CR 55: Entry of Default, Default Judgment, and Setting Aside

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55 lets a plaintiff win a case when the defendant never answers, but it takes two separate steps: the court clerk enters a default once the response deadline passes, and then either the clerk or a judge enters the actual default judgment awarding relief. A Rule 55 default judgment carries the same weight as a verdict after trial, though courts keep discretion to deny it and defendants keep limited paths to undo it.

The Two Steps Do Different Things

An entry of default is a clerical notation. The clerk records that the defendant failed to respond on time, and that notation locks in the factual allegations of the complaint as admitted. It awards nothing.

The default judgment is the court order that actually grants money or other relief. A judge signs it, or the clerk does in narrow circumstances. Once entered, it has the same legal force as a jury verdict. The entry of default must come first; there is no skipping ahead.¹

Getting the Entry of Default

Three things have to be shown to the clerk. The defendant was properly served with the summons and complaint. The deadline to respond has passed. And the defendant did nothing during that window — no answer, no motion to dismiss, no appearance of any kind. The plaintiff submits an affidavit establishing all three, and the clerk enters the default.¹

Without valid service, the court has no authority over the defendant, and the entire process collapses. Counting the days accurately matters just as much, because a motion filed before the correct deadline expires will be denied.

The Response Deadlines

The standard deadline is 21 days from service of the summons and complaint.² A defendant who agrees to waive formal service under Rule 4(d) gets longer: 60 days from the date the waiver request was sent, or 90 days if the defendant is outside the United States.³

Getting the Default Judgment

Once the default is entered, the plaintiff files a separate motion for judgment. Who signs the judgment depends on what is being asked for.

When the Clerk Can Enter Judgment

The clerk can enter the default judgment without a judge only when the plaintiff’s claim is for a sum certain — a fixed dollar amount, or one that can be calculated from the documents already in the file. A debt collection case with a defined principal balance is the classic example. The plaintiff submits an affidavit showing the amount due, and the clerk enters judgment for that amount plus costs. This shortcut is not available when the defendant is a minor or an incompetent person.¹

When You Need a Judge

Everything else goes to the judge. Claims for pain and suffering, emotional distress, lost profits, or injunctive relief all require judicial determination because the dollar figure is not self-evident from the pleadings. The judge can hold a hearing to assess damages, take testimony, review evidence, or order an accounting. The plaintiff carries the burden of proving the amount owed. Asking for a number is not enough; courts still require real evidence of damages even when the defendant is nowhere to be found.

Notice to the Defendant

If the defendant made any kind of appearance in the case before defaulting, the plaintiff must serve them with written notice of the default judgment motion at least seven days before the hearing.¹ A phone call to the court or a letter can count as an appearance, so plaintiffs should err on the side of giving notice.

The Court Can Still Say No

Judges have broad discretion to deny default judgment even when every procedural box is checked. Federal courts have a well-established preference for deciding cases on the merits and treat default judgment as a last resort. Courts weigh the strength of the plaintiff’s claims, the amount at stake, whether the default appears to result from excusable neglect, and whether a trial would produce a different outcome. A weak or poorly pleaded complaint can lose a default judgment motion despite the defendant’s silence.

Defendants Who Get Special Protection

Three categories of defendants receive extra protection under Rule 55 and related federal law.

Minors and Incompetent Persons

A court cannot enter a default judgment against a minor or a legally incompetent person unless a guardian, conservator, or similar representative has appeared in the case on their behalf.¹

Active-Duty Servicemembers

Before any default judgment can be entered, the plaintiff must file an affidavit stating whether the defendant is in military service, or that the plaintiff cannot determine their status.⁴ When the defendant turns out to be on active duty, the court cannot enter judgment until it appoints an attorney to represent them. That attorney or the court itself can then request a stay of at least 90 days if military duties prevent a defense.⁵

The Federal Government

A default judgment against the United States, its officers, or its agencies requires the plaintiff to establish the claim with evidence that satisfies the court. Silence from the government does not automatically mean the plaintiff wins.¹

Limits on What You Can Recover

A default judgment cannot award anything beyond what the complaint requested. If the complaint asked for $50,000, the judgment cannot grant $75,000. It also cannot grant a different type of relief than what was demanded. A complaint asking only for money damages cannot produce a default judgment ordering the defendant to do or stop doing something.⁶

Post-Judgment Interest

Once a money default judgment is entered, interest begins accruing automatically. The rate equals the weekly average one-year constant maturity Treasury yield published by the Federal Reserve for the week before the judgment date. Interest is computed daily and compounded annually.⁷

Setting Aside a Default or Default Judgment

A defaulted defendant is not necessarily out of options. Rule 55(c) allows the court to undo either the entry of default or the final judgment, but the standards differ significantly.¹

Setting Aside the Entry of Default

To undo the clerk’s entry of default, the defendant must show “good cause.” Courts look at whether the failure to respond was willful or an honest mistake, whether the plaintiff would be unfairly harmed by reopening the case, and whether the defendant has a plausible defense on the merits. Because no judgment has been entered yet, courts tend to be relatively generous. A defendant who missed the deadline through a calendaring error and has a reasonable defense will usually get the default lifted.

Setting Aside the Default Judgment

Vacating an actual default judgment is harder. The defendant must meet Rule 60(b), which provides six grounds for relief from a final judgment:

Mistake or excusable neglect — the failure to respond was an understandable error, not deliberate indifference.
Newly discovered evidence that could not have been found earlier through reasonable effort.
Fraud or misconduct by the plaintiff in obtaining the judgment.
The judgment is void, because the court lacked jurisdiction or the defendant was never properly served.
The judgment has been satisfied or its underlying basis no longer exists.
Any other reason that justifies relief — a catch-all for extraordinary circumstances.

Even under Rule 60(b), courts expect the defendant to show a meritorious defense: facts that, if proven at trial, would change the outcome.⁸

Time Limits

A motion based on mistake, new evidence, or fraud must be filed no more than one year after the judgment. All other grounds, including a void judgment, must be raised within a “reasonable time,” which courts assess case by case. The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in January 2026 that even challenges to void judgments are subject to this reasonable-time requirement, overturning a longstanding position in several federal circuits that void judgments could be attacked at any time.⁸ Waiting years to challenge a default judgment is risky regardless of the grounds.

Collecting on the Judgment

Winning and collecting are two different problems. A judgment is a piece of paper until the plaintiff takes steps to enforce it.

Finding the Defendant’s Assets

Rule 69 lets a judgment creditor use the full federal discovery toolkit to identify what the defendant owns. Bank records can be subpoenaed, the defendant can be deposed about their assets, and financial documents can be requested. The rule also incorporates the enforcement procedures of the state where the federal court sits, so the available collection tools vary by location.⁹

Reaching Assets in Other Districts

If the defendant has property or accounts outside the district where the judgment was entered, the plaintiff can register the judgment in that other district by filing a certified copy. Once registered, it has the same force as if the local court had entered it. Registration is available after the judgment becomes final through appeal or expiration of the appeal period, or earlier if the original court orders it for good cause.¹⁰

1
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment
2
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections
3
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4 – Summons
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 US Code 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3932 – Stay of Proceedings When Servicemember Has Notice
6
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 54 – Judgment; Costs
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1961 – Interest on Judgments
8
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order
9
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 69 – Execution
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 1963 – Registration of Judgments for Enforcement in Other Districts