Sued in Vermont? You may have only 21 days to answer

Small claims, papers came by first-class mail: 30 days. Small claims, served by a sheriff or constable: 30 days. Regular civil case: 21 days.

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

Count your answer deadline in Vermont

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.

Vermont guides by topic

How to answer in Vermont

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

Default judgment in Vermont

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

After a judgment in Vermont

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

Debt buyer lawsuits in Vermont

What a debt buyer must prove, and old debts as a defense.

Which court hears debt cases in Vermont

Superior Court, Civil Division – small claims

Cases up to $5,000

Small claims can hear cases up to $10,000, but collection of consumer credit debt or medical debt over $5,000 is not allowed in small claims.

Law: 12 V.S.A. § 5531(a), (e)

Superior Court, Civil Division (regular civil)

No dollar limit stated

Debt cases over the small claims limits, including consumer credit or medical debt over $5,000.

Law: 12 V.S.A. § 5531(e)

How to answer in Vermont

How to answer

Small claims: fill out the Small Claims Answer (form 100-00126), file it with the court by email, mail or hand delivery, send a copy to the plaintiff the same day, and file a Certificate of Service (form 100-00260). You can say you disagree, agree and ask to pay in installments, and mark that your income may be exempt. Regular civil case: send your Answer to the plaintiff (or its lawyer) and to the court, and file the Notice of Appearance form.

Official answer form
Small Claims Answer (form 100-00126)
Fee to answer

Small claims counterclaim fee: $25 if you ask for $500 or less, $35 if more (Vermont Judiciary, form 100-00259).

If you can't pay the fees

Application to Waive Filing Fees and Service Costs (form 600-00228). https://www.vtcourts.gov/self-help/application-waive-filing-fees-and-service-costs

How you must be served

In small claims, the plaintiff first mails the summons, complaint and blank answer forms to you by first-class mail. If you do not answer within 30 days, the plaintiff must have a sheriff or constable serve you.

Law: Vermont Judiciary – Suing and Being Sued (Small Claims)

Law: Small Claims Information and Instructions for Defendant (form 100-00259, 08/2025); Summons (form 100-00268)

Defenses to know in Vermont

Defenses in Vermont law

The time limit to sue on most contract debts is 6 years. In a credit card case, a default judgment requires the signed contract (or card-use statement) and the full chain of assignments (V.R.C.P. 55(c)(7)).

Law: 12 V.S.A. § 511

Debt buyer lawsuits
Credit card debt: before the court can grant a default judgment, the plaintiff's motion must include a copy of the contract or other proof of the original debt signed by you (or, if no signed paper ever existed, the last statement from when the card was used to buy something, or other proof the debt exists), plus every assignment showing an unbroken chain of ownership. Debt buyer lawsuits in Vermont: 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 Vermont

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 answer after being served by a sheriff or constable (small claims), or do not answer within 21 days in a regular civil case, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgment, and the court may award what the plaintiff asked for.

How to set it aside (cancel it)

File a motion asking the court to set aside the default judgment. The court can set aside its order granting a default judgment for good cause, and a final default judgment under Rule 60(b) (for example, mistake, excusable neglect, fraud, or a void judgment). File as soon as possible.

Law: V.R.C.P. 55(d), 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.

Mediation and settlement in Vermont

Most regular civil division cases must go to mediation (the parties file a stipulation for mediation within 30 days after the last answer). Small claims cases are not required to mediate (V.R.C.P. 16.3).

If there is a judgment in Vermont

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

12% a year (Vermont's legal rate). Interest accrues at 12% a year if you agree to pay or a judgment is entered (Vermont Judiciary).

How long it lasts

8 years. The creditor can renew the judgment by filing a new action on it before the 8 years end. A judgment lien on real property also lasts 8 years.

Law: 9 V.S.A. § 41a(a); 12 V.S.A. §§ 506(a), 2903

Garnishment, bank levy and exemptions in Vermont

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 debts you keep the greater of 85% of weekly disposable earnings or 40 times the federal minimum wage; for other debts, the greater of 75% or 30 times the federal minimum wage. You can ask the court to protect more if you need it for basic expenses for you and your dependents. No wage withholding if you got DCF or DVHA assistance in the 2 months before the hearing. Wages are taken only by court order after a trustee-process hearing.

