When you’re served with a civil Complaint in California, you have 30 calendar days to file a written Answer to the Complaint with the Superior Court. That Answer is your formal, paragraph-by-paragraph response to what the plaintiff alleges, and it’s also the document where you raise your defenses and, if you have your own claims, decide whether to file a cross-complaint. Miss the deadline and the court can enter a default judgment against you before you ever get to argue the case.
Your 30-Day Deadline
The Summons served with the Complaint directs you to respond in writing within 30 days after service.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 412.20 – Summons The clock starts the day after you’re served. If day 30 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or court holiday, the deadline rolls to the next day the court is open.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 12a
Unlawful detainer (eviction) cases work on a much shorter timeline: 10 court days to respond, with 5 additional court days if you were served by mail.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1167 If that’s your situation, you’re on a different track than the one described here.
The simplest way to buy more time in a standard case is to ask opposing counsel for a written stipulation extending the deadline. The court can also grant an extension by order, but only if you file a motion. Neither option is available once the plaintiff has already requested entry of your default.
What Happens If You Don’t File
If no Answer, demurrer, or other recognized responsive pleading is on file when the deadline passes, the plaintiff can ask the clerk to enter your default. In a straightforward money case, the clerk can enter both the default and the judgment for the amount demanded — no hearing, no argument.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 585 In other cases the clerk enters the default and the plaintiff proves up damages to a judge. Either way, you lose the right to contest the underlying claims.
You can ask the court to set aside the default if it resulted from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The motion has to be filed within a reasonable time and no later than six months after entry of the default, and you have to attach the Answer you propose to file.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 473 “I forgot” and “I didn’t think it was serious” rarely qualify. The six-month cutoff is hard.
Format and Caption
California courts require a specific format for filed documents. The first page of your Answer needs a caption showing the court’s name, the case title with both parties’ names, and the case number.6Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 2.111 – Format of First Page Type the document on numbered pleading paper with sequential line numbers down the left margin. Many counties now require electronic filing through an approved vendor, but the formatting rules apply either way.
Responding to Each Allegation
The core of your Answer is your response to every numbered paragraph in the Complaint. This is not a formality: any allegation you don’t address can be treated as admitted for the rest of the lawsuit.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 431.30
You have three options for each paragraph:
- Admit the allegation, when you know it’s accurate.
- Deny the allegation, when it’s false or inaccurate.
- Deny for lack of information, when you don’t have enough knowledge to confirm or deny. This functions as a denial.
General Denial or Paragraph-by-Paragraph
Whether you must respond paragraph by paragraph or can use a blanket denial turns on one thing: whether the Complaint is verified. If the plaintiff signed the Complaint under penalty of perjury, you have to respond to each paragraph individually with a specific admission, denial, or denial on lack of information. If the Complaint is not verified, you can file a general denial — one sentence denying all material allegations at once.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 431.30
Even when a general denial is on the table, many defendants respond paragraph by paragraph anyway. A specific response lets you admit the uncontested facts (your name, that a contract existed) while contesting the allegations that actually matter. That precision usually serves you better as the case moves forward.
Affirmative Defenses
An affirmative defense goes beyond denying the plaintiff’s facts. It gives the court a separate legal reason why the plaintiff should lose or recover less, even assuming their allegations are true. Raise your affirmative defenses in the Answer. Leave one out and you risk waiving it permanently.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 431.30 State each defense separately and identify which of the plaintiff’s claims it applies to. A few of the most common:
Statute of Limitations
Every civil claim has a filing deadline, and the deadline varies by claim type — two years for personal injury, four years for a written contract, and so on. If the plaintiff waited too long, this defense asks the court to dismiss the case as time-barred.
Comparative Fault
In negligence cases, this defense argues that the plaintiff’s own carelessness contributed to their injuries. California uses a pure comparative fault system, so the plaintiff’s recovery is reduced by their percentage of responsibility. A plaintiff found 40% at fault sees the damages award drop by 40%.
