Sued in Minnesota? You have 21 days to answer
District Court or Conciliation Court case: 21 days.
Checked against official sources: Oct 24, 2026. · Free letters and forms ↓
Count your answer deadline in Minnesota
Pick your court and the day you were served (got the court papers). We show the last day to answer and what to do next.
Minnesota guides by topic
How to answer in Minnesota
Your deadline by court, the official form, fees and defenses.
Default judgment in Minnesota
What a default means and how to set it aside, with a calculator.
After a judgment in Minnesota
Wage garnishment, bank levies and how to claim an exemption.
Debt buyer lawsuits in Minnesota
What a debt buyer must prove, and old debts as a defense.
Which court hears debt cases in Minnesota
District Court
Most credit card, medical, personal loan and debt-buyer lawsuits are brought in district court. In Minnesota the case can be started by serving you, before anything is filed with the court.
Law: Minn. R. Civ. P. 3.01, 5.04(a)
Conciliation Court (district court division)
Claims up to $20,000, but only up to $4,000 if the claim is by a seller or lender on a consumer credit transaction (a purchase of personal property on credit). Conciliation court cannot issue garnishments.
Law: Minn. Stat. § 491A.01, subds. 2, 3a
How to answer in Minnesota
- How to answer
Write an answer that responds to the complaint and lists your defenses. Serve it on the plaintiff's lawyer (by mail or delivery) within 21 days. If the case is already filed, also file your answer with the court administrator and pay the fee, or ask for a fee waiver. If the case has not been filed, the plaintiff must file it within 1 year of serving you, or it is dismissed.
- Fee to answer
$310. In district court, the defendant pays a filing fee when the first paper is filed for that defendant.
Law: Minn. Stat. § 357.021, subd. 2(1)
- If you can't pay the fees
Ask the court to let you defend without paying fees (in forma pauperis) by filing an affidavit that you cannot afford the fees. People receiving certain public assistance are presumed to qualify.
Law: Minn. Stat. § 563.01, subd. 3
- How you must be served
The summons must be handed to you personally or left at your usual home with a person of suitable age and discretion who lives there. The lawsuit starts when you are served, even if it has not been filed with the court.
Law: Minn. R. Civ. P. 4.03(a), 3.01
Law: Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.01, 3.01, 5.02, 5.04; Minn. Stat. §§ 357.021, 563.01
Defenses to know in Minnesota
- Defenses in Minnesota law
For consumer debt, the time limit is 6 years, and after it runs out, a payment or promise does not restart it. A debt buyer must prove the contract, the amount and the full chain of assignment before it can get a default judgment. Since 2024, a spouse is not liable for the other spouse's debts, including medical debts.
Law: Minn. Stat. § 541.053; Minn. Stat. § 548.101; Minn. Stat. § 519.05
- Debt buyer lawsuits
- To get a default judgment on a consumer debt that was bought or assigned after default, the plaintiff must give the court: a copy of the written contract with the original creditor (or other admissible proof of the account terms), admissible evidence that you owe the debt and that the amount is accurate (including the balance at charge-off and a breakdown of added fees and interest), and admissible evidence of a complete chain of assignment from the original creditor, including a bill of sale showing your debt was included. Debt buyer lawsuits in Minnesota: the full rules
- Time limit to sue (written contract)
- 6 years · More on old debts at Debt Collector Map
If you missed the deadline in Minnesota
A default judgment means the court decides against you because you didn't answer. You may be able to ask the court to set it aside (cancel it), but time limits are short.
- What happens
If you do not serve an answer within 21 days, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgment. On a contract claim for money only, the court administrator can enter it on the plaintiff's affidavit of the amount due. If you have appeared in the case, you must get written notice at least 14 days before a hearing on the default. For bought consumer debt, the extra proof and the 14-day notice in Minn. Stat. § 548.101 apply.
- How to set it aside (cancel it)
File a motion under Rule 60.02 asking the court to vacate the default judgment. It must be filed within a reasonable time, and no more than 1 year after the judgment if the reason is mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, or fraud. A void judgment (for example, if you were not properly served) can be challenged later.
Law: Minn. R. Civ. P. 55.01; 60.02; Minn. Stat. § 548.101
Count your deadline to set aside a default
Mediation and settlement in Minnesota
Most civil cases in district court are subject to court-annexed alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as mediation, under General Rule of Practice 114. If you qualify for a fee waiver and cannot pay for ADR, the court can address that. (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 114.01)
If there is a judgment in Minnesota
A judgment is the court's decision that you owe money. Then the creditor can ask the court to take money from your pay or bank account.
