Rule 12.Defenses and objections; when and how presented; by pleading or motion; motion for judgment on pleading.
Last amended 1975 · Last verified July 3, 2026
In one sentenceRule 12 sets the 30-day deadline to answer or reply, lists seven threshold defenses — including lack of jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficient process or service, failure to state a claim, and failure to join a necessary party — that may be raised by motion before answering, and fixes which of those defenses are waived if not raised at the first opportunity.
(1)When Presented. – A defendant shall serve his answer within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint upon him. A party served with a pleading stating a crossclaim against him shall serve an answer thereto within 30 days after service upon him. The plaintiff shall serve his reply to a counterclaim in the answer within 30 days after service of the answer or, if a reply is ordered by the court, within 30 days after service of the order, unless the order otherwise directs. Service of a motion permitted under this rule alters these periods of time as follows, unless a different time is fixed by order of the court:
a.The responsive pleading shall be served within 20 days after notice of the court's action in ruling on the motion or postponing its disposition until the trial on the merits;
b.If the court grants a motion for a more definite statement, the responsive pleading shall be served within 20 days after service of the more definite statement.
(2)Cases Removed to United States District Court. – Upon the filing in a district court of the United States of a petition for the removal of a civil action or proceeding from a court in this State and the filing of a copy of the petition in the State court, the State court shall proceed no further therein unless and until the case is remanded. If it shall be finally determined in the United States courts that the action or proceeding was not removable or was improperly removed, or for other reason should be remanded, and a final order is entered remanding the action or proceeding to the State court, the defendant or defendants, or any other party who would have been permitted or required to file a pleading had the proceedings to remove not been instituted, shall have 30 days after the filing in such State court of a certified copy of the order of remand to file motions and to answer or otherwise plead.
(b)How Presented. – Every defense, in law or fact, to a claim for relief in any pleading, whether a claim, counterclaim, crossclaim, or third-party claim, shall be asserted in the responsive pleading thereto if one is required, except that the following defenses may at the option of the pleader be made by motion:
(1)Lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter,
(2)Lack of jurisdiction over the person,
(3)Improper venue or division,
(4)Insufficiency of process,
(5)Insufficiency of service of process,
(6)Failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted,
(7)Failure to join a necessary party. A motion making any of these defenses shall be made before pleading if a further pleading is permitted. The consequences of failure to make such a motion shall be as provided in sections (g) and (h). No defense or objection is waived by being joined with one or more other defenses or objections in a responsive pleading or motion. Obtaining an extension of time within which to answer or otherwise plead shall not constitute a waiver of any defense herein set forth. If a pleading sets forth a claim for relief to which the adverse party is not required to serve a responsive pleading, he may assert at the trial any defense in law or fact to that claim for relief. If, on a motion asserting the defense numbered (6), to dismiss for failure of the pleading to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, matters outside the pleading are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Rule 56, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56.
(c)Motion for judgment on the pleadings. – After the pleadings are closed but within such time as not to delay the trial, any party may move for judgment on the pleadings. If, on a motion for judgment on the pleadings, matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Rule 56, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56.
(d)Preliminary hearings. – The defenses specifically enumerated (1) through (7) in section (b) of this rule, whether made in a pleading or by motion, and the motion for judgment on the
pleadings mentioned in section (c) of this rule shall be heard and determined before trial on application of any party, unless the judge orders that the hearing and determination thereof be deferred until the trial.
(e)Motion for more definite statement. – If a pleading to which a responsive pleading is permitted is so vague or ambiguous that a party cannot reasonably be required to frame a responsive pleading, he may move for a more definite statement before interposing his responsive pleading. The motion shall point out the defects complained of and the details desired. If the motion is granted and the order of the judge is not obeyed within 20 days after notice of the order or within such other time as the judge may fix, the judge may strike the pleading to which the motion was directed or make such orders as he deems just.
(f)Motion to strike. – Upon motion made by a party before responding to a pleading or, if no responsive pleading is permitted by these rules, upon motion made by a party within 30 days after the service of the pleading upon him or upon the judge's own initiative at any time, the judge may order stricken from any pleading any insufficient defense or any redundant, irrelevant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.
