In New Jersey, you can file a Request to Enter Default for divorce once your spouse has been properly served with the Complaint for Divorce and 35 days have passed without any answer or appearance.1New Jersey Courts. Responding to a Divorce Complaint The request goes to the clerk of the Family Division in the county where the case is pending, and it has to be backed up by specific affidavits. Miss one of those pieces and the clerk will send it back.
When You Can Ask for Default
Two conditions have to be satisfied before the clerk will enter default. First, your spouse must have been served in a way the court recognizes: personal service inside New Jersey, substituted service on a household member at least 14 years old, delivery to someone authorized to accept service, or, if personal service genuinely failed, certified mail with return receipt requested followed by ordinary mail if needed.2Served.com. New Jersey Rule 4:4 – Process Proof of service has to be on file. If service was defective, everything built on top of it can collapse later.
Second, 35 days must have passed from the date of service with no answer, appearance, or other response from your spouse.1New Jersey Courts. Responding to a Divorce Complaint Count carefully. Filing before the 35 days are up gives your spouse an easy argument to set the default aside.
What You File With the Request
The Request to Enter Default itself is a short form asking the clerk to note on the docket that your spouse has defaulted. It won’t stand alone. You file it together with a supporting affidavit confirming that the defendant has not filed an answer or an appearance. If a lawyer represents you, the attorney signs this affidavit; if you’re representing yourself, you sign it.3CourtCaddy. New Jersey Rule 4:43 – Default
You also file an Affidavit of Non-Military Service confirming your spouse is not on active duty with the United States military. This isn’t a New Jersey formality. It’s required by federal law, and knowingly filing a false affidavit is a criminal offense punishable by up to one year in prison.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments Before signing, verify your spouse’s status through the Department of Defense’s SCRA verification service at scra.dmdc.osd.mil and keep the printout with your file copy.
Put the docket number assigned when you filed the complaint on every page you submit. Without it, the clerk has nothing to attach your filing to.
The Notice of Proposed Final Judgment
Entry of default is only the midpoint. Once the clerk enters it, you have to serve your spouse with a Notice of Proposed Final Judgment at least 20 days before the hearing date. The notice spells out exactly what you’re asking the court to order: the value of each asset and debt you want distributed, any alimony or child support you’re seeking and in what amounts, a proposed parenting time schedule if children are involved, and any other relief.
A completed Case Information Statement has to be attached. Under New Jersey Court Rule 5:5-10, the CIS gets filed at this stage in a default case rather than with the original complaint.5CourtCaddy. New Jersey Rule 5:5 – Pretrial Procedures The CIS is a detailed financial disclosure covering income, expenses, assets, and debts, and courts expect it to be complete and accurate.6New Jersey Courts. Family Part Case Information Statement Gaps or sloppy numbers can delay the hearing or push the judge toward a less favorable ruling.
Serve the Notice the same way you served the complaint. If the original service was substituted rather than personal, the Notice has to go out by that same method or another the court specifically approves.
If Your Spouse Might Be in the Military
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act adds a layer on top of the default process. If you cannot determine whether your spouse is on active duty, the court can require you to post a bond to cover any losses your spouse might suffer from an improper default judgment.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
If your spouse is on active duty, the court must appoint an attorney to represent them before entering any judgment. The court must also grant a stay of at least 90 days if there may be a valid defense that can’t be presented without the servicemember, or if the appointed attorney cannot locate them. The servicemember can request their own stay by submitting a letter explaining how military duties prevent them from appearing along with a letter from their commanding officer confirming that military leave isn’t authorized.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3932 – Stay of Proceedings When Servicemember Has Notice
A default judgment entered against a servicemember during active duty or within 60 days after discharge can be reopened if the servicemember shows that military service materially affected the ability to defend and that there is a valid defense. The application to reopen has to be filed within 90 days after military service ends.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments That window matters: it affects how final your judgment really is.
The Default Hearing
After the 20-day notice period runs, the court sets a hearing. Straightforward defaults with no children and no disputed assets may be handled in some counties without an in-person appearance, but most cases involving custody, support, or property division require you to appear.
Do not assume the judge will approve whatever you’ve proposed. Even with your spouse absent, the court independently reviews whether the proposed property division is equitable, whether support amounts are reasonable under New Jersey guidelines, and whether any custody and parenting arrangement serves the children’s best interests. If the judge sees a problem, expect either modifications on the spot or a direction to revise and come back.
Bring documentation that backs up every number in your CIS and your Notice of Proposed Final Judgment: pay stubs, tax returns, mortgage statements, retirement account statements, bank statements. The more concrete your evidence, the fewer questions you’ll face.
If Your Spouse Resurfaces and Objects
A default judgment can be reopened. If your spouse files a motion to vacate, New Jersey courts generally weigh whether the default resulted from excusable neglect rather than deliberate avoidance, whether setting the judgment aside would unfairly prejudice you, and whether the spouse has a legitimate defense to the terms you obtained.
Courts tend to be relatively willing to reopen defaults when the absent spouse moves quickly after learning about the judgment and can show a real reason they didn’t respond, such as never receiving the papers. A spouse who was properly served, ignored the case, and then waited months before objecting faces a much harder path. If the court does vacate, the case resets and your spouse joins the proceedings, which usually means a longer and more contested road to a final judgment.
That risk is the reason the procedural pieces matter so much at the default stage. Clean service, an accurate non-military affidavit, a complete CIS, and timely notice of the proposed judgment are what make the default stick.