- Interest after the judgment
For judgments of $50,000 or less (most debt cases): simple interest at a rate set each year by the state court administrator, based on the one-year U.S. Treasury yield rounded to the nearest 1%, but never less than 4%. For judgments over $50,000: 10% a year.
Law: Minn. Stat. § 549.09, subd. 1(c)
- How long it lasts
A creditor can enforce a judgment for 10 years after it is entered. An action on the judgment must also be started within 10 years.
Law: Minn. Stat. §§ 549.09, 550.01, 541.04
Garnishment, bank levy and exemptions in Minnesota
Exempt means protected by law: money or property the creditor can't take. Often you must claim it yourself, fast.
- Wage garnishment (taking part of your pay)
Stricter than federal, depending on weekly income: 10% of disposable earnings if weekly income is over 40 and up to 60 times the minimum wage, 15% if over 60 and up to 80 times, and 25% if over 80 times; and never more than the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 40 times the higher of the federal or Minnesota minimum wage. If your weekly income is 40 times the minimum wage or less, nothing can be garnished. Before garnishing wages, the creditor must give you a 10-day notice.
Law: Minn. Stat. § 571.922; Minn. Stat. § 571.925
- Bank levy (freezing and taking money in your bank account)
The creditor's lawyer serves a writ of execution on your bank with a notice, instructions and two exemption forms. The bank freezes up to the amount owed (no more than $10,000) for 14 days. No set dollar amount is protected automatically. Money from protected sources, such as public benefits and wages deposited in the last 20 days (within limits), is exempt if you return the exemption form the bank sends you.
Law: Minn. Stat. §§ 551.05, 550.37
- How to claim an exemption
Fill out the exemption form the bank mails you, sign it, attach proof and copies of your bank statements for the 60 days before the garnishment, and mail or deliver one copy to the creditor (or its lawyer) and one copy to the bank within 14 days of the postmark date on the envelope the bank sent you. Money you claim as exempt is released 6 business days after the bank gets your form, unless the creditor objects within that time. If it objects, you get a Notice of Objection and a Notice of Hearing.
Law: Minn. Stat. § 551.05, subds. 1a-1c, 2
- Exemption form
- https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/551.05
Law: Minn. Stat. §§ 551.05, subds. 1a-1c; 571.914; 571.922; 571.925
These garnishment limits are from our sister site, which checks them against official sources: Debt Collector Map: Minnesota
Count your deadline to claim an exemption
Free help in Minnesota
Court self-help
Free letters and forms
Ask the plaintiff's lawyer for the debt documents
The contract, the chain of ownership and an itemization of what they claim.
Exemption claim cover letter
A letter to the court clerk to file with your exemption claim form.
Good to know in Minnesota
- A Minnesota lawsuit can be served before it is filed with the court, but you still must answer within 21 days. (Minn. R. Civ. P. 3.01, 12.01)
- A debt buyer must mail you a Notice of Intent to Apply for Default Judgment at least 14 days before asking for a default in district court. (Minn. Stat. § 548.101(a)(7))
- Defendants in district court pay a $310 filing fee when they file their first paper, unless the court waives it. (Minn. Stat. § 357.021, subd. 2(1); § 563.01)
Changes in 2024–2026
2024: the conciliation court limit statute was amended; the general limit is now $20,000 ($4,000 for consumer credit transactions). 2024 Debt Fairness Act: medical debt protections (ch. 332C), spouses not liable for each other's debts, higher property exemptions and tiered wage garnishment limits. 2025: § 571.922 amended again (1st Sp. 2025, ch. 4) and the § 551.05 bank-levy forms were revised.
Law: Minn. Stat. § 491A.01; Laws 2024, ch. 123, art. 15, § 6; Laws 2024, ch. 114, art. 3; § 519.05; § 550.37; § 571.922; Laws 2025, ch. 18
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)
- Before a default judgment. Before the court gives the plaintiff a default judgment, the plaintiff must file a sworn statement saying whether you are in military service. Law: 50 U.S.C. 3931(b)(1)
- Your pay. For an ordinary debt, a creditor can take at most 25% of your take-home pay, or the part above 30 times the federal minimum wage if that is less. Many states protect more. Law: 15 U.S.C. 1673(a)
- Federal benefits in the bank. Your bank must protect up to two months of Social Security, SSI, VA and some other federal benefits that were paid into your account by direct deposit. You don't have to ask. Law: 31 CFR 212.5, 212.6
Questions about debt lawsuits in Minnesota
How long do I have to answer a debt lawsuit in Minnesota?
21 days after you are served with the summons. This applies even if the case has not been filed with the court yet.
