(a) If the complaint is amended, a copy of the amendments shall be filed, or the court may, in its discretion, require the complaint as amended to be filed, and a copy of the amendments or amended complaint must be served upon the defendants affected thereby. The defendant shall answer the amendments, or the complaint as amended, within 30 days after service thereof, or such other time as the court may direct, and judgment by default may be entered upon failure to answer, as in other cases. For the purposes of this subdivision, "complaint" includes a cross-complaint, and "defendant" includes a person against whom a cross-complaint is filed.
§ 471.5.Filing and Service of Amendments; Time For Answering Amendments After Service
Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 8. Variance—Mistakes in Pleadings and Amendments · Enacted 1972 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 471.5 sets the mechanics for responding to an amended pleading, requiring the amendment to be filed and served, giving the defendant 30 days to answer with default available for failing to do so, and giving the adverse party 10 days to demur to an amended answer.
Full Text of § 471.5
(b) If the answer is amended, the adverse party has 10 days after service thereof, or such other time as the court may direct, in which to demur to the amended answer.
Plain-English Summary
Once a complaint is amended, § 471.5(a) requires a copy of the amendments to be filed, or, at the court’s discretion, the complaint as amended to be filed in full, and either way a copy must be served on the affected defendants. Those defendants then have 30 days after service (or whatever other time the court directs) to answer the amendment or the amended complaint, and a default judgment may be entered for failing to do so, the same as with any other pleading. The subdivision extends these same rules to cross-complaints — "complaint" includes a cross-complaint, and "defendant" includes anyone against whom a cross-complaint is filed.
Subdivision (b) covers the reverse situation: when an answer is amended, the adverse party has 10 days after service of the amended answer (or such other time as the court directs) to demur to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a defendant have to answer an amended complaint?
Section 471.5(a) gives 30 days after service of the amendment or amended complaint, unless the court sets a different time, and default judgment may follow if the defendant fails to answer.
Does § 471.5 apply to amended cross-complaints too?
Yes. The section defines "complaint" to include a cross-complaint and "defendant" to include a person against whom a cross-complaint is filed.
How long does a party have to demur to an amended answer?
Section 471.5(b) allows 10 days after service, or such other time as the court directs.
Amendment History
Repealed and added by Stats. 1972, Ch. 73.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: responding to amended complaint californiatime to answer amended pleading