How to Respond to a Lawsuit in Vermont: 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. Vermont publishes a fillable Answer form (100-00051) you can use, or you can type the response as a pleading with the court, the parties, and the case number in a caption formatted under V.R.C.P. 10(a). Common affirmative defenses include the statute of limitations, lack of jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficiency of service of process, and failure to state a claim.

File your written Answer with the clerk of the Superior Court unit named in the summons within 21 calendar days of receiving the summons under V.R.C.P. 12(a)(1). Self-represented litigants can e-file through Odyssey File & Serve, file by email, or file in person or by mail, and attorneys must e-file. Serve a copy on the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney under V.R.C.P. 5. There is no fee to file an Answer in Vermont.

Under V.R.C.P. 55(a), once you fail to plead or otherwise defend, the clerk shall enter your default, and the court can enter a default judgment for what the complaint requests. You can file a Motion to Set Aside Default Judgment under V.R.C.P. 60(b) within not more than one year, by showing mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect under V.R.C.P. 60(b)(1). Act quickly, because the one-year outer limit is firm and a shorter reasonable-time standard can also apply.

Often yes. Parties commonly agree in writing to extend the response deadline, and you can ask the court for more time before the deadline passes. Filing a pre-answer motion under V.R.C.P. 12(b), such as a motion challenging jurisdiction or service, can also change 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.

There is no fee to file an Answer in Vermont, so responding on time does not require paying a filing fee. If your case involves other court costs or service costs you cannot afford, you can file the Application to Waive Filing Fees and Service Costs (form 600-00228). Eligibility is based on receiving public assistance, having gross income at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines, or being unable to pay without using resources needed to support yourself and your dependents.

Yes. Insufficiency of process and insufficiency of service of process are recognized defenses in Vermont, and you can raise them in your Answer or by a pre-answer motion under V.R.C.P. 12(b). If service did not follow the rules, the court may lack personal jurisdiction over you and the time to answer may not have started to run correctly. Raise a service problem promptly rather than ignoring the case, because ignoring it still risks a default.

Respond the same way as any civil complaint: file a timely Answer that admits or denies each allegation and raises your defenses. In debt cases, check the six-year statute of limitations for a written contract under 12 V.S.A. 511, 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 party served within Vermont with a divorce or dissolution complaint and summons has 21 days from when you were served to file a written response called an Answer with the court, under the Vermont Rules for Family Proceedings applying V.R.C.P. 12(a). You file your response with the Family Division of the Superior Court. Missing the 21-day window can let the case proceed by default and let the court decide property, support, and parental-rights issues without your input.