To file a motion to vacate a judgment in Ohio, you submit a written Rule 60(B) motion to the same court that entered the judgment, identify one of five specific grounds for relief, back it up with a sworn affidavit and supporting exhibits, and file within the deadline that matches your ground. The motion doesn’t reargue the merits of the original case. It targets a procedural problem with how the judgment came about, such as never being served, missing a deadline because of circumstances beyond your control, or fraud by the other side. If the court grants it, the case reopens as though the judgment never existed.
Pick the Right Ground Under Rule 60(B)
Ohio’s Civil Rule 60(B) lists five grounds. You only need to qualify under one, but you have to name the right one because the deadline and legal standard turn on your choice.
- Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. This covers a missed summons because of a mailing error, a medical emergency that kept you from responding, or a genuine misunderstanding about a deadline. Excusable neglect is the most commonly argued ground, and it requires showing that a reasonably careful person could have made the same mistake.
- Newly discovered evidence. You’ve found evidence that could change the outcome and couldn’t have discovered it earlier through reasonable effort. The court won’t accept this if the evidence was available and you simply didn’t look.
- Fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by the other side, such as lying to the court about whether you were served or fabricating evidence.
- The judgment is void. A judgment is void when the court lacked authority to enter it. The classic example is lack of proper service: if you were never served, the court never gained jurisdiction over you, and the judgment is a nullity.
- Any other reason justifying relief. This catch-all covers extraordinary circumstances outside the other four. Courts read it narrowly.
If you were never served, ground four is the one to press. It has no one-year cutoff, and a sworn statement that you never received the papers, if the other side can’t contradict it, generally means the judgment gets set aside.
The Three-Part Test the Judge Will Apply
Naming a ground is necessary but not enough. Ohio courts apply a three-part test from the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision in GTE Automatic Electric, Inc. v. ARC Industries, Inc., and you have to satisfy all three. Fail on one and the motion is denied.1Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Weber v Administrator
- A meritorious defense or claim. If the case were reopened, you must have a legitimate argument that could change the result. You don’t need to prove you’d win, only that your defense is real and not frivolous.
- Entitlement to relief under one of the five Rule 60(B) grounds.
- A timely filing under the deadline that applies to your ground.
Know Your Deadline
Every Rule 60(B) motion must be filed within a “reasonable time.” What counts as reasonable depends on the ground.2CaseMine. GTE Automatic Electric v ARC Industries
For the first three grounds — mistake or excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, and fraud — there is a hard outer deadline of one year from the date the judgment was entered. Filing after that mark on those grounds gets you denied automatically, even if your delay was understandable.
The fourth and fifth grounds have no one-year cutoff. Void judgments and the catch-all only require a reasonable-time filing. If you were never served, this is why you can move to vacate years later, provided your timing is reasonable under the circumstances.
What Goes in the Motion
Your filing has three components, and all three matter. A polished motion with weak evidence fails, and strong evidence attached to a sloppy motion fails the same way.
The motion itself is a written document that identifies the case by name and case number, states which Rule 60(B) ground you’re relying on, explains why your filing is timely, and describes the meritorious defense you’d present if the case were reopened. Don’t just name the ground. Explain the facts behind it. A motion that says “excusable neglect” without telling the judge what happened gives the court nothing to work with.
The affidavit is a sworn, notarized statement of the facts supporting your motion. This is where you tell your story under oath: what happened, when you learned about the judgment, and why you couldn’t respond earlier. Because it’s made under penalty of perjury, courts take affidavit statements seriously. A detailed, credible affidavit is often the difference between getting a hearing and losing on the papers.
Supporting exhibits go attached to the affidavit or motion, labeled clearly. If you’re claiming you never received notice, attach the misaddressed envelope or a summons showing the wrong address. If you’re alleging fraud, attach emails or documents showing what the other side did. Medical records, deployment orders, proof of an address change — anything that backs up your sworn statements should be included.
Where to File, What It Costs, and How to Serve
File your motion and supporting documents with the Clerk of Courts for the court that entered the original judgment.3Cleveland Municipal Court Housing Division. Motion for Relief from Judgment Many Ohio courts accept electronic filings through online portals, and in-person filing at the clerk’s office is available everywhere. The time-stamp establishes the official filing date for deadline purposes.
Filing fees vary by court. In Cuyahoga County’s Court of Common Pleas, the fee is $30.4Cuyahoga County. Filing Fees/Court Costs Some municipal courts charge $35.5Garfield Heights Municipal Court. Schedule of Court Costs Check with the specific court’s clerk office for the exact amount before you file. If you can’t afford the fee, file a poverty affidavit requesting a waiver.
After filing, serve the opposing party with a complete copy of everything you submitted. Ohio’s civil rules allow service by regular mail, and many practitioners use certified mail because the return receipt proves delivery. Include a certificate of service at the end of your motion stating the date, method, and address you used. Skipping service or doing it improperly can get your motion thrown out on a technicality.
What Happens Next
A hearing is not automatic. The judge first reviews your papers to decide whether one is warranted. If the motion and affidavit don’t contain enough factual detail to support all three GTE elements, the judge can deny the motion on the papers alone. This is where most weak motions die.
If your filing lays out enough factual support, the court schedules an evidentiary hearing. Both sides present evidence and arguments. You back up the claims in your affidavit, the opposing party responds, and the judge issues a ruling. Granted means the original judgment is set aside and the case proceeds as though it never happened. Denied means the judgment stays.
Stopping Collection While You Wait
Filing a Rule 60(B) motion does not automatically pause collection. Wage garnishments, bank levies, and liens can continue while your motion sits on the docket. If collection would cause serious harm, take a separate step.
Under Ohio’s Civil Rule 62(A), you can ask the court to stay enforcement while your Rule 60(B) motion is pending. The court has discretion to grant or deny, and it may require you to post security to protect the other side in case your motion fails.6State Rules. Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 62 Filing a separate written motion for a stay, explaining why continued collection would cause irreparable harm, gives you the best chance. A passing mention inside the Rule 60(B) motion usually isn’t enough.
If the Court Denies Your Motion
A denied Rule 60(B) motion is a final appealable order in Ohio. You have 30 days from the date the court enters its decision to file a notice of appeal. Miss that window and you forfeit the right to appeal.
The reviewing court applies an abuse-of-discretion standard, which means you won’t win by arguing the trial court simply got it wrong. You have to show the decision was unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable. Appeals on Rule 60(B) denials are uphill, so the strongest strategy is getting the motion right the first time.
Default Judgments Follow the Same Rules
The most common scenario for a Rule 60(B) motion is a default judgment, entered because one party never responded to the lawsuit. Under Ohio’s Rule 55(B), a default judgment is set aside using the same Rule 60(B) framework.7Supreme Court of Ohio. Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure You still have to satisfy the three-part GTE test. “I forgot” or “I didn’t think it was important” won’t qualify as excusable neglect. If your default came from never being served, ground four (void judgment) is your strongest path.
Clean Up Your Credit Report Afterward
A vacated judgment doesn’t automatically disappear from your credit report. Credit bureaus won’t know about the court’s order unless you tell them. After you receive the order, pull your credit reports from all three major bureaus through annualcreditreport.com and check whether the judgment still appears.
If it does, file a dispute directly with each bureau that shows the judgment, and include a copy of the court order setting it aside. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the bureau must investigate and either verify, correct, or delete the disputed item within 30 days of receiving your dispute.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy If a bureau ignores the dispute or refuses to update the record despite your court order, you may have a claim under the FCRA for inaccurate credit reporting. Disputing with the creditor who reported the judgment is not a substitute; the dispute has to go to the bureau itself.