(a) Entry. – When a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or is otherwise subject to default judgment as provided by these rules or by statute and that fact is made to appear by affidavit, motion of attorney for the plaintiff, or otherwise, the clerk shall enter his default.
Rule 55.Default.
Last amended 2024 · Last verified July 3, 2026
In one sentenceRule 55 lets the clerk enter a defendant's default for failing to plead or appear, sets separate procedures for the clerk or a judge to enter default judgment depending on whether the claim is for a sum certain, and lets a court set aside a default for good cause.
Full Text of Rule 55
(b) Judgment. – Judgment by default may be entered as follows:
(1) By the Clerk. – 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 clerk upon request 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 been defaulted for failure to appear and if the defendant is not an infant or incompetent person. A verified pleading may be used in lieu of an affidavit when the pleading contains information sufficient to determine or compute the sum certain. In all cases wherein, pursuant to this rule, the clerk enters judgment by default upon a claim for debt which is secured by any pledge, mortgage, deed of trust or other contractual security in respect of which foreclosure may be had, or upon a claim to enforce a lien for unpaid taxes or assessments, the clerk may likewise
make all further orders required to consummate foreclosure in accordance with the procedure provided in Article 29A of Chapter 1 of the General Statutes, entitled "Judicial Sales."
(2) By the Judge. –
a. In all other cases the party entitled to a judgment by default shall apply to the judge therefor; but no judgment by default shall be entered against an infant or incompetent person unless represented in the action by a guardian ad litem or other such representative who has appeared therein. If the party against whom judgment by default is sought has appeared in the action, that party (or, if appearing by representative, the representative) shall be served with written notice of the application for judgment at least three days prior to the hearing on such application. If, in order to enable the judge to enter judgment or to carry it into effect, it is necessary to take an account or to determine the amount of damages or to establish the truth of any averment by evidence or to take an investigation of any other matter, the judge may conduct such hearings or order such references as the judge deems necessary and proper and shall accord a right of trial by jury to the parties when and as required by the Constitution or by any statute of North Carolina. If the plaintiff seeks to establish paternity under Article 3 of Chapter 49 of the General Statutes and the defendant fails to appear, the judge shall enter judgment by default.
b. A motion for judgment by default may be decided by the court without a hearing if: 1. The motion specifically provides that the court will decide the motion for judgment by default without a hearing if the party against whom judgment is sought fails to serve a written response, stating the grounds for opposing the motion, within 30 days of service of the motion; and 2. The party against whom judgment is sought fails to serve the response in accordance with this sub-subdivision.
(c) Service by publication. – When service of the summons has been made by published notice, no judgment shall be entered on default until the plaintiff shall have filed a bond, approved by the court, conditioned to abide such order as the court may make touching the restitution of any property collected or obtained by virtue of the judgment in case a defense is thereafter permitted and sustained; provided, that in actions involving the title to real estate or to foreclose mortgages thereon or in actions in which the State of North Carolina or a county or municipality thereof is the plaintiff such bond shall not be required.
(d) Setting aside default. – For good cause shown the court may set aside an entry of default, and, if a judgment by default has been entered, the judge may set it aside in accordance with Rule 60(b).
(e) Plaintiffs, counterclaimants, cross claimants. – The provisions of this rule apply whether the party entitled to the judgment by default is a plaintiff, a third-party plaintiff, or a party who has pleaded a crossclaim or counterclaim. In all cases a judgment by default is subject to the limitations of Rule 54(c).
(f) Judgment against the State of North Carolina. – No judgment by default shall be entered against the State of North Carolina or an officer in his official capacity or agency thereof unless the claimant establishes his claim or right to relief by evidence.
Amendment History
(1967, c. 954, s. 1; 1971, cc. 542, 1101; 1977, c. 675; 1991, c. 278, s. 1; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 733, s. 3; 1999-187, s. 1; 2024-33, s. 4.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 55(a) has the clerk enter a party's default once a failure to plead, or another ground for default judgment, is shown by affidavit, an attorney's motion, or otherwise.
Rule 55(b) splits default judgment into two tracks. Under Rule 55(b)(1), the clerk enters judgment for a sum-certain (or by-computation-certain) claim against a defendant defaulted for failing to appear, who isn't an infant or incompetent person, based on an affidavit of the amount due or a sufficient verified pleading; for secured-debt or tax-lien claims, the clerk may also enter the further orders needed to complete foreclosure under Article 29A of Chapter 1. Under Rule 55(b)(2), every other case goes to the judge on application: a guardian ad litem or other representative must appear for an infant or incompetent defendant before default judgment can enter against them; an appearing defendant gets three days' notice of the application; the judge may hold hearings or order references to determine damages or other matters, according a jury trial where the Constitution or a statute requires one; and a defendant's failure to appear in a paternity action under Article 3 of Chapter 49 requires the judge to enter default judgment. A no-hearing procedure is available when the motion itself warns that the court will decide it without a hearing if the defendant doesn't serve a written response within 30 days, and the defendant doesn't respond. Default judgment following service by publication requires the plaintiff to file a court-approved bond (waived for real-estate, mortgage-foreclosure, or state/county/municipal-plaintiff actions). A default -- or a default judgment -- may be set aside for good cause, with default judgments specifically following Rule 60(b)'s standard. The rule applies whether the party seeking default judgment is a plaintiff, third-party plaintiff, counterclaimant, or crossclaimant, always subject to Rule 54(c)'s limit on the relief a default judgment can grant. No default judgment may be entered against the State of North Carolina or a state officer or agency without evidence establishing the claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can the clerk (rather than a judge) enter a default judgment?
When the claim is for a sum certain, or a sum that can be made certain by computation, against a defendant who isn't an infant or incompetent person and was defaulted for failing to appear.
Can a default judgment be entered against a minor or incompetent defendant?
Only if a guardian ad litem or other representative has appeared in the action on that defendant's behalf.
Can a default be undone once it's entered?
Yes. Rule 55(b)(2)(d) lets a court set aside an entry of default for good cause, and a default judgment following Rule 60(b)'s standard for relief from judgment.
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. 55). 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: entry of defaultdefault judgmentclerk default judgment sum certainsetting aside a defaultguardian ad litem default judgmentdefault judgment against the stateno-hearing default judgmentdefault judgment service by publication