Law: 12 V.S.A. § 3170

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

Non-wage trustee process (for example, a bank account) requires a motion and court order. $700 in bank deposits is exempt.

Law: 12 V.S.A. § 2740(15)

How to claim an exemption

Mark the exempt-income box on your Small Claims Answer and file the Disclosure of Exempt Income (form 100-00128) – and a Financial Disclosure (form 100-00127) if needed. The creditor must serve you the List of Exemptions (form 100-00511) with a trustee-process or financial-disclosure hearing notice at least 14 days before the hearing; raise your exemptions at that hearing.

Exemption form
https://www.vtcourts.gov/media/18

Law: 12 V.S.A. §§ 2740, 3170; Vermont Judiciary – Collecting a Small Claims Judgment

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

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 Vermont

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 Vermont'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 Vermont

  • In a credit card suit, Vermont courts will not grant a default judgment unless the plaintiff files your signed contract (or a card-use statement) and every assignment of the debt (V.R.C.P. 55(c)(7)).
  • Collection of consumer credit or medical debt over $5,000 cannot be brought in Vermont small claims (12 V.S.A. § 5531(e)).
  • Vermont judgments last 8 years unless renewed by a new action (12 V.S.A. § 506).

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 Vermont

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

Small claims: 30 days. If the papers came by first-class mail, file your answer within 30 days of the mailing; if a sheriff or constable served you, within 30 days of that service. Regular civil case: give or mail your written Answer within 21 days of the date you received the Summons (unless the court sets a different time).

How do I answer a debt lawsuit in Vermont?

Small claims: fill out the Small Claims Answer (form 100-00126), file it with the court by email, mail or hand delivery, send a copy to the plaintiff the same day, and file a Certificate of Service (form 100-00260). You can say you disagree, agree and ask to pay in installments, and mark that your income may be exempt. Regular civil case: send your Answer to the plaintiff (or its lawyer) and to the court, and file the Notice of Appearance form.

Is there an official answer form in Vermont?

Small Claims Answer (form 100-00126): https://www.vtcourts.gov/media/35

Does it cost money to answer in Vermont?

Small claims counterclaim fee: $25 if you ask for $500 or less, $35 if more (Vermont Judiciary, form 100-00259).

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

Application to Waive Filing Fees and Service Costs (form 600-00228). https://www.vtcourts.gov/self-help/application-waive-filing-fees-and-service-costs

What happens if I don't answer in Vermont?

If you do not answer after being served by a sheriff or constable (small claims), or do not answer within 21 days in a regular civil case, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgment, and the court may award what the plaintiff asked for.

Can I cancel a default judgment in Vermont?

File a motion asking the court to set aside the default judgment. The court can set aside its order granting a default judgment for good cause, and a final default judgment under Rule 60(b) (for example, mistake, excusable neglect, fraud, or a void judgment). File as soon as possible.

How much interest does a judgment add in Vermont?

12% a year (Vermont's legal rate). Interest accrues at 12% a year if you agree to pay or a judgment is entered (Vermont Judiciary).

How long does a judgment last in Vermont?

8 years. The creditor can renew the judgment by filing a new action on it before the 8 years end. A judgment lien on real property also lasts 8 years.

Can my wages be garnished in Vermont?

For consumer credit debts you keep the greater of 85% of weekly disposable earnings or 40 times the federal minimum wage; for other debts, the greater of 75% or 30 times the federal minimum wage. You can ask the court to protect more if you need it for basic expenses for you and your dependents. No wage withholding if you got DCF or DVHA assistance in the 2 months before the hearing. Wages are taken only by court order after a trustee-process hearing.

Can a creditor take money from my bank account in Vermont?

Non-wage trustee process (for example, a bank account) requires a motion and court order. $700 in bank deposits is exempt.

How do I claim an exemption in Vermont?

Mark the exempt-income box on your Small Claims Answer and file the Disclosure of Exempt Income (form 100-00128) – and a Financial Disclosure (form 100-00127) if needed. The creditor must serve you the List of Exemptions (form 100-00511) with a trustee-process or financial-disclosure hearing notice at least 14 days before the hearing; raise your exemptions at that hearing.

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Last checked: Oct 24, 2026.

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