(g)Consolidation of defenses in motion. – A party who makes a motion under this rule may join with it any other motions herein provided for and then available to him. If a party makes a motion under this rule but omits therefrom any defense or objection then available to him which this rule permits to be raised by motion, he shall not thereafter make a motion based on the defense or objection so omitted, except a motion as provided in section (h)(2) hereof on any of the grounds there stated.
(1)A defense of lack of jurisdiction over the person, improper venue, insufficiency of process, or insufficiency of service of process is waived (i) if omitted from a motion in the circumstances described in section (g), or (ii) if it is neither made by motion under this rule nor included in a responsive pleading or an amendment thereof permitted by Rule 15(a) to be made as a matter of course.
(2)A defense of failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, a defense of failure to join a necessary party, and an objection of failure to state a legal defense to a claim may be made in any pleading permitted or ordered under Rule 7(a), or by motion for judgment on the pleadings, or at the trial on the merits.
(3)Whenever it appears by suggestion of the parties or otherwise that the court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter, the court shall dismiss the action.
Amendment History
(1967, c. 954, s. 1; 1971, c. 1236; 1975, c. 76, s. 2.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 12(a) gives a defendant 30 days after service of the summons and complaint to answer, and gives the same 30 days for an answer to a crossclaim or a reply to a counterclaim labeled as such. Filing a motion under this rule resets that clock: once the court rules on the motion or postpones its disposition until trial, a responsive pleading is due within 20 days, extended to 20 days after service of a more definite statement if the court orders one. A separate provision addresses cases removed to federal court: once removal is filed, the state court takes no further action unless and until the case is remanded, at which point the defendant and other parties get 30 days from the remand order to plead.
Rule 12(b) lets a party raise, by motion instead of in a responsive pleading, any of seven defenses: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue or division, insufficiency of process, insufficiency of service of process, failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and failure to join a necessary party. Joining several of these defenses in one motion or pleading does not waive any of them, and obtaining an extension of time to answer does not waive any defense either. If a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim relies on matters outside the pleadings that the court does not exclude, the motion converts into one for summary judgment under Rule 56, with both sides given a reasonable chance to present material relevant to that standard. Rule 12(c) applies the same conversion rule to a motion for judgment on the pleadings, available after the pleadings close but before the trial is delayed.
Rule 12(e) lets a party move for a more definite statement when a pleading is too vague or ambiguous to answer, pointing out the defects and the details wanted; if the court grants the motion and its order goes unheeded, the court may strike the pleading or make another appropriate order. Rule 12(f) lets the court strike, on motion or on its own initiative, any insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, or scandalous matter from a pleading.
Rule 12(g) and (h) govern waiver: a party who moves under this rule but omits an available defense or objection generally cannot raise it in a later motion, and lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficient process, and insufficient service of process are all waived if omitted from an early motion or from the responsive pleading (or a permitted amendment). By contrast, failure to state a claim, failure to join a necessary party, and failure to state a legal defense may be raised in any permitted pleading, by motion for judgment on the pleadings, or at trial — and a court must dismiss on its own if it appears the case lacks subject-matter jurisdiction at any point in the proceeding.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a defendant have to answer a North Carolina complaint?
30 days after service of the summons and complaint. Filing a Rule 12 motion resets that deadline: the answer becomes due 20 days after the court rules on the motion, or 20 days after service of a more definite statement if one is ordered.
What defenses can be raised by motion instead of in the answer?
Seven: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue or division, insufficiency of process, insufficiency of service of process, failure to state a claim, and failure to join a necessary party.
Which defenses are lost if not raised right away?
Lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service of process are all waived if left out of an early Rule 12 motion or the answer. Failure to state a claim, failure to join a necessary party, and lack of subject-matter jurisdiction are not waived that easily — the last of these can be raised at any time.
Source & verification. The rule text and history citation are reproduced verbatim from the
official North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 1A (N.C. R. Civ. P. 12). Enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly (S.L. 1967, c. 954, codified at N.C.G.S. § 1A-1). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 3, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:motion to dismiss12(b)(6) motionfailure to state a claimlack of subject matter jurisdictionlack of personal jurisdictionimproper venueinsufficiency of processinsufficiency of service of process30 days to answermotion for a more definite statementmotion to strikewaiver of defensesjudgment on the pleadingsremoval to federal court