In a court case, a default means one side, almost always the defendant, failed to respond to the lawsuit or failed to show up when required, and the court is allowed to move forward without them. The practical consequence is harsh: a judge can enter a binding judgment against the silent party, awarding the other side money or other relief without ever hearing a defense.
How Someone Ends Up in Default
A default starts with silence. After a lawsuit is filed, the defendant is formally notified through a process server, certified mail, or another legally approved method. From that point, the clock runs. In federal court, the defendant has 21 days after being served to file a written response called an answer.1Cornell Law Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections State courts set their own deadlines, typically between 20 and 30 days. A defendant who waives formal service in federal court and accepts the lawsuit voluntarily gets a longer window of 60 days.
Missing that first deadline is the classic way to end up in default, but it is not the only way. A defendant who files an answer and then skips a scheduled hearing, or who ignores a court order along the way, can also be found in default. The system assumes both sides will keep participating; stop participating, and the case keeps going without you.
One narrow protection worth knowing: before any default judgment is entered, the plaintiff must file an affidavit stating whether the defendant is on active military duty, and courts cannot immediately enter judgment against a servicemember.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments Similar extra steps apply when the defendant is a minor or legally incompetent.
Entry of Default Is Not the Same as a Default Judgment
These two phrases get used interchangeably, and they shouldn’t be. They are separate steps, and the difference changes how hard it is to undo the damage.
The first step is the entry of default. The plaintiff shows the court clerk that the defendant missed the deadline, and the clerk officially records it. Once that entry is on the docket, the defendant loses the right to file an answer or otherwise fight the case on the merits unless the default is set aside.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default and Default Judgment
The second step is the default judgment itself. If the lawsuit asks for a specific, calculable dollar amount and the defendant never appeared at all, the clerk can enter judgment without a hearing.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default and Default Judgment For anything else, the plaintiff has to ask the judge, and the court holds a prove-up hearing where the plaintiff presents evidence like receipts, medical bills, or testimony to justify the amount. A defendant in default still has the right to appear at that hearing and challenge the damages figure, even after losing on the underlying claim.
What a Default Judgment Actually Does to You
A default judgment is a court order saying you owe the money. Collecting it is a separate fight, and the court does not do it for the plaintiff. Once judgment is entered, the plaintiff becomes a judgment creditor and can use several tools:
- Wage garnishment, where a court order directs your employer to withhold part of each paycheck. Federal law caps garnishment for ordinary debts at 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount by which weekly earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is smaller. Some states cap it lower.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
- Bank account levies, which seize funds sitting in your accounts. Certain deposits, such as Social Security payments, are typically exempt.
- Judgment liens recorded against your real estate. The property cannot be sold or refinanced until the lien is paid or released. In most states, these liens last between 5 and 20 years and can often be renewed.
Meanwhile, the balance grows. In federal court, interest accrues from the day the judgment is entered, at a rate tied to the weekly average one-year Treasury yield for the week before the judgment date.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1961 – Interest States use their own formulas, and some set fixed rates that run higher. Ignoring the judgment does not freeze what you owe.
What about your credit? The three major credit bureaus stopped including civil judgments on credit reports in July 2017 after adopting data standards that most court records could not meet.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Removal of Public Records Has Little Effect on Consumers Credit Scores The judgment is still public record, though. Landlords, employers, and lenders running background checks can find it.
How to Fight a Default
A default is not necessarily permanent, but undoing it takes action, and the window is tightest at the start.
If the clerk has entered a default but the judge has not yet entered a final judgment, the standard is relatively forgiving. The defendant only needs to show “good cause” for failing to respond.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default and Default Judgment Moving quickly matters: the longer you wait, the less sympathetic the court gets.
Once a final default judgment has been entered, the bar rises. In federal court, you file a motion under Rule 60(b), or the equivalent state rule, and you have to meet one of several specific grounds.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order The motion generally has to include an affidavit explaining why you didn’t respond and a proposed answer showing you have a real defense. Vague regret is not enough; the court wants specific facts.
The grounds that come up most often in default cases are:
- Excusable neglect. A legitimate reason for missing the deadline, such as a serious medical emergency or circumstances truly beyond your control. Being busy, forgetting, or hoping the lawsuit would go away does not qualify, and courts expect you to have acted quickly once you learned about the default.
- Improper service. You were never properly notified of the lawsuit. If the summons and complaint were not delivered according to the rules, the court never had jurisdiction over you, and the judgment is void. This is the strongest ground, because a void judgment must be vacated once the defect is proven.
- Fraud or misrepresentation. The plaintiff obtained the judgment through deception, such as filing a false affidavit claiming you were served when you were not.
How Long You Have to Act
The deadline to file a motion depends on the reason. For excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, and fraud, you must file within a reasonable time and no later than one year after the judgment was entered.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order After that, those grounds are gone in federal court.
Void judgments are the exception. A court without jurisdiction had no power to act, so a motion to vacate a void judgment has no fixed outer deadline. It still has to be filed within a reasonable time, but courts read that more generously. If you can prove you were never served, you can challenge the judgment even past the one-year mark.
State courts set their own clocks, and some are much shorter. A few states require a motion within 30 days of learning about the judgment, while others allow up to two years. Filing fees for these motions tend to be modest, often $15 to $45, though they vary.
If you discover a default against you, do not assume it is too late to do anything about it. But every week of delay narrows your options. Courts are far more willing to help a defendant who moves immediately than one who waits months to file.