Sued in Utah? You may have only 21 days to answer
Served in Utah: 21 days. Served outside Utah: 30 days. Small claims: no written answer, but go to court on the date set.
Checked against official sources: Oct 24, 2026. · Free letters and forms ↓
Count your answer deadline in Utah
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.
Utah guides by topic
How to answer in Utah
Your deadline by court, the official form, fees and defenses.
Default judgment in Utah
What a default means and how to set it aside, with a calculator.
After a judgment in Utah
Wage garnishment, bank levies and how to claim an exemption.
Debt buyer lawsuits in Utah
What a debt buyer must prove, and old debts as a defense.
Which court hears debt cases in Utah
District Court
Most credit card, medical and debt-buyer lawsuits are filed here as debt collection cases.
Law: Utah Courts, Debt Collection
Justice Court, Small Claims
Debts of $20,000 or less (including attorney fees, not counting court costs and interest) from January 1, 2025 through 2029; the limit rises to $25,000 on January 1, 2030. You must live, or the debt must have been incurred, in the court's area. If you are sued in district court for an amount within this limit, you can move the case to small claims if the plaintiff agrees.
Law: Utah Code § 78A-8-102
How to answer in Utah
- How to answer
File the court's Debt Collection Answer form (or answer online through MyCourtCase): mark each numbered paragraph of the complaint as agree, disagree or not sure, and check any affirmative defenses that apply. File it in person, by email to the court, by mail, or through MyCourtCase, then send a copy to the plaintiff or its lawyer and fill out the certificate of service. Next, prepare your initial disclosures.
- Official answer form
- Answer to Debt Collection Complaint (form 1013GE)
- Fee to answer
No fee to answer: the court fee statute charges for complaints and counterclaims, not for an answer. A counterclaim costs $55-$170 depending on the amount.
Law: Utah Code § 78A-2-301
- If you can't pay the fees
Request a fee waiver from the court (Utah Courts fee waiver page).
- How you must be served
The plaintiff must serve you with the summons and complaint by one of the methods in Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 4 (usually personal delivery by a sheriff, constable or process server, or leaving them at your home with a suitable adult who lives there).
Law: Utah R. Civ. P. 4; Utah Courts, Debt Collection
Law: Utah R. Civ. P. 12(a); Utah Courts, Answering a Complaint or Petition (Debt Collection)
Defenses to know in Utah
- Defenses in Utah law
Utah's time limit to sue on a written contract is 6 years, and on an open account or unwritten contract 4 years; for a credit agreement, a written acknowledgment or a payment restarts the 6 years. The court's debt collection answer form lists common affirmative defenses: not your account, contract cancelled, debt paid, and statute of limitations. If you skip affirmative defenses in your answer, you may not be able to raise them later (Utah Courts).
Law: Utah Code §§ 78B-2-309, 78B-2-307
- Debt buyer lawsuits
- Utah has no special pleading statute for debt buyers, but the court's guidance says the complaint should state the amount owed and information about the debt and any buyer/assignee, and the plaintiff must give you initial disclosures such as the charge-off summary, payment history, balance statement, and the bill of sale if a debt buyer is suing. Debt buyer lawsuits in Utah: 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 Utah
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 were properly served and do not file an answer in time, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgment and gets what it asked for without hearing your side.
- How to set it aside (cancel it)
File a Motion to Set Aside Default or Judgment. It must be filed within a reasonable time, and for mistake, inadvertence, surprise, excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence or fraud, no more than 90 days after the judgment was entered. You usually must also show a meritorious defense, for example with a proposed answer.
Law: Utah R. Civ. P. 55, 60(b)
Law: Utah R. Civ. P. 55, 60(b)-(c); Utah Courts, Motion to Set Aside Judgment
Count your deadline to set aside a default
If there is a judgment in Utah
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
A judgment on a lawful contract carries the contract rate, which must be stated in the judgment. Other judgments: the federal post-judgment interest rate as of January 1 each year plus 2%, fixed for the life of the judgment. A judgment under $10,000 in an action about the purchase of goods and services: 10% plus the federal post-judgment rate in effect on January 1 of that year.
- How long it lasts
8 years. The creditor can renew it by filing a motion to renew, with an affidavit accounting for all payments and notice to you, before the 8 years (or any renewal) run out.
Law: Utah Code § 15-1-4; § 78B-2-311; § 78B-6-1802
Garnishment, bank levy and exemptions in Utah
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)
For consumer credit judgments, no more than 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage per week, whichever is less; 15% for a private education loan.
Law: Utah Code § 70C-7-103
- Bank levy (freezing and taking money in your bank account)
The creditor gets a writ of garnishment served on your bank. The bank must serve you with the writ, its answers, a notice of exemptions and two copies of a reply form, and must hold the money for 21 days. Exempt property is listed in the Utah Exemptions Act.
Law: Utah Code § 78B-5-501 et seq.
- How to claim an exemption
File and serve a reply to the garnishee's answers with a request for hearing, using the reply form you received, within 14 days after the answers were served on you (the court may still accept a later reply if it is filed before the property is sold or handed over to the creditor). In it you can claim the money or property is exempt. The court must hold an evidentiary hearing within 14 days. If you do not reply, the property is treated as not exempt (except as the bank's answers show).
