Sued in North Dakota? You have 21 days to answer

District Court civil case: 21 days.

Count my answer deadlineHow to answerI missed it / default

Checked against official sources: Oct 24, 2026. · Free letters and forms ↓

Count your answer deadline in North Dakota

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.

The date is counted in your browser.

The court's name is at the top of your summons.

An estimate from our state data, not legal advice. Court holidays and local rules can change a deadline. File early, and ask the court clerk if you are not sure.

North Dakota guides by topic

How to answer in North Dakota

Your deadline by court, the official form, fees and defenses.

Default judgment in North Dakota

What a default means and how to set it aside, with a calculator.

After a judgment in North Dakota

Wage garnishment, bank levies and how to claim an exemption.

Which court hears debt cases in North Dakota

District Court (civil action)

No dollar limit stated

Consumer debt lawsuits are civil actions in the state district court. The case starts when you are served with a summons and complaint, often before anything is filed with the court, so the papers may have no case number.

Law: N.D.R.Civ.P. 3, 4

Small Claims Court (District Court)

Cases up to $15,000

District judges sitting as small claims court hear money claims of $15,000 or less. Few collection cases are filed here.

Law: N.D. Cent. Code § 27-08.1-01(1)

How to answer in North Dakota

How to answer

Write an answer that admits or denies each claim and lists your defenses, serve (deliver) a copy on the plaintiff or its lawyer within 21 days, and keep proof of service. You can serve the answer without a case number. When the case is filed, file your answer and proof of service with the clerk.

Official answer form
Answer form for a Debt Collection Summons and Complaint (ND Legal Self Help Center)
Fee to answer

$100 to file an answer in District Court.

Law: N.D. Cent. Code § 27-05.2-03(1)(c)

If you can't pay the fees

Filing fee waiver request forms from the ND Legal Self Help Center: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-self-help/fee-waiver

How you must be served

The plaintiff starts the case by serving the summons and a copy of the complaint on you under Rule 4, usually by personal delivery. The plaintiff can't file the case until it has proof that you were served.

Law: N.D.R.Civ.P. 3, 4

Law: N.D.R.Civ.P. 12(a)(1)(A); N.D. Cent. Code § 27-05.2-03(1)(c)

Defenses to know in North Dakota

Defenses in North Dakota law

The ND courts list common defenses in debt cases: the amount is wrong; the debt was paid or settled; the debt is in a pending bankruptcy or was discharged; another court already decided it; the statute of limitations has passed; and the plaintiff isn't the original owner and can't prove it owns the debt. Being unable to pay is not by itself a defense.

Law: 6 years for contracts, N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-16(1)

Time limit to sue (written contract)
6 years · More on old debts at Debt Collector Map

If you missed the deadline in North Dakota

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 don't serve a written answer within 21 days, the plaintiff can file a motion for default judgment. It must prove you were properly served, that 21 days passed without an answer, that you are not on active military duty, and that you owe the debt. If you had not shown any intent to take part, the plaintiff does not have to notify you of the motion. If you are served with the motion, you have 14 or 17 calendar days to oppose it in writing; otherwise the judge can grant it without hearing from you.

How to set it aside (cancel it)

Motion for Relief from Default Judgment under N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b). For mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect, new evidence, or fraud: within a reasonable time and no more than 1 year after the default judgment is entered. If the judgment is void or for any other reason: within a reasonable time. You must also show a meritorious defense, something you could have raised in an answer.

Law: N.D.R.Civ.P. 55, 60(b)

Count your deadline to set aside a default

The date is counted in your browser.

The court's name is at the top of the judgment.

An estimate from our state data, not legal advice. Court holidays and local rules can change a deadline. File early, and ask the court clerk if you are not sure.

If there is a judgment in North Dakota

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

The interest rate in the original contract, if it has one. Otherwise, the Wall Street Journal prime rate on the first Monday in December plus 3 percentage points, rounded up to the next half point, set each year by the state court administrator for the next calendar year. It may not be compounded.

Law: up to the state maximum in N.D. Cent. Code § 47-14-09

How long it lasts

Judgments entered on or after August 1, 2023 can be enforced for 20 years. Judgments entered before August 1, 2021 last 10 years and can be renewed once, by affidavit filed within 90 days before they expire, for another 10 years. For judgments entered between August 1, 2021 and July 31, 2023, the ND courts say the law is unclear on renewal.

Law: N.D. Cent. Code §§ 28-20-34, 28-21-01, 28-20-21

Garnishment, bank levy and exemptions in North Dakota

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. A creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage, reduced by $20 a week for each dependent who lives with you. Give your employer a signed list of dependents within 10 days of getting the garnishee summons.

Law: N.D. Cent. Code § 32-09.1-03

Bank levy (freezing and taking money in your bank account)

The creditor can garnish a bank account (non-wages) with a garnishee summons, or the sheriff can levy under a writ of execution. Before a garnishment, you must be served a Notice Before Garnishment at least 10 days ahead. No automatic dollar amount in a bank account is protected; you must claim exemptions. A head of family can protect up to $7,500 of other personal property, including money.

