How to Respond to a Lawsuit in Florida: Answer a Summons (2026)

An answer responds to each numbered paragraph of the complaint by admitting it, denying it, or stating you are without knowledge so the allegation is denied, and then lists your affirmative defenses. Florida has no mandatory statewide answer form, so you type the answer on letter-sized paper in 12-point or larger font, with the court, parties, and case number in the caption as required by Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.100 and Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.520.

Serve your written answer within 20 calendar days of service under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140(a)(1) and file it with the clerk of the court named in the summons. Serve a copy on the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney by e-mail, U.S. mail, or hand delivery under Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.516. There is no fee to file an answer in Florida; a fee applies only if you also file a counterclaim or crossclaim.

Under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.500(a), once your time to respond expires the plaintiff can move for default, and the clerk or court can enter a default judgment for what the complaint requests. You can file a Motion for Relief from Judgment (Motion to Set Aside Default) under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.540(b) within a reasonable time, but not more than 1 year. Courts generally require you to show excusable neglect, a meritorious defense, and due diligence.

Often yes. Parties commonly agree in writing to extend the response deadline, and you can ask the court for an enlargement of time. Filing certain motions directed at the complaint, such as a motion to dismiss under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140(b), also changes when your answer is due. Get any extension in writing, because the default clock keeps running until the plaintiff agrees, the court grants more time, or you file a response.

Filing an answer itself carries no fee in Florida, but if you owe other court costs or are filing a counterclaim, you can ask the court to waive them. You file an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status, and eligibility is based on household income below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines or receipt of public benefits under Fla. Stat. § 28.241. The clerk reviews the application and determines indigent status.

Yes. Insufficient service of process is a recognized defense in Florida under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140(b). A defendant can move to dismiss or to quash service to challenge whether service followed the rules and whether the court has personal jurisdiction. If service was defective, your time to answer may not have started to run. Raise a service problem promptly rather than ignoring the case, because ignoring it still risks a default.

Florida lists affirmative defenses in Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d), including the statute of limitations, payment, accord and satisfaction, release, fraud, estoppel, waiver, and res judicata. To assert your own claims against the plaintiff, you file a counterclaim under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.170. A counterclaim is compulsory if it arises from the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim, and permissive otherwise.

Respond the same way as any civil complaint: serve a timely answer that admits or denies each allegation and raises your defenses. In debt cases, check the five-year statute of limitations for actions on a written contract under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(2)(b) and whether the collector validated the debt under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692g. Do not ignore the summons, because silence leads to a default judgment for the full amount claimed.

A respondent served with a petition for dissolution of marriage has 20 calendar days to serve a response under Fla. Fam. Law R. P. 12.140, which follows Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140. You file your answer with the clerk using the statewide Florida family law forms and serve a copy on the petitioner. Missing the 20-day window can let the case proceed by default and let the court decide property, support, and parenting issues without your input.