Cases in federal court generally allow 21 days. The exact deadline is printed on the summons itself, so read it closely. This tool shows your state's general window and points you to free court self-help resources; it doesn't calculate a date for your specific case.

Summons answer deadline by stateCompare the days to answer in all 50 states.

This is how many days you generally have after being handed a summons and complaint to file a written answer with the court before the other side can ask for a default judgment against you. Each value is cited to the state statute or agency; a state with no sourced figure shows "Not yet sourced."

State	Days to answer	Source
Alabama	30 days	Ala. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Alaska	20 days	Alaska R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Arizona	20 days	Ariz. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Arkansas	30 days	Ark. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
California	30 days	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §412.20
Colorado	21 days	C.R.C.P. 12(a)
Connecticut	30 days*	Conn. Practice Book §10-8 / 10-30
Delaware	20 days	Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a)
District of Columbia	21 days	D.C. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a)
Florida	20 days	Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140(a)
Georgia	30 days	O.C.G.A. §9-11-12(a)
Hawaii	20 days	Haw. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Idaho	21 days	Idaho R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Illinois	30 days	735 ILCS 5/2-301; Ill. S. Ct. R. 181
Indiana	20 days	Ind. Trial Rule 6(C)
Iowa	20 days	Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.303
Kansas	21 days	K.S.A. 60-212(a)
Kentucky	20 days	Ky. R. Civ. P. (CR) 12.01
Louisiana	21 days	La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 1001
Maine	20 days	Me. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Maryland	30 days	Md. Rule 2-321
Massachusetts	20 days	Mass. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Michigan	21 days	Mich. Ct. R. 2.108(A)
Minnesota	20 days	Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.01
Mississippi	30 days	Miss. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Missouri	30 days	Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 55.25(a)
Montana	21 days	Mont. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Nebraska	30 days	Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-516.01
Nevada	21 days	Nev. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
New Hampshire	30 days	N.H. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 9
New Jersey	35 days	N.J. Ct. R. 4:6-1
New Mexico	30 days	N.M. R. Civ. P. 1-012(A)
New York	20-30 days	N.Y. CPLR 320(a)
North Carolina	30 days	N.C. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
North Dakota	21 days	N.D. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Ohio	28 days	Ohio Civ. R. 12(A)
Oklahoma	20 days	12 Okla. Stat. §2012(A)
Oregon	30 days	Or. R. Civ. P. 7C
Pennsylvania	20 days	Pa. R.C.P. 1026
Rhode Island	20 days	R.I. Super. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
South Carolina	30 days	S.C. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
South Dakota	30 days	S.D. Codified Laws §15-6-12(a)
Tennessee	30 days	Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.01
Texas	~20 days*	Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b)
Utah	21 days	Utah R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Vermont	21 days	Vt. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Virginia	21 days	Va. Sup. Ct. R. 3:8
Washington	20 days	Wash. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a)
West Virginia	20 days	W. Va. R. Civ. P. 12(a)
Wisconsin	20 days	Wis. Stat. §802.06(1)
Wyoming	20 days	Wyo. R. Civ. P. 12(a)

General information, not legal advice. Rules change and exceptions apply — confirm the current rule with the cited source for your state.

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Disclaimer: NotALawyer.com provides general legal information, not legal advice, and is not a law firm. Using a tool does not create an attorney–client relationship. Laws change and vary by situation — verify anything important with the official source or a licensed attorney in your state.