A Default Judgment
Ohio Civ.R. 55 — what happens when nobody answers
A default judgment is what a court enters when a party who was served does not answer or otherwise defend. It is not a finding that the claim was tested and won. It is a finding that nobody contested it, and it is enforceable in exactly the same way as a judgment reached after a trial.
Who handles this in Ohio: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
Appearing in the case buys seven days of notice. Silence buys none. Where a party against whom default judgment is sought has appeared in the action, that party shall be served with written notice of the application for judgment at least seven days before the hearing on it. A party who has never appeared is not owed that notice, which is the sharpest practical consequence of doing nothing at all rather than doing something small.
Appeared is doing the work in that sentence. It is about having taken part in the action, not about having won anything or having filed a full defense, and somebody who took part early and then went quiet is in a different position from somebody who never responded.
| The party | Notice before the default hearing |
|---|---|
| The partyHas appeared in the action | Notice before the default hearingWritten notice at least seven days before |
| The partyHas never appeared | Notice before the default hearingNot owed that notice under the rule |
Once entered, the judgment is the thing that garnishment, bank attachment and liens run from. Everything on this site about collection sits downstream of a judgment, and a default judgment is the most common way people arrive there.
“Has anything been filed in this case under my name, and what is the next date on it.”
How damages are determined after a default, defaults against a minor or an incompetent person, the position where a claim is for a sum certain, and defaults in small claims and in eviction cases, which run on their own timetables, are not covered here. Nothing on this page describes how to defend a claim, which is a matter for the case itself. Relief from a judgment already entered is a separate rule with its own requirements. Legal aid organizations in Ohio handle consumer default judgments, and a licensed Ohio attorney is who advises on a specific case.
Sources for this section (1)
- Ohio Civ.R. 55 — Default, and the seven days a party who has appeared is owed
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.