A default judgment is a binding court ruling entered against a defendant who did not respond to a lawsuit within the deadline, and it lets the plaintiff win without ever proving the case in the ordinary way. If one has been entered against you, you have limited but real options to undo it, and how quickly you act matters more than almost anything else.
How a Default Judgment Happens
A default begins with a missed deadline. In federal court, a defendant generally has 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint to file an answer or a motion.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 If the defendant waived formal service, that window extends to 60 days from when the waiver request was sent. State courts follow similar structures, with deadlines typically running 20 to 30 days depending on the jurisdiction. A motion to dismiss or any other procedural challenge counts as a response. What triggers a default is doing nothing at all.
Once the deadline passes, the process moves in two stages. First, the plaintiff asks the court clerk to formally note the defendant’s failure. This is the “entry of default,” and it is largely clerical: the plaintiff files a sworn statement showing proper service and a missed deadline, and the clerk records it.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment The entry of default is not a judgment. It does not award money. What it does is cut off the defendant’s right to contest liability, because the plaintiff’s factual allegations are now treated as admitted.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 8 – General Rules of Pleading
The second stage converts that notation into an enforceable judgment. If the claim is for a fixed, calculable amount (an unpaid invoice, a loan balance), the clerk can enter judgment on a sworn statement of the amount due. If damages are uncertain (personal injury, emotional distress, lost business), a judge holds an evidentiary hearing where the plaintiff has to prove how much is owed.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment
What a Default Judgment Can Award
Even after a default, the amount of damages is not automatically admitted. If the court holds a damages hearing and you previously appeared in the case in any way, the plaintiff must give you at least seven days’ written notice.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment You still have a right to participate. You can challenge the plaintiff’s evidence and cross-examine witnesses on how much is owed. You cannot argue liability at that point, only the number.
A default judgment also cannot exceed what the complaint originally requested, and it cannot award a different type of relief than what the plaintiff asked for. If the complaint demanded $50,000, the judgment is capped at $50,000 no matter what the hearing evidence might support.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 54 The rule exists because a defendant who chose not to fight may have made that decision based on the amount at stake, and changing the stakes afterward would be unfair.
Setting Aside an Entry of Default
If the clerk has noted your default but no final judgment has been entered yet, this is where you want to fight. The standard is “good cause,” and it is significantly more flexible than what comes later.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment Courts weigh whether you acted quickly once you learned of the default, whether you have a legitimate defense to the underlying lawsuit, and whether letting the case proceed normally would unfairly harm the plaintiff.
Catching the problem at this stage is your best shot. Courts are far more willing to erase an entry of default than to vacate a final judgment. If you learn a lawsuit was filed against you and see any indication a default has been noted, do not wait for the judgment to land.
Vacating a Final Default Judgment
Once the judgment is final, the standard gets harder. You must file a motion under Rule 60(b) and show one of the following:5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order
- Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. This is the most common ground. You need a real explanation for why you did not respond, such as a clerical error that buried the complaint, a serious medical emergency, or a genuine deadline mix-up. Indifference or deliberate avoidance will not qualify.
- Newly discovered evidence that could not have been found with reasonable effort in time to respond.
- Fraud or misconduct by the opposing party, such as deliberately serving the complaint at an old address to prevent a response.
- The judgment is void, most often because service of process was defective and the court never had authority over you.
- The judgment has been satisfied, an earlier judgment it depended on was reversed, or continued enforcement would be inequitable.
- Any other reason justifying relief, a catch-all reserved for extraordinary circumstances.
On top of one of these grounds, courts typically require you to show a “meritorious defense.” You do not have to prove you will win, but you have to show that if the case reopens, you have something more than wishful thinking.
Time Limits
Every Rule 60(b) motion must be filed within a “reasonable time.” For mistake or neglect, newly discovered evidence, and fraud, there is a hard outer limit of one year from the date of judgment.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order The other grounds have no fixed deadline but still must be raised within a reasonable time. In 2026, the Supreme Court clarified in Coney Island Auto Parts Unlimited, Inc. v. Burton that even motions to vacate void judgments are subject to the reasonable-time requirement. There is no unlimited window.
When You Were Never Properly Served
Many people discover a default judgment for the first time when a bank account is frozen or wages start getting garnished. Defective service is often why they never knew about the lawsuit at all. A judgment entered without proper service may be void because the court never had authority over the defendant, and it can be challenged under Rule 60(b)(4).5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order This is a powerful argument because it attacks the judgment at its foundation. The reasonable-time requirement still applies once you learn about it.
Enforcement and Why Speed Matters
A default judgment is enforceable like any other court judgment. If you do not pay, the plaintiff (now the “judgment creditor”) can pursue wage garnishment, bank account levies, and liens against real property or vehicles. Rules vary by state, but some tools work fast. A bank levy can empty an account before you even know a judgment exists.
Federal law caps wage garnishment for consumer debts at 25% of disposable earnings, and the judgment creditor typically does not need extra court permission to start once the judgment is in hand. Filing a motion to vacate does not automatically pause enforcement. You have to separately ask the court for a stay while the motion is pending. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to satisfy the “reasonable time” requirement, and the more damage enforcement can do while you delay.
Extra Protections for Certain Defendants
Some defendants get additional safeguards before any default judgment can be entered.
Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a plaintiff seeking a default judgment must first file a sworn statement about whether the defendant is on active military duty.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments If the defendant is on active duty, the court must appoint an attorney to represent them, and if that attorney cannot locate the servicemember, the case must be postponed at least 90 days. A false statement about military status is a federal crime carrying up to a year in prison.
A court clerk cannot enter a default judgment against a minor or a legally incompetent person. Those cases must go through a judge, and the person must be represented by a guardian, conservator, or similar fiduciary who has appeared in the case.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment Default judgments against the United States or its agencies face an even higher bar: the plaintiff must actually prove a right to relief through evidence. The government’s silence does not concede anything.