Rule 2-321.Time for filing answer

The default deadline for filing an answer in circuit court is 30 days after service. That default shifts in several recurring situations. A defendant served outside Maryland but still within the United States gets 60 days. A defendant served by publication or posting under Rule 2-122 answers within whatever time the published or posted notice specifies. A person served through a statutory resident agent — the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, the Insurance Commissioner, or another authorized state agency — gets 60 days, and the same 60-day period applies to the United States or a federal officer or agency served under Rule 2-124(m) or (n). A defendant served outside the United States altogether gets 90 days. And if some other rule or statute sets a different deadline for a particular kind of case, that deadline controls instead.

Filing a preliminary motion under Rule 2-322 doesn't just pause the case — it resets the answer clock. The rule extends the time to answer, automatically and without a separate court order, to 15 days after the court rules on the motion. The same 15-day extension applies when a case is remanded from an appellate court or a federal court, and when the court grants a motion for a more definite statement, the extension runs 15 days from service of that more definite statement.