Responding to a New Hampshire complaint: 30 days, and your jury demand goes on page one
New Hampshire procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
New Hampshire's Superior Court Civil Rules are numbered on their own plan — the answer rule is Rule 9, not Rule 12, and default is Rule 42, not Rule 55. The period is a comfortable 30 days.
The thing to know before you draft anything: your jury demand belongs on the first page of the Answer, and leaving it off waives the right.
The deadline
N.H. Super. Ct. R. 9(a):
An Answer or other responsive pleading shall be filed with the court within 30 days after the person filing said pleading has been served with the pleading to which the Answer or response is made. … In addition, within the same 30 days, the person filing an Answer or other responsive pleading shall also file an appearance in accordance with Rule 17. No attorney, non-attorney representative or self-represented party will be heard until his or her Appearance is so entered.
Two obligations on one clock.
The Answer is due in 30 days, and the obligation is to file it with the court.
An appearance is due in the same 30 days. And the consequence of skipping it is blunt: nobody is heard until their appearance is entered. Filing a perfect Answer without an appearance leaves you unable to speak.
A Motion to Dismiss is an alternative, not merely a delay. Rule 9(b):
Instead of an Answer, a person responding to a pleading to which a response is required may, within 30 days after the person has been served with the pleading to which the Answer or response is required file a Motion to Dismiss. If a Motion to Dismiss is submitted and denied, an Answer must be filed within 30 days after the date on the Notice of the Decision finally denying the motion; provided, however, that if a Motion to Dismiss which challenges the court's personal jurisdiction, the sufficiency of process and/or the sufficiency of service of process is filed, an Answer must be filed within the time specified in section (e) of this rule.
Thirty days after a denial is among the most generous periods in the country — most states allow ten or fourteen. The clock runs from the date on the Notice of the Decision, so that document is the one to file carefully.
The jury demand
N.H. Super. Ct. R. 9(c):
To preserve the right to a jury trial, a defendant entitled to a trial by jury must indicate his or her request for a jury trial upon the first page of the Answer at the time of filing. Failure to request a jury trial in accordance with this rule shall constitute a waiver by the defendant thereof.
There is no softer reading of that. The demand goes on page one, at the time of filing, or the right is gone. Not in the prayer for relief, not in a separate motion, not later.
It is the single easiest constitutional right in American civil procedure to lose by formatting.
What silence admits
Rule 9(a) also governs how you deny, and it is stricter than most:
The pleader may not generally deny all the allegations but shall make the denials as specific denials of designated allegations or paragraphs. … An Answer, to the effect that an allegation is neither admitted nor denied, will be deemed an admission. All facts well alleged in the Complaint and not denied or explained in the Answer, will be held to be admitted.
Three consequences.
A general denial is not permitted. You must answer allegation by allegation.
"Neither admits nor denies" is an admission. That formula, common in other states, does not work here.
And anything well alleged that you do not deny or explain is admitted. Silence is not neutral.
If you lack the information to deny, the rule provides for that — say so, and it has the effect of a denial. But say it.
Default
N.H. Super. Ct. R. 42(a):
When a party against whom a Complaint or other pleading (see Rule 6) requiring a response has been filed fails to timely Answer or otherwise defend, the party shall be defaulted. No such default shall be stricken off, except by agreement, or by order of the court upon such terms as justice may require. The court shall strike the default only upon motion and affidavit of defense, specifically setting forth the defense and the facts on which the defense is based.
The route back is narrow and specific.
Agreement works. If the other side agrees, the default comes off.
Otherwise you need two documents: a motion, and an affidavit of defense. And the affidavit has to do real work — it must set out the defense and the facts on which the defense is based, specifically. An affidavit that says only that you meant to respond and were busy does not meet the rule.
That is the practical lesson: before you move to strike a default in New Hampshire, know what your defense is and be able to swear to the facts supporting it.
Rule 42 goes on to provide for final default by the court, on its own or on a party's motion with a copy to all parties, and for entry of judgment on a motion supported by an affidavit of damages or a proposed decree.
How New Hampshire compares
| New Hampshire | Vermont | Maine | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answer deadline | 30 days | 21 days | 20 days | 21 days |
| Appearance due | within the same 30 days | — | — | — |
| Obligation is to | file | serve | serve | serve |
| A motion to dismiss is an alternative | yes, expressly | it suspends the deadline | it suspends the deadline | it suspends the deadline |
| After a denied motion | 30 days from the notice of decision | 14 days from notice | 10 days from notice | 14 days from notice |
| General denial permitted | no | — | — | yes |
| "Neither admits nor denies" | an admission | — | — | — |
| Jury demand | first page of the Answer, or waived | — | — | 14 days after the last pleading |
| Striking a default requires | motion and affidavit of defense | — | — | good cause |
A short checklist
- Calendar 30 days from service, and note the obligation is to file with the court.
- File your appearance in the same 30 days. You will not be heard until it is entered.
- Put your jury demand on the first page of the Answer. Leaving it off waives the right.
- Do not file a general denial. Answer allegation by allegation.
- Never write "neither admits nor denies." In New Hampshire that is an admission.
- If you lack knowledge, say so — the rule treats that as a denial, but only if you state it.
- A Motion to Dismiss is a permitted alternative, and a denial gives you 30 more days from the date on the Notice of the Decision.
- If you have been defaulted, prepare an affidavit of defense setting out the defense and its supporting facts specifically. A motion without one will not do.
Where these rules live
- N.H. Super. Ct. R. 3 — Filing and Service
- N.H. Super. Ct. R. 4 — Preliminary Process
- N.H. Super. Ct. R. 6 — Pleadings Allowed
- N.H. Super. Ct. R. 9 — Answers; Defenses; Forms of Denials
- N.H. Super. Ct. R. 11 — Motions — General
- N.H. Super. Ct. R. 12 — Motions — Specific
- N.H. Super. Ct. R. 17 — Appearance and Withdrawal
- N.H. Super. Ct. R. 42 — Default
This page explains what the Superior Court rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the New Hampshire Circuit Court runs on its own separate rules that this page does not cover.