Served an eviction lawsuit in California? You have 10 court days to respond.
California gives you 10 court days — not calendar days — to file a written response (Code Civ. Proc. § 1167, as amended by AB 2347 effective January 1, 2025). Weekends and court holidays don't count. That's why the real date is further out than it sounds — and closer than it feels.
Estimate your response deadline
Counted on this page: 10 court days after the date you were served, skipping weekends and California court holidays. Nothing you enter here leaves your device or is stored.
Court holidays this counter skips (2026)
- Thursday, January 1, 2026 — New Year's Day
- Monday, January 19, 