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

An answer responds to each numbered paragraph of the complaint by admitting it, denying it, or stating you lack enough information to admit or deny, and then lists your affirmative defenses. Ohio has no statewide mandated answer form, so you type the answer with a caption that follows Ohio Civ.R. 10(A), naming the court, the parties, and the case number exactly as they appear on the summons. File it with the clerk within 28 calendar days of service.

File your written answer with the clerk of the court named in the summons within 28 calendar days of service under Ohio Civ.R. 12(A)(1). Serve a copy on the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney, typically by mail, hand delivery, or email, and include a certificate of service under Ohio Civ.R. 5(B). In most Ohio counties there is no filing fee for a standalone answer, though fees apply if you also file counterclaims.

Under Ohio Civ.R. 55(A), if you fail to plead or otherwise defend, the plaintiff can apply to the court for a default judgment for what the complaint requests. You can file a Motion for Relief from Judgment under Ohio Civ.R. 60(B)(1) to ask the court to set it aside by showing mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. This motion must be filed within a reasonable time and, on these grounds, not more than one year in calendar days after the judgment was entered.

Often yes. Parties commonly agree in writing to extend the answer deadline, and you can ask the court for more time by filing a motion for an extension under Ohio Civ.R. 6(B) before the 28 calendar days run out. Filing certain pre-answer motions under Ohio Civ.R. 12, such as a motion to dismiss, also changes the answer timeline. Get any extension in writing or on the docket, because the default clock keeps running until the court grants more time or you file a response.

A standalone answer usually carries no filing fee in most Ohio counties, but if fees apply, such as when you file counterclaims, you can ask the court to waive them. Ohio's fee waiver is requested on Supreme Court Form 20, the Civil Fee Waiver Affidavit, and eligibility is based on income at or below 187.5% of the Federal Poverty Level or expenses that exceed your income under Ohio Rev. Code § 2323.311. Submitting the affidavit lets you file on time while the court reviews it.

Yes. Insufficiency of service of process is a recognized defense in Ohio and can be raised by motion under Ohio Civ.R. 12(B) or as a defense in your answer. If service did not follow the rules, the court may not have personal jurisdiction over you, and your 28-day clock may not have started. Raise a service problem promptly rather than ignoring the case, because ignoring a defective summons still risks a default judgment you would then have to move to set aside.

Common affirmative defenses under Ohio Civ.R. 8(C) include the statute of limitations, payment, accord and satisfaction, fraud, release, res judicata, estoppel, and discharge in bankruptcy. To assert your own claims against the plaintiff, you file a counterclaim. Under Ohio Civ.R. 13(A), a counterclaim arising out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim is compulsory, meaning you must raise it in your answer or you may lose it.

Respond the same way as any civil complaint: file a timely answer within 28 calendar days that admits or denies each allegation and raises your defenses. In debt cases, check the six-year statute of limitations for written contracts under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.06 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.