Failure to State a Claim
This defense argues that even taking the Complaint at face value, the plaintiff has not described a situation the law recognizes as grounds for relief. It overlaps with a demurrer, which is a separate motion challenging the legal sufficiency of the Complaint before you answer.8California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 430.10 Raising it as an affirmative defense preserves the argument if you didn’t file a demurrer.
Contract Defenses
Contract cases open up several more. Waiver argues the plaintiff voluntarily gave up the right they now want to enforce. Estoppel prevents the plaintiff from taking a position that contradicts something they previously said or did that you relied on. Accord and satisfaction applies when both sides already agreed to resolve the dispute on different terms, typically by the plaintiff accepting a reduced payment as full resolution. To succeed on accord and satisfaction you’ll need to show a genuine dispute, an intent on both sides that the new terms would resolve it, and the plaintiff’s acceptance of the substitute performance.
Cross-Complaint
If you have your own claims against the plaintiff, California calls them a cross-complaint rather than a counterclaim. You can assert any cause of action against the plaintiff, whether or not it relates to the same dispute.9California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 428.10 You can also bring in a third party if the claim arises from the same transaction or involves the same property at issue in the lawsuit.
Timing matters. A cross-complaint against the plaintiff must be filed at the same time as or before your Answer.10California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 428.50 After that, you need leave of court. Cross-complaints against other parties are more flexible and can be filed any time before a trial date is set.
One trap catches defendants regularly: if you have a claim against the plaintiff arising out of the same events they’re suing you over and you don’t raise it in a cross-complaint, you lose that claim forever. You cannot bring it in a separate lawsuit later.11California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 426.30 This is California’s compulsory counterclaim rule, and it is not forgiving.
Signature and Verification
Every Answer must be signed by you or your attorney. If the plaintiff’s Complaint was verified, your Answer must be verified too.12California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 446 Verification is also required whenever a government entity is the plaintiff, regardless of whether its Complaint was verified.
The verification itself is a separate declaration attached at the end of the Answer, after the signature block. In it, you swear under penalty of perjury that the contents of the Answer are true to your own knowledge, except for matters stated on information and belief, which you believe to be true. If you’re out of the county or otherwise unable to sign, your attorney can verify instead, but the verification must explain why you couldn’t sign it yourself.12California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 446
Filing Fees and Waivers
The filing fee for your first appearance depends on how much the plaintiff is claiming. As of January 2026:
- Unlimited civil case (over $35,000): $435
- Limited civil case ($10,001 to $35,000): $370
- Limited civil case ($10,000 or less): $225
A few counties charge slightly more due to local courthouse construction surcharges.13Judicial Branch of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026
If you can’t afford the fee, request a waiver using form FW-001. You qualify if you receive certain public benefits such as Medi-Cal, CalFresh, SSI, or CalWORKs, if your household income is below the threshold, or if paying court fees would prevent you from covering basic needs. The information on the form is confidential and the other side does not see it. You typically submit the fee waiver request when you file the Answer, though you can request one later if your finances change.14California Courts. Ask for a Fee Waiver
Filing and Serving the Answer
Once the Answer is complete, two things need to happen: file the original with the court, and serve a copy on the plaintiff or their attorney.
File with the Superior Court clerk at the courthouse listed at the top of the Complaint you were served with.15California Courts. File Your Answer With the Court Many California courts require or strongly encourage electronic filing through an approved vendor. Whether you file electronically or in person, keep a file-stamped copy for your own records and pay the filing fee (or submit the fee waiver request) at the same time.
A copy of the Answer must be served on the opposing party, usually by mail. Someone other than you — any adult who is not a party to the case — needs to handle the mailing. That person then completes a Proof of Service documenting what was served, when, how, and to what address. File the Proof of Service with the court along with the Answer.15California Courts. File Your Answer With the Court Without a filed Proof of Service, the court has no record that the plaintiff ever received your response.