Law: N.D. Cent. Code § 28-22-03

How to claim an exemption

Garnishment of non-wages (such as a bank account): file a sworn schedule of all your personal property (claim of exemptions) within 20 days after the garnishee summons is served on you. Writ of execution: make your claim for exemptions within 10 days after the notice of levy is served on you. The court can hear the claim on 3 days' notice to the creditor. The ND Legal Self Help Center has no exemption forms; Legal Services of North Dakota publishes Claim for Exemptions kits.

Law: N.D. Cent. Code §§ 32-09.1-22, 32-09.1-23, 28-22-06, 28-22-07

These garnishment limits are from our sister site, which checks them against official sources: Debt Collector Map: North Dakota

Count your deadline to claim an exemption

The date is counted in your browser.

Read the notice you got from the court, your bank or your employer.

An estimate from our state data, not legal advice. Court holidays and local rules can change a deadline. File early, and ask the court clerk if you are not sure.

Free help in North Dakota

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.

Help filling in North Dakota's official answer form

Link to the official form and what to write on it.

Exemption claim cover letter

A letter to the court clerk to file with your exemption claim form.

Good to know in North Dakota

  • A North Dakota lawsuit starts when you are served, not when it is filed, so the court may have no record of the case yet; you still have only 21 days to answer (ND Legal Self Help Center).
  • Judgments entered since August 1, 2023 can be collected for 20 years (N.D. Cent. Code § 28-21-01).
  • Even after missing the answer deadline, you get 14 or 17 days to oppose a served motion for default judgment in writing (ND Legal Self Help Center).

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 North Dakota

How long do I have to answer a debt lawsuit in North Dakota?

21 days after you are served with the summons and complaint. Unless the summons gives a hearing date, 'appear' means you must serve a written answer on the plaintiff within 21 calendar days.

How do I answer a debt lawsuit in North Dakota?

Write an answer that admits or denies each claim and lists your defenses, serve (deliver) a copy on the plaintiff or its lawyer within 21 days, and keep proof of service. You can serve the answer without a case number. When the case is filed, file your answer and proof of service with the clerk.

Is there an official answer form in North Dakota?

Answer form for a Debt Collection Summons and Complaint (ND Legal Self Help Center): https://www.ndcourts.gov/Media/Default/legal-resources/legal-self-help/civil-action/Answer%20Debt%20Collection.pdf

Does it cost money to answer in North Dakota?

$100 to file an answer in District Court.

What if I can't afford the court fees in North Dakota?

Filing fee waiver request forms from the ND Legal Self Help Center: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-self-help/fee-waiver

What happens if I don't answer in North Dakota?

If you don't serve a written answer within 21 days, the plaintiff can file a motion for default judgment. It must prove you were properly served, that 21 days passed without an answer, that you are not on active military duty, and that you owe the debt. If you had not shown any intent to take part, the plaintiff does not have to notify you of the motion. If you are served with the motion, you have 14 or 17 calendar days to oppose it in writing; otherwise the judge can grant it without hearing from you.

Can I cancel a default judgment in North Dakota?

Motion for Relief from Default Judgment under N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b). For mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect, new evidence, or fraud: within a reasonable time and no more than 1 year after the default judgment is entered. If the judgment is void or for any other reason: within a reasonable time. You must also show a meritorious defense, something you could have raised in an answer.

How much interest does a judgment add in North Dakota?

The interest rate in the original contract, if it has one. Otherwise, the Wall Street Journal prime rate on the first Monday in December plus 3 percentage points, rounded up to the next half point, set each year by the state court administrator for the next calendar year. It may not be compounded.

How long does a judgment last in North Dakota?

Judgments entered on or after August 1, 2023 can be enforced for 20 years. Judgments entered before August 1, 2021 last 10 years and can be renewed once, by affidavit filed within 90 days before they expire, for another 10 years. For judgments entered between August 1, 2021 and July 31, 2023, the ND courts say the law is unclear on renewal.

Can my wages be garnished in North Dakota?

Stricter than federal. A creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage, reduced by $20 a week for each dependent who lives with you. Give your employer a signed list of dependents within 10 days of getting the garnishee summons.

Can a creditor take money from my bank account in North Dakota?

The creditor can garnish a bank account (non-wages) with a garnishee summons, or the sheriff can levy under a writ of execution. Before a garnishment, you must be served a Notice Before Garnishment at least 10 days ahead. No automatic dollar amount in a bank account is protected; you must claim exemptions. A head of family can protect up to $7,500 of other personal property, including money.

How do I claim an exemption in North Dakota?

Garnishment of non-wages (such as a bank account): file a sworn schedule of all your personal property (claim of exemptions) within 20 days after the garnishee summons is served on you. Writ of execution: make your claim for exemptions within 10 days after the notice of levy is served on you. The court can hear the claim on 3 days' notice to the creditor. The ND Legal Self Help Center has no exemption forms; Legal Services of North Dakota publishes Claim for Exemptions kits.

More help on our sister sites

Sources

Sources

Last checked: Oct 24, 2026.

Federal sources

Other states

Count my deadline