Setting aside an Alabama default judgment: 30 days in circuit court, 14 in district — and 7 for evictions
Alabama procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Alabama's default rule looks conventional until you read the District Court Rule at the end of it. The familiar thirty days applies in circuit court. In district court it is fourteen, and in eviction cases it is seven calendar days.
That is one of the shortest windows in American civil procedure, and it applies to exactly the cases where a defendant is least likely to have a lawyer.
The basic rule
Ala. R. Civ. P. 55(c):
Setting aside default. In its discretion, the court may set aside an entry of default at any time before judgment. The court may on its own motion set aside a judgment by default within thirty (30) days after the entry of the judgment. The court may also set aside a judgment by default on the motion of a party filed not later than thirty (30) days after the entry of the judgment.
Three separate powers in three sentences:
| What | Who | When |
|---|---|---|
| Set aside an entry of default | the court, in its discretion | any time before judgment |
| Set aside a default judgment | the court on its own motion | within 30 days of entry |
| Set aside a default judgment | on a party's motion | filed no later than 30 days after entry |
The first line is the most useful and the most overlooked. An entry of default — the clerk's notation, before any judgment — can be set aside at any time before judgment, with no deadline at all. Check the docket to see which you are facing before assuming you are on a thirty-day clock.
The District Court Rule
Appended to Rule 55 is a District Court Rule that changes the numbers substantially:
(dc) District Court Rule. Rule 55 applies in the district courts, except that (1) the reference to a jury in Rule 55(b)(2) is deleted; (2) the time period of thirty (30) days in Rule 55(c) is reduced to fourteen (14) days in all cases except for unlawful-detainer actions subject to appeal under §6-6-350, Ala. Code 1975, and actions for eviction as defined in §35-9A-141(5), Ala. Code 1975, in which actions the thirty-(30-)day time period is reduced to seven (7) calendar days; (3) the provisions dealing with an action for divorce or annulment of marriage at Rule 55(e) are deleted; and (4) a party shall not be deemed in default if the party has served an appearance in the form of a motion to dismiss.
| Court and case type | Time to move to set aside a default judgment |
|---|---|
| Circuit court | 30 days |
| District court, generally | 14 days |
| District court — unlawful detainer under § 6-6-350 | 7 calendar days |
| District court — eviction under § 35-9A-141(5) | 7 calendar days |
Note "seven (7) calendar days" — the rule says calendar days expressly, so weekends are in.
And (dc)(4) is a genuine protection: in district court, "a party shall not be deemed in default if the party has served an appearance in the form of a motion to dismiss." A motion to dismiss counts as an appearance and prevents default.
How the judgment gets entered
Before arguing the merits, check whether the judgment was properly obtained. Rule 55(b)(2):
In all other cases the party entitled to a judgment by default shall apply to the court therefor; but no judgment by default shall be entered (A) against a minor or (B) against an incompetent person, unless the minor or the incompetent person is represented in the action by a general guardian or other representative as provided in Rule 17(c) who has appeared therein. If the party against whom judgment by default is sought has appeared in the action, the court shall conduct a hearing on the application for judgment, and the party (or, if appearing by representative, the party's representative) shall be served with written notice of the application for judgment and the hearing thereon at least three (3) days prior to the hearing on such application, provided, however, that judgment by default may be entered by the court on the day the case is set for trial without such three (3) days' notice.
Two checkable requirements for a defendant who appeared: the court shall conduct a hearing, and you were entitled to three days' written notice of the application and the hearing — unless judgment was entered on the day the case was set for trial.
Limits on what a default judgment can award
Rule 55(d) caps the relief:
The provisions of this rule apply whether the party entitled to the judgment by default is a plaintiff, a thirdparty plaintiff, or a party who has pleaded a cross-claim or counterclaim. In all cases a judgment by default is subject to the limitations of Rule 54(c).
And Rule 55(e) requires proof in three categories of case regardless of the default:
Proof required despite default in certain cases. No judgment by default shall be entered against minors, incompetents, or parties to an action for divorce or annulment of marriage unless the claimant establishes the party's claim or right to relief by evidence.
(Note that (e) is deleted in district court by (dc)(3) as regards divorce and annulment.)
After the window closes
Rule 55(c) has no equivalent of the long tail some states provide. Once the 30, 14 or 7 days have run, relief comes from Ala. R. Civ. P. 60(b), with its enumerated grounds and its own timing — which is a materially harder route than a timely Rule 55(c) motion.
That gap is the reason the district court numbers matter so much: a tenant who takes two weeks to find help in an eviction case has already left the Rule 55(c) window.
How Alabama compares
| Alabama | Georgia | Colorado | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry of default set aside | any time before judgment | 15 days as of right | good cause | good cause |
| Default judgment, main trial court | 30 days | before final judgment | Rule 60(b), 182 days | Rule 60(b), 1 year |
| Lower court variation | 14 days; 7 for evictions | — | — | — |
| Court may act on its own | yes, within 30 days | — | — | — |
| Notice to a party who appeared | 3 days | — | 7 days | 7 days |
| Motion to dismiss prevents default | yes, in district court | — | — | — |
A short checklist
- Check which court you are in. Circuit is 30 days; district is 14; district eviction and unlawful detainer are 7 calendar days.
- Check the docket for an entry of default versus a default judgment. An entry of default can be set aside any time before judgment.
- Count calendar days in eviction cases — the rule says so expressly.
- If you appeared, check for the three days' written notice of the application and hearing, and whether a hearing was actually held.
- In district court, remember a motion to dismiss counts as an appearance and prevents default.
- Check the relief against the complaint — Rule 54(c) limits what a default judgment may award.
- If the defendant is a minor or an incompetent person, proof was required despite the default, and representation was a precondition to judgment.
- If the window has closed, move to Rule 60(b) — and expect a harder standard than Rule 55(c) would have applied.
Where these rules live
- Ala. R. Civ. P. 54 — Judgments; Costs
- Ala. R. Civ. P. 55 — Default
- Ala. R. Civ. P. 60 — Relief from Judgment or Order
- Ala. R. Civ. P. 12 — Defenses and Objections
- Ala. R. Civ. P. 17 — Parties Plaintiff and Defendant; Capacity
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the Code of Alabama sections the District Court Rule refers to — § 6-6-350 and § 35-9A-141(5) — sit outside this site's Alabama corpus, which covers the Rules of Civil Procedure.