Responding to a California eviction: the 10-day clock that isn't 10 days

California procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026

If you have read that a California eviction gives you five days to respond, that was the rule for a long time and it is not what CCP 1167 says now.

The response period

CCP 1167(a): the summons is in the form specified by Section 412.20, "except that when the defendant is served, the defendant's response shall be filed within 10 days, excluding Saturdays and Sundays and other judicial holidays, after the complaint is served upon the defendant."

CCP 1167(b): "If service is completed by mail or in person through the Secretary of State's address confidentiality program … the defendant shall have an additional five court days to file a response."

CCP 1167(c): except as the section provides otherwise, the summons is issued, served and returned the same way as in any civil action.

Two things follow.

Weekends and judicial holidays don't count. A 10-day period that excludes them runs at least two calendar weeks, and longer across a holiday. Ten court days served on a Monday ordinarily lands two Mondays later.

Mail service adds five court days, not the CCP 1013 extension. Section 1167(b) supplies its own add-on, and it is expressed in court days.

This is a substantially longer window than the five-day rule that preceded it, and it is the single most out-of-date fact in circulation about California evictions. Anything published before 2025 on this point should be checked against the current statute.

What counts as responding

CCP 1170(a): "On or before the day fixed for their appearance, the defendant may appear and answer, demur, or move to strike any portion of the complaint."

Three options, all of which are a response. An answer is not the only one.

Demurrers and motions to strike run on a compressed calendar

CCP 1170(b)(1) is unlike ordinary civil motion practice. In an unlawful detainer where the defendant demurs or moves to strike:

the hearing on the motion shall be not less than five court days nor more than seven court days after the filing of the notice of motion.

All moving and supporting papers must accompany the notice of motion and be served under Section 1170 and Section 1010.6 or 1013. There is no separate briefing schedule — the papers go in together.

CCP 1170(b)(2) allows later hearing dates in narrow circumstances: on the written stipulation of the parties; in a residential tenancy, for good cause, on notice the court prescribes; and in a commercial tenancy, for good cause, on a date not more than 10 court days after the first date set.

CCP 1170(c) is unusual and easy to miss: "An opposition and reply to an opposition may be made orally at the time of the hearing." A party who wants a written opposition considered in advance must file and serve it on or before the court day before the hearing, by personal delivery, electronic service, fax, express mail or other means consistent with Sections 1010, 1010.6, 1011 and 1012.

After a demurrer or motion is decided — the five-day cap

CCP 1167.3 caps what happens next:

In any action under this chapter, unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause shown, the time allowed the defendant to answer the complaint, answer the complaint, if amended, or amend the answer under paragraph (2), (3), (5), (6), or (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 586 shall not exceed five days.

Those Section 586 paragraphs are the ones that follow an overruled demurrer, a denied or granted motion to strike, a denied motion to quash, and the related situations. In an ordinary civil case the court sets that time; in an unlawful detainer it may not exceed five days without good cause.

So the compressed schedule doesn't relax after the first motion. It tightens.

Trial comes fast

CCP 1170.5(a): if the defendant appears under Section 1170, "trial of the proceeding shall be held not later than the 20th day following the date that the request to set the time of the trial is made." Judgment is entered on it, and if the plaintiff prevails a writ of execution issues immediately on the plaintiff's request.

CCP 1170.5(b): the court may extend the trial period on the agreement of all parties. No other extension may be granted unless the court holds a hearing and renders a decision under subdivision (c).

CCP 1170.5(c) is the provision that makes a continuance costly for a tenant. If trial isn't held within the specified time, the court — on finding a reasonable probability that the plaintiff will prevail — "shall determine the amount of damages, if any, to be suffered by the plaintiff by reason of the extension, and shall issue an order requiring the defendant to pay that amount into court as the rent would have otherwise become due and payable," or into a court-designated escrow, for as long as the defendant remains in possession pending termination of the action. The amount is based on the plaintiff's verified statement of the contract rent, any verified objection by the defendant, and the evidence at the hearing.

Discovery is on the same compressed clock

The Civil Discovery Act sets a shorter response period for unlawful detainer than for any other case, and it says so in three parallel provisions:

Interrogatories — CCP 2030.260(b): in an unlawful detainer action or other proceeding under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1159), the responding party has five days from service to respond.
Requests for production — CCP 2031.260(b): at least five days from service of the demand.
Requests for admission — CCP 2033.250(b): at least five days from service.

Each is subject to the court shortening the time on the propounding party's motion or extending it on the responding party's motion.

The consequences of missing those five days are the ordinary ones under the Discovery Act, and they are severe — see the guide on missing a California discovery deadline. The waiver of objections is the same whether the case is an eviction or not.

What the case is about

CCP 1161 defines unlawful detainer, and the definitions matter because they determine which pre-lawsuit notice had to be given and whether it was given correctly. The section covers, among other situations, a tenant continuing in possession after the term expires; continuing in possession after default in rent, following a three-day notice to pay or quit; continuing after a neglect or violation of a lease condition, following notice; and maintaining a nuisance or unlawful use.

Those pre-lawsuit notice requirements are the substance of many eviction defenses, and they sit in Section 1161 and the surrounding provisions rather than in the procedural sections above.

Where this differs from an ordinary California case

	Ordinary civil case	Unlawful detainer
Response period	30 days (CCP 412.20)	10 days excluding weekends/holidays (CCP 1167)
Mail add-on	5 calendar days (CCP 1013)	5 court days (CCP 1167(b))
Time to answer after a demurrer	Set by the court (CCP 586)	Not more than 5 days (CCP 1167.3)
Demurrer hearing	Noticed under CCP 1005	5–7 court days after notice filed (CCP 1170(b))
Written opposition	Required	May be made orally at the hearing (CCP 1170(c))
Discovery responses	30 days	5 days (CCP 2030.260(b), 2031.260(b), 2033.250(b))
Trial	Set in the ordinary course	Within 20 days of the request to set (CCP 1170.5)

Where these rules live

The California courts run a free self-help site at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov, including the Judicial Council answer forms for eviction cases. This page explains what the statutes say. It isn't legal advice, and eviction defenses usually turn on the pre-lawsuit notice and on local ordinances rather than on these timing sections.

How this guide is sourced. Every procedural statement here is drawn from the text of the rules named above, each of which is reproduced verbatim on its own page on this site. Quoted rule language appears in quotation marks or block quotes; everything else is original writing. Last verified August 17, 2026.

This page explains what the rules say. It is legal information, not legal advice, and it cannot tell you how a rule applies to your situation. Deadlines are often short and some are not extendable — if the outcome matters, talk to a lawyer or your court’s self-help center.