Setting aside an Idaho default judgment: six months, and the plaintiff had to certify your best address
Idaho procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Idaho gives you six months, not the year most states allow. It also front-loads more protection into Rule 55 than almost anywhere else, and those protections are where a defaulted Idaho defendant usually finds the better argument.
Three of them are checkable from the file: whether you got three days' notice before the default was even entered, whether the plaintiff produced the original instrument, and whether it certified the address most likely to reach you.
Six months
Idaho R. Civ. P. 60(c)(1):
A motion under Rule 60(b) must be made within a reasonable time, and for reasons (1), (2) , and (3) no more than 6 months after the entry of the judgment or order or the date of the proceeding.
| Ground | Outer limit |
|---|---|
| (1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, excusable neglect | 6 months |
| (2) newly discovered evidence | 6 months |
| (3) fraud, misrepresentation, misconduct | 6 months |
| (4) void judgment | reasonable time only |
| (5) satisfied, released, discharged, or no longer equitable | reasonable time only |
| (6) any other reason justifying relief | reasonable time only |
Six months runs from entry, not from when you found out. That is short, and it is the reason the Rule 55 defects below matter so much — a judgment entered without them is attackable as void under (4), which carries no six-month problem.
Notice before the default is even entered
Most states require notice before judgment. Idaho requires it before entry of the default.
Idaho R. Civ. P. 55(a)(1):
In general. When a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise, the court must order entry of the party's default. If a party has appeared in the action, that party must be served with 3 days' written notice of the application for entry of default before default may be entered.
If you had appeared — in any form — you were owed three days' written notice of the application for entry of default, before entry. Then, separately, Rule 55(b)(2) requires notice again before judgment:
If the party against whom a default judgment is sought has appeared personally or by a representative, that party or its representative must be served with written notice of the application at least 3 days before the hearing.
Two notices, two three-day periods. Check for both.
The default could not have come early
Rule 55(a)(2)(A):
In general. Default may not be entered, and proof of default may not be presented, before the expiration of the time allowed by these rules for appearance or defense.
And the only way around it is demanding. Rule 55(a)(2)(B):
Shortened time. Default may be entered earlier if (1) the party required to make the appearance or defense states in a written waiver under oath that the party waives the permitted time for appearance or defense, refuses to plead further, and consents to the immediate hearing of a default proceeding without further notice, and (2) the court enters an order shortening the time for appearance or defense by such party for good cause shown by the affidavit or testimony of the moving party. Upon compliance with this rule, default may be entered, a default proceeding held and judgment by default entered without notice to the defaulting party as though the time for an appearance or defense had expired.
Shortening the time requires your own sworn written waiver and a court order. Absent both, a default entered before the response period expired did not comply with the rule.
What a sum-certain judgment required
This is the most useful paragraph in the rule for anyone facing a debt judgment. Rule 55(b)(1):
For sum certain. If a claim is for a sum certain or a sum that can be made certain by computation, the court, on the claimant's request, with an affidavit showing the amount due, must order judgment for that amount and costs against the party who has been defaulted for not appearing and who is neither a minor nor an incompetent person and has been personally served, other than by publication or personal service outside of this state. The affidavit must show the method of computation, together with any original instrument evidencing the claim unless otherwise permitted by the court. An application for a default judgment must also contain written certification of the name of the party against whom judgment is requested and the address most likely to give the defendant notice of the default judgment. The clerk must use this address in giving the party notice of judgment.
Five requirements, every one of them checkable:
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| An affidavit showing the amount due | |
| Service must have been personal | not by publication, and not personal service outside Idaho |
| The affidavit must show the method of computation | not just a total |
| The original instrument evidencing the claim | unless the court permitted otherwise |
| Written certification of the name and the address most likely to give the defendant notice | and "The clerk must use this address" |
The address certification is the provision worth checking first in any case where you never learned about the judgment. The plaintiff had to certify the address most likely to give you notice — not merely the service address, and not a stale one — and the clerk was required to use it.
If the certified address was one the plaintiff knew you had left, that is both a Rule 55 defect and the explanation for why your six months ran out before you knew anything.
Rule 55(b)(2) covers everything else: "In all other cases, the party must apply to the court for a default judgment."
Not every unopposed case is a default
Rule 55(a)(3):
Uncontested trial is not a default. This rule does not prevent trial of an action if a responsive pleading has been filed even if the defendant does not participate in the trial or oppose the claim. A trial in this circumstance is not a default hearing.
If you filed a responsive pleading and then did not appear at trial, what followed was a trial, not a default — and Rule 55 and its set-aside standard do not apply. That changes which rule you are moving under.
Entry of default versus judgment
Rule 55(c):
Setting aside default or default judgment. The court may set aside an entry of default for good cause, and it may set aside a default judgment under Rule 60(b).
| Stage | Standard | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Entry of default | good cause | none stated |
| Default judgment | Rule 60(b) | 6 months on (1)–(3) |
Find out which exists before choosing your motion.
Rule 55(d) bars a default judgment against the State of Idaho, its officers, agencies or political subdivisions unless the claimant establishes the claim by satisfactory evidence.
If you have not been defaulted yet
See responding to an Idaho complaint.
How Idaho compares
| Idaho | Montana | Wyoming | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer limit on (1)–(3) | 6 months | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
| Notice before entry of default | 3 days, if you appeared | no | no | no |
| Notice before judgment | 3 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days |
| Original instrument required | yes | no | no | no |
| Method of computation required | yes | no | no | no |
| Certified best address for notice | yes | no | no | no |
| Clerk route barred for out-of-state or published service | yes | no | no | no |
A short checklist
- Find the entry date. Six months, not a year.
- Check for two notices if you had appeared — three days before entry, and three days before the judgment hearing.
- Check the timing. Default could not be entered before your response time expired, absent your own sworn waiver and a court order.
- Pull the affidavit. It had to show the amount due and the method of computation.
- Look for the original instrument evidencing the claim.
- Check the certified address. The plaintiff had to certify the address most likely to give you notice, and the clerk had to use it.
- Check how you were served. The sum-certain route required personal service inside Idaho.
- If a responsive pleading was on file, this may not be a default at all — Rule 55(a)(3).
- If six months has passed, build the motion on (4) void or (6) rather than neglect.
Where these rules live
- Idaho R. Civ. P. 55 — Default; default judgment
- Idaho R. Civ. P. 60 — Relief from a judgment or order
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what amounts to good cause or excusable neglect is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.