How do I answer a debt lawsuit in Minnesota?
Write an answer that responds to the complaint and lists your defenses. Serve it on the plaintiff's lawyer (by mail or delivery) within 21 days. If the case is already filed, also file your answer with the court administrator and pay the fee, or ask for a fee waiver. If the case has not been filed, the plaintiff must file it within 1 year of serving you, or it is dismissed.
Does it cost money to answer in Minnesota?
$310. In district court, the defendant pays a filing fee when the first paper is filed for that defendant.
What if I can't afford the court fees in Minnesota?
Ask the court to let you defend without paying fees (in forma pauperis) by filing an affidavit that you cannot afford the fees. People receiving certain public assistance are presumed to qualify.
What happens if I don't answer in Minnesota?
If you do not serve an answer within 21 days, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgment. On a contract claim for money only, the court administrator can enter it on the plaintiff's affidavit of the amount due. If you have appeared in the case, you must get written notice at least 14 days before a hearing on the default. For bought consumer debt, the extra proof and the 14-day notice in Minn. Stat. § 548.101 apply.
Can I cancel a default judgment in Minnesota?
File a motion under Rule 60.02 asking the court to vacate the default judgment. It must be filed within a reasonable time, and no more than 1 year after the judgment if the reason is mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, or fraud. A void judgment (for example, if you were not properly served) can be challenged later.
How much interest does a judgment add in Minnesota?
For judgments of $50,000 or less (most debt cases): simple interest at a rate set each year by the state court administrator, based on the one-year U.S. Treasury yield rounded to the nearest 1%, but never less than 4%. For judgments over $50,000: 10% a year.
How long does a judgment last in Minnesota?
A creditor can enforce a judgment for 10 years after it is entered. An action on the judgment must also be started within 10 years.
Can my wages be garnished in Minnesota?
Stricter than federal, depending on weekly income: 10% of disposable earnings if weekly income is over 40 and up to 60 times the minimum wage, 15% if over 60 and up to 80 times, and 25% if over 80 times; and never more than the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 40 times the higher of the federal or Minnesota minimum wage. If your weekly income is 40 times the minimum wage or less, nothing can be garnished. Before garnishing wages, the creditor must give you a 10-day notice.
Can a creditor take money from my bank account in Minnesota?
The creditor's lawyer serves a writ of execution on your bank with a notice, instructions and two exemption forms. The bank freezes up to the amount owed (no more than $10,000) for 14 days. No set dollar amount is protected automatically. Money from protected sources, such as public benefits and wages deposited in the last 20 days (within limits), is exempt if you return the exemption form the bank sends you.
How do I claim an exemption in Minnesota?
Fill out the exemption form the bank mails you, sign it, attach proof and copies of your bank statements for the 60 days before the garnishment, and mail or deliver one copy to the creditor (or its lawyer) and one copy to the bank within 14 days of the postmark date on the envelope the bank sent you. Money you claim as exempt is released 6 business days after the bank gets your form, unless the creditor objects within that time. If it objects, you get a Notice of Objection and a Notice of Hearing.
More help on our sister sites
Sources
- Minn. R. Civ. P. 3 Commencement of the action
- Minn. R. Civ. P. 4 Service
- Minn. R. Civ. P. 5 Service and filing (5.04 one-year filing deadline)
- Minn. R. Civ. P. 12 Defenses and objections (12.01, 21 days)
- Minn. R. Civ. P. 55 Default
- Minn. R. Civ. P. 60 Relief from judgment
- Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 114 Alternative dispute resolution
- Minn. Stat. § 491A.01 Conciliation court jurisdiction
- Minn. Stat. § 548.101 Assigned consumer debt default judgments
- Minn. Stat. § 357.021 Court administrator fees
- Minn. Stat. § 563.01 In forma pauperis
- Minn. Stat. § 549.09 Interest on judgments
- Minn. Stat. § 550.01 Enforcement within 10 years
- Minn. Stat. § 541.04 Judgments, ten years
- Minn. Stat. § 551.05 Execution on funds at a financial institution
- Minn. Stat. § 571.925 Ten-day notice before wage garnishment
- Minn. Stat. § 541.053 Consumer debt limitation
Last checked: Oct 24, 2026.
- Venue for debt collection suits, 15 U.S.C. 1692i
- Time-barred debts, 12 CFR 1006.26 (Regulation F)
- Default judgments and servicemembers, 50 U.S.C. 3931
- Restrictions on garnishment, 15 U.S.C. 1673
- Federal benefit payments in bank accounts, 31 CFR part 212
- CFPB: What should I do if I'm sued by a debt collector or creditor?