Law: Utah R. Civ. P. 64D(g)-(i); Utah Code § 78B-5-501 et seq.
These garnishment limits are from our sister site, which checks them against official sources: Debt Collector Map: Utah
Count your deadline to claim an exemption
Free help in Utah
- Utah Legal Services – Debt collection (free legal aid)
- Utah Division of Consumer Protection · (801) 530-6601
- Find free legal help at LawHelp.org
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 Utah'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 Utah
- Utah has an official Debt Collection Answer form and lets you answer online through MyCourtCase (Utah Courts).
- You have only 90 days after the judgment to ask to set aside a default for mistake or excusable neglect, shorter than the 1 year in many states (Utah R. Civ. P. 60(c)).
- Utah judgments last 8 years unless renewed by motion before they expire (Utah Code §§ 78B-2-311, 78B-6-1802).
Changes in 2024–2026
The small claims limit rose from $15,000 to $20,000 on January 1, 2025. The judgment-renewal statutes were amended in 2025 (Ch. 493), and the judgment-interest statute in 2026 (Ch. 38).
Law: Utah Code § 78A-8-102; §§ 78B-2-311, 78B-6-1802; § 15-1-4
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 Utah
How long do I have to answer a debt lawsuit in Utah?
21 days after you are served in Utah; 30 days if you were served outside Utah. Count every day, including weekends and holidays; the day you were served is day zero. If the last day falls on a day the court is closed, file on the next open day. If your summons says '10 days', the plaintiff has 10 days to file the case after serving you; your own deadline is still 21 (or 30) days. Small claims: go to the trial on the date set.
How do I answer a debt lawsuit in Utah?
File the court's Debt Collection Answer form (or answer online through MyCourtCase): mark each numbered paragraph of the complaint as agree, disagree or not sure, and check any affirmative defenses that apply. File it in person, by email to the court, by mail, or through MyCourtCase, then send a copy to the plaintiff or its lawyer and fill out the certificate of service. Next, prepare your initial disclosures.
Is there an official answer form in Utah?
Answer to Debt Collection Complaint (form 1013GE): https://apps.utcourts.gov/aem-services/aem/forms/template/1013GE
Does it cost money to answer in Utah?
No fee to answer: the court fee statute charges for complaints and counterclaims, not for an answer. A counterclaim costs $55-$170 depending on the amount.
What if I can't afford the court fees in Utah?
Request a fee waiver from the court (Utah Courts fee waiver page).
What happens if I don't answer in Utah?
If you were properly served and do not file an answer in time, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgment and gets what it asked for without hearing your side.
Can I cancel a default judgment in Utah?
File a Motion to Set Aside Default or Judgment. It must be filed within a reasonable time, and for mistake, inadvertence, surprise, excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence or fraud, no more than 90 days after the judgment was entered. You usually must also show a meritorious defense, for example with a proposed answer.
How much interest does a judgment add in Utah?
A judgment on a lawful contract carries the contract rate, which must be stated in the judgment. Other judgments: the federal post-judgment interest rate as of January 1 each year plus 2%, fixed for the life of the judgment. A judgment under $10,000 in an action about the purchase of goods and services: 10% plus the federal post-judgment rate in effect on January 1 of that year.
How long does a judgment last in Utah?
8 years. The creditor can renew it by filing a motion to renew, with an affidavit accounting for all payments and notice to you, before the 8 years (or any renewal) run out.
Can my wages be garnished in Utah?
For consumer credit judgments, no more than 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage per week, whichever is less; 15% for a private education loan.
Can a creditor take money from my bank account in Utah?
The creditor gets a writ of garnishment served on your bank. The bank must serve you with the writ, its answers, a notice of exemptions and two copies of a reply form, and must hold the money for 21 days. Exempt property is listed in the Utah Exemptions Act.
How do I claim an exemption in Utah?
File and serve a reply to the garnishee's answers with a request for hearing, using the reply form you received, within 14 days after the answers were served on you (the court may still accept a later reply if it is filed before the property is sold or handed over to the creditor). In it you can claim the money or property is exempt. The court must hold an evidentiary hearing within 14 days. If you do not reply, the property is treated as not exempt (except as the bank's answers show).
More help on our sister sites
Sources
- Utah Courts – Debt Collection
- Utah Courts – Answering a Complaint or Petition
- Utah Courts – Motion to Set Aside Judgment
- Utah Courts – How to Collect a Judgment
- Utah Courts – Debt Collection Answer form 1013GE
- Utah R. Civ. P. 64D (writ of garnishment)
- Utah R. Civ. P. 60 (90 days)
- Utah Code § 78A-2-301 (court fees)
- Utah Code § 15-1-4 (judgment interest)
- Utah Code § 78B-2-311 (8 years)
- Utah Code § 78B-6-1802 (renewal by motion)
- Utah Code § 78A-8-102 (small claims limit)
- Utah Code § 78B-2-309 (statute of limitations)
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?