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You are here: More Topics > Landlord/Tenant > Evictions Questions & Answers: A Guide for Landlords > How long does the tenant have to respond after being served the unlawful detainer court papers?

How long does the tenant have to respond after being served the unlawful detainer court papers?

If the tenant was served in person, the tenant has 5 days to respond. Weekends and holidays are counted, but the 5th day must be a work day. So if the five days run out on a Saturday or Sunday, the tenant has until the end of the day on Monday to file a response.

If the tenant was served by substitute service or "post and mail", the tenant has 15 days after the date the server mailed the court papers to file a response. The date of mailing is the postmark date.

Note: If there is more than one defendant (tenant), there could be different deadlines if they were served in different ways or on different days. The landlord has to keep track of the deadline for each defendant.

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Last modified: 03/17/2008

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