How to answer a debt lawsuit in Colorado
Deadlines by court, filing, fees and defenses, with a calculator.
Checked against official sources: Oct 24, 2026.
Short answer
County Court: by the date on your summons. District Court, served in Colorado: 21 days. District Court, served outside Colorado: 35 days. Fill out the official answer form that came with your summons and file it with the clerk of the court named on the summons.
- Time to answer
- 21 days
- Official answer form
- Answer Under Simplified Civil Procedure (C.R.C.P. County Court Form 3); instructions: JDF 96
- Fee to answer
- There is a fee to answer.
The answer deadline in Colorado, court by court
- County Court: by the date on your summons.
- District Court, served in Colorado: 21 days.
- District Court, served outside Colorado: 35 days.
County Court: by the date and time on your summons (the return date). You can file your answer before that date, or go to court at that date and time and file it there. District Court: 21 days after you are served in Colorado, or 35 days if you were served outside Colorado.
Law: C.R.C.P. County Court Form 1 (Summons); JDF 600 (District Court Civil Summons); JDF 96; C.R.S. § 13-32-101(1)
In nearby states
- Wyoming: 20 days
- New Mexico: 20 days
- Utah: 21 days
- Nebraska: 30 days
Count your exact deadline
What answering costs in Colorado
Fee to answer
There is a fee to answer. County Court: $80 if the claim is under $1,000, $100 if it is $1,000 to under $15,000, and $130 if it is $15,000 to $25,000. Small claims: $26 (claim of $500 or less) or $41 (over $500). District Court: $192. Higher fees apply if you also file a counterclaim.
Law: C.R.S. § 13-32-101(1)
If you can't pay the fees
Motion to Waive Fees (JDF 205) with the blank order (JDF 206). The county court summons says that if you cannot pay, you can come to court on the date and time on the summons, fill out a financial form and ask the court to waive the fee. https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/JDF205.pdf
What can defeat the claim in Colorado
In the answer, you explain why you do not owe the amount claimed, or what you believe you owe (JDF 96). Defenses that come from Colorado law include: the 6-year time limit to sue on a debt has run; a debt buyer did not attach the original agreement and the full chain of ownership; and a collector filed in the wrong judicial district.
Law: C.R.S. § 13-80-103.5(1)(a); C.R.S. § 5-16-111(2); C.R.S. § 5-16-111(1)
In Colorado, the time limit to sue on a written contract is 6 years. A debt older than that can be a defense, but you must raise it in your answer.
Fill in Colorado's official answer form: a helper
Start with the official form: Answer Under Simplified Civil Procedure (C.R.C.P. County Court Form 3); instructions: JDF 96
This helper is not a court form and does not file anything. It lists what to copy onto the official form, in plain words.
What an answer is and how to file it in Colorado
Fill out the official answer form that came with your summons and file it with the clerk of the court named on the summons. Pay the filing fee or ask for a fee waiver. Give or mail a copy of your answer to the plaintiff or its lawyer. You can ask for a jury trial in the answer, but you must pay a jury fee unless it is waived. You can also file through Colorado Courts E-Filing.
How you must be served in Colorado
Service means officially getting the court papers. Your deadline usually starts that day.
You must get a copy of the summons and complaint. In county court, a blank answer form must be served with the summons. Papers are usually handed to you in person, or left at your home with a family member who is at least 18, by an adult who is not a party to the case. The server then files an affidavit of service with the court.
Law: C.R.C.P. County Court Form 1 ("A copy of the Complaint together with a blank answer form must be served with this Summons"); JDF 98 Affidavit of Service
Mediation and settlement in Colorado
In county court, if the court accepts your answer, it will set a mediation date or a trial date, depending on that court's procedures. On the court date you may be asked to talk with the other side to see if the case can be settled; an agreement is written up as a Stipulation (JDF 75). (JDF 96)
Steps to answer in Colorado
Read the papers
The summons names the court, the case number and the lawyer suing you. Keep it safe.
Mark your deadline
In Colorado: County Court: by the date on your summons; District Court, served in Colorado: 21 days; District Court, served outside Colorado: 35 days.
File a written answer
The court's own form: Answer Under Simplified Civil Procedure (C.R.C.P. County Court Form 3); instructions: JDF 96.
Make them show the paperwork
Send a documents request letter to the plaintiff's lawyer.
Talk to legal aid
Legal aid can help for free: Colorado Legal Services (free legal aid) and Colorado Bar Association: Find a Lawyer.
Federal rules in every state
- Where a collector must sue. A debt collector that sues you over a consumer debt must file where you signed the contract or where you live when the suit starts. Law: 15 U.S.C. 1692i(a)(2)
- Old debts. A debt collector must not sue you, or threaten to sue you, on a debt that is too old to sue on. Law: 12 CFR 1006.26(b)
Free help in Colorado
Questions about answering in Colorado
How many days do I get to answer in Colorado?
County Court: by the date and time on your summons (the return date). You can file your answer before that date, or go to court at that date and time and file it there. District Court: 21 days after you are served in Colorado, or 35 days if you were served outside Colorado.
How do I answer a debt lawsuit in Colorado?
Fill out the official answer form that came with your summons and file it with the clerk of the court named on the summons. Pay the filing fee or ask for a fee waiver. Give or mail a copy of your answer to the plaintiff or its lawyer. You can ask for a jury trial in the answer, but you must pay a jury fee unless it is waived. You can also file through Colorado Courts E-Filing.
Does Colorado have a court answer form?
Answer Under Simplified Civil Procedure (C.R.C.P. County Court Form 3); instructions: JDF 96: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2025-04/Form3.pdf
Does it cost money to answer in Colorado?
There is a fee to answer. County Court: $80 if the claim is under $1,000, $100 if it is $1,000 to under $15,000, and $130 if it is $15,000 to $25,000. Small claims: $26 (claim of $500 or less) or $41 (over $500). District Court: $192. Higher fees apply if you also file a counterclaim.
Can Colorado courts waive my fees?
Motion to Waive Fees (JDF 205) with the blank order (JDF 206). The county court summons says that if you cannot pay, you can come to court on the date and time on the summons, fill out a financial form and ask the court to waive the fee. https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/JDF205.pdf
Related Colorado pages
Sources
- C.R.C.P. County Court Form 1 (Summons); JDF 600 (District Court Civil Summons); JDF 96; C.R.S. § 13-32-101(1)
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 13 (courts, fees, judgments, exemptions)
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 5 (interest § 5-12-102; debt collection lawsuits § 5-16-111)
- District Court Civil Summons (JDF 600)
- Answer Under Simplified Civil Procedure (Form 3)
- Instructions for Filing an Answer and/or Counterclaim in County Court (JDF 96)
- Motion and Order to Set Aside Default Judgment (JDF 78)
- Colorado Supreme Court, In re J.C.W., 2025SA120 (C.R.C.P. 60(b) 182-day limit)
- Motion to Waive Fees (JDF 205)
- Affidavit of Service (JDF 98)
- Writ of Continuing Garnishment (Form 26)
- Objection to Calculation of the Amount of Exempt Earnings (Form 28)
- Writ of Garnishment with Notice of Exemption and Pending Levy (Form 29)
- Claim of Exemption (Form 30)
- Motion for Revival of Judgment (JDF 113)
- H.B. 26-1426, enrolled act (Colorado General Assembly)
Last checked: Oct 24, 2026.