Responding to a Delaware complaint: 20 days, and watch for an affidavit demand
Delaware procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Delaware gives a defendant 20 days, and keeps some vocabulary that has disappeared nearly everywhere else. The clerk is the Prothonotary. Certain complaints carry a notation that demands an affidavit of defense rather than a plain answer. Get that second point wrong and you can lose despite having answered on time.
The deadline
Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a):
A defendant shall serve an answer within 20 days after service of process, complaint and affidavit, if any, upon that defendant, unless the Court directs otherwise when service of process is made pursuant to Rule 4(f)(1)(VI). If a defendant appears before service is made upon that defendant, that defendant shall serve an answer within 20 days after appearance. … A party served with a pleading stating a cross-claim against that party shall serve an answer thereto within 20 days after the service upon that party. The plaintiff shall serve a reply to a counterclaim in the answer within 20 days after service of the answer or, if a reply is ordered by the Court, within 20 days after service of the order, unless the order otherwise directs.
Three things.
Twenty days from service of process, and the obligation is to serve.
Appearing early starts the clock early. If you appear before you are served, the 20 days runs from your appearance. That is unusual, and it is a reason not to enter an appearance casually while you are still deciding what to do.
Note the phrase "complaint and affidavit, if any." That is the first hint of the trap in the next paragraph.
The affidavit of defense
The same subdivision continues:
If the plaintiff has made a specific notation upon the face of the complaint under Rule 3(b) requiring the defendant to answer any or all allegations of the complaint by affidavit and in actions of scire facias on mechanics' liens, the defendant shall, not later than the time for serving the answer, serve either an affidavit of defense in conformity with the statute or a motion that judgment be refused notwithstanding the plaintiff's complaint or, in mechanics' liens, notwithstanding the statement of claim or the complaint.
This is the provision to check before you draft anything.
Look at the face of the complaint. If the plaintiff put a Rule 3(b) notation on it, an ordinary answer is not a sufficient response. You owe either an affidavit of defense conforming to the statute, or a motion that judgment be refused notwithstanding the complaint.
The deadline is the same 20 days, so noticing this late costs you the whole period.
It applies automatically in mechanics' lien scire facias actions, whether or not anything is noted.
A defendant who files a well-drafted ordinary answer to a noted complaint has, on the rule's terms, not responded. That is the single most Delaware-specific way to lose a case you could defend.
Default judgment
Delaware has no separate entry of default — Rule 55(a) is simply marked "Omitted." There is one step, and for liquidated claims the Prothonotary takes it.
Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 55(b)(1):
When the plaintiff's claim against a defendant is for a sum certain or for a sum which can by computation be made certain, the Prothonotary upon written direction of the plaintiff and upon affidavit of the amount due shall enter judgment for that amount and costs against the defendant, if the defendant has failed to appear in accordance with these Rules unless the defendant is an infant or incompetent person. When a party is entitled to have the Prothonotary enter judgment by default pursuant to this paragraph, the party shall submit with the party's direction to the Prothonotary to enter judgment a statement showing the principal amount due, which shall not exceed the amount demanded in the complaint, giving credit for any payments and showing the amounts and dates thereof, and a computation of interest to the date of judgment…
That statement is the thing to examine if a default judgment has been taken against you. It has to do four things:
| The statement must | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| show the principal amount due | the starting figure has to be stated, not assumed |
| not exceed the amount demanded in the complaint | a judgment cannot outgrow the pleading |
| give credit for any payments, with amounts and dates | payments you made must be itemized, not netted silently |
| show a computation of interest to the date of judgment | the interest figure must be worked, not asserted |
A statement that omits your payments, or that exceeds what the complaint demanded, does not satisfy the rule.
Answering, or moving
Rule 12(b) carries the pre-answer defenses, and serving one alters the 20 days as subdivision (a) provides. Consolidation and waiver work on the familiar model: a defense available when you made your first motion, and omitted from it, is generally foreclosed.
Two Delaware points for the choice.
A Rule 3(b) notation constrains your options. Where the complaint is noted, the alternatives the rule gives you are an affidavit of defense or a motion that judgment be refused — read it before assuming a Rule 12 motion is available in the ordinary way.
And conversion applies where outside material is presented on a failure-to-state-a-claim motion and not excluded.
How Delaware compares
| Delaware | Rhode Island | New Jersey | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answer deadline | 20 days | 20 days | 35 days | 21 days |
| Clock can start on appearance | yes, if before service | — | — | — |
| Affidavit of defense may be required | yes, on a Rule 3(b) notation | — | — | — |
| Obligation is to | serve | serve | serve | serve |
| Separate entry of default | none — Rule 55(a) omitted | clerk enters | clerk enters | clerk enters |
| Sum-certain judgment entered by | the Prothonotary | clerk | clerk | clerk |
| Itemized credits required | yes | — | — | — |
| Notice before judgment | — | 10 days, if appeared | — | 7 days, if appeared |
A short checklist
- Read the face of the complaint first. A Rule 3(b) notation means an ordinary answer is not enough.
- If it is noted, serve an affidavit of defense or a motion that judgment be refused — within the same 20 days.
- Calendar 20 days from service of process, and note the obligation is to serve.
- Do not appear before you are served unless you mean to start the clock. Appearance triggers the 20 days on its own.
- A Rule 12 motion alters the deadline, and raising your defenses together protects them.
- If a default judgment was entered, pull the Prothonotary statement. It must show principal, credits with dates, and a computation of interest — and cannot exceed what the complaint demanded.
- Move under Rule 60(b) if you need the judgment opened, and do it promptly.
Where these rules live
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 4 — Process
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 5 — Service and filing of pleadings and other papers
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 6 — Time
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 8 — General rules of pleading
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12 — Defenses and objections
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 15 — Amended and supplemental pleadings
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 55 — Default judgments
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 60 — Relief from judgment or order
This page explains what the Superior Court rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the Court of Chancery runs on its own separate set of rules that this page does not cover.