A default judgment in California is a court order a plaintiff wins when the defendant does not respond to a lawsuit on time. After personal service, the defendant has 30 calendar days to file a response; substituted service extends that to 40 days. Miss the deadline and the plaintiff can ask the clerk to enter your default, cutting off your right to defend the case. The resulting judgment is fully enforceable, accrues interest, and lasts for a decade with renewal available.
Default and Default Judgment Are Two Different Things
People treat these as one event. They aren’t. The entry of default is the clerk’s record that the defendant failed to file a timely response. The entry of default judgment is the enforceable order awarding the plaintiff money or other relief. The first has to happen before the second can.
One point that changes what a late defendant should do: missing the 30-day deadline does not automatically shut you out. The court will still accept a response right up until the moment the plaintiff files a Request for Entry of Default and the clerk processes it.1Sacramento County Public Law Library. Request a Default Judgment by Court Once the clerk enters the default, you lose the right to answer or otherwise participate. So a defendant a few days past deadline can often still file, if the plaintiff hasn’t moved yet.
The window is usually narrow. Under California Rules of Court, the plaintiff is required to file for entry of default within 10 days after the response deadline passes, and courts can sanction plaintiffs who delay.2Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.110
Response Deadlines and How to Prevent Default
The deadline depends on how you were served:
- Personal service: 30 calendar days from the date you were handed the papers.3California Courts. After You Serve Your Lawsuit
- Substituted service: 40 calendar days from the date the papers were mailed, after being left with someone at your home or workplace.3California Courts. After You Serve Your Lawsuit
The parties can agree to a single 15-day extension beyond the 30-day deadline without court approval.2Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.110 Anything longer requires asking the court.
Filing any proper response before the clerk enters the default stops the process. The common options are an Answer (addressing the factual allegations), a Demurrer (challenging whether the complaint states a valid legal claim), or a Motion to Quash Service of Summons if you were not properly served. Any of these stops the default clock, and you must also serve a copy on the plaintiff.
Can’t afford the filing fee? Apply for a fee waiver using Form FW-001. Eligibility covers people receiving public benefits like Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or SSI, and anyone whose income is too low to cover basic household needs and court fees.
How a Plaintiff Obtains a Default Judgment
Once the deadline has passed with no response, the plaintiff files a Request for Entry of Default (Form CIV-100).4California Courts. Request for Entry of Default (CIV-100) The same form can serve as the application for a default judgment in straightforward cases.
The application must include a declaration about the defendant’s military status. Federal law prohibits courts from entering a default judgment against active-duty servicemembers without first appointing counsel to represent them.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 If the plaintiff can’t determine military status, the court may require a bond before entering judgment.
Who Enters the Judgment
For contract actions and cases involving a fixed, calculable sum, the clerk can enter judgment immediately for the amount demanded in the complaint.6California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 585 These “liquidated” damages are simple math: a specific dollar amount owed under a contract, plus interest and costs.
For everything else, including personal injury, property damage, and emotional distress, the plaintiff has to apply to the court. That usually means a “prove-up” hearing where the plaintiff presents evidence, in written declarations or live testimony, establishing both liability and damages. The court awards whatever the evidence supports.6California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 585 The final judgment goes on Form JUD-100.7Judicial Branch of California. Judgment (JUD-100)
The Complaint Caps What the Court Can Award
The court cannot award more than what the complaint demanded.8California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 580 If the complaint asks for $50,000 and the evidence at prove-up shows $80,000, the maximum is still $50,000. The rule protects defendants from being blindsided by an award they could not have anticipated from reading the complaint. For defendants, a judgment that exceeds the demand is a strong basis for getting it set aside.
Setting Aside a Default Judgment
A default judgment is not necessarily permanent, but every route to vacate one has a hard deadline. Move quickly.
Mistake, Inadvertence, Surprise, or Excusable Neglect
Under CCP 473(b), the court has discretion to set aside a default judgment caused by the defendant’s mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The motion must be filed within a reasonable time, and no later than six months after the judgment.9California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 473 “Excusable neglect” is a high bar. Forgetting the lawsuit or being busy generally doesn’t qualify. A hospitalization, a family emergency, or genuine confusion about the deadline is closer to what courts accept.
You must attach a copy of the answer or other response you propose to file. Courts want to see an actual defense, not just a request for another chance.9California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 473
Attorney Affidavit of Fault
The same statute provides stronger relief when the default was the lawyer’s fault. If the defendant’s attorney files a sworn affidavit admitting the default resulted from the attorney’s own mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect, the court must vacate the default judgment. The application still has to be filed within six months, and the court will order the attorney to pay the opposing side’s reasonable legal fees and costs.9California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 473 The court has no discretion to deny this motion.
Lack of Actual Notice
If service technically complied with the rules but you never actually learned about the lawsuit in time to respond, CCP 473.5 is the path. The motion must be filed within the earlier of two years after entry of the default judgment or 180 days after receiving written notice that the judgment exists.10California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 473.5 You have to show under oath that the lack of notice wasn’t caused by deliberate avoidance or inexcusable neglect, and attach a proposed response.
Void Judgments
If the court lacked jurisdiction over you, or if service was fundamentally defective rather than just technically imperfect, the judgment is void. CCP 473(d) allows either party to move to set aside a void judgment, and a default judgment void for lack of proper service can be challenged at any time.11California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 473(d) This is the only route with no filing deadline, and it’s the lifeline for defendants who discover years later that they were never validly served.
Interest, Duration, and Renewal
Interest on an unpaid California money judgment accrues at 10% per year. A $50,000 judgment grows by $5,000 every year the debtor doesn’t pay. Two exceptions apply to judgments entered on or after January 1, 2023: medical expense judgments under $200,000 and personal debt judgments under $50,000 accrue at 5%.12California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 685.010
A judgment stays enforceable for 10 years from entry. After that, tools like wage garnishment and bank levies stop working. The creditor can renew the judgment before the 10-year period expires, extending enforceability another 10 years. For the smaller personal debt and medical expense categories, the creditor can only renew once.13California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 683.110 Debtors sometimes assume the judgment will simply expire. A diligent creditor who renews on time keeps it alive for decades.
Enforcing the Judgment
A judgment on paper is worthless until the creditor collects. California gives creditors several tools, often used in combination.
Wage Garnishment and Bank Levies
The creditor gets a Writ of Execution (Form EJ-130) authorizing the county sheriff or marshal to seize assets or garnish wages.14California Courts. Writ of Execution (EJ-130) California’s wage garnishment limit is more protective than federal law: a creditor can take the lesser of 20% of the debtor’s disposable earnings or 40% of the amount by which weekly earnings exceed 48 times the state minimum hourly wage.15California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 706.050 Federal law caps ordinary garnishment at 25% of disposable earnings.16U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 30 – Wage Garnishment Protections Both apply at once, so the California cap is the effective limit for most California workers.
Bank levies work differently. The sheriff serves the writ on the debtor’s bank, and the bank freezes the account and turns over funds up to the judgment amount. Social Security and certain other federal benefits deposited by direct deposit into a dedicated account may be protected under federal law, but commingling them with other funds can jeopardize that protection.
Property Liens
Recording an Abstract of Judgment (Form EJ-001) with a county recorder creates a lien against any real property the debtor owns in that county, and attaches to property the debtor later acquires there.17California Courts. Abstract of Judgment (EJ-001) When the debtor sells or refinances, the lien has to be paid before the transaction can close. Creditors wanting statewide coverage record the abstract in each county.
Debtor Examination
If the creditor doesn’t know what the debtor has, the creditor can get a court order requiring the debtor to appear and answer questions under oath about income, bank accounts, and other assets. The debtor must be personally served at least 30 days before the examination, and failure to appear can lead to arrest for contempt.18California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 708.110
Satisfaction of Judgment
Once the debtor pays in full, the creditor must file an Acknowledgment of Satisfaction of Judgment with the court, which clears the public record and releases any liens. A creditor who refuses after receiving full payment can be ordered by the court to file it.
Bankruptcy Stops Collection
Filing bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay that immediately halts most collection activity, including enforcement of an existing default judgment. Under federal bankruptcy law, the stay prevents creditors from garnishing wages, levying bank accounts, or continuing any lawsuit against the debtor.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 It takes effect the moment the petition is filed, without a separate court order.
The stay is not permanent. Creditors can ask the bankruptcy court to lift it, and certain debts like child support are exempt. If the underlying debt is dischargeable (most contract and credit card debts are; child support and most tax debts are not), bankruptcy can eliminate the judgment entirely. A debtor considering bankruptcy solely to deal with a default judgment should weigh whether the debt would actually be discharged, because filing to address a non-dischargeable debt is costly with no benefit on that obligation.
Tax Consequences of Settling
If a creditor accepts less than the full amount, or forgives the debt, the IRS treats the cancelled portion as taxable income. The creditor may issue a Form 1099-C reporting the forgiven amount, and the debtor has to include it as ordinary income.20Internal Revenue Service. Publication 4681
Two common exceptions can reduce or eliminate the tax. If the debtor was insolvent at the time of cancellation (total liabilities exceeded total assets), the cancelled amount is excluded from income up to the extent of the insolvency. If the debt was discharged in a Title 11 bankruptcy case, the full cancelled amount is excluded.20Internal Revenue Service. Publication 4681 Either exclusion requires filing IRS Form 982 with the return. A $30,000 reduction in judgment debt can become a $7,000 or $8,000 tax bill depending on the debtor’s bracket, so account for that before agreeing to terms.
What About Your Credit Report
Since July 2017, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have removed civil judgments from consumer credit reports. The change came out of the National Consumer Assistance Plan, which required civil public records to include a name, address, and Social Security number or date of birth before appearing on a report. Court records rarely include Social Security numbers, so virtually all civil judgments were eliminated when the policy took effect.21Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Removal of Public Records Has Little Effect on Consumers’ Credit Scores
The financial consequences are still real. Property liens show up in title searches and block real estate transactions. Wage garnishments cut take-home pay. Accounts that went to collections before the lawsuit may still appear on the credit report on their own, because the collection account and the judgment are separate items. The practical damage comes from enforcement against income and property, not from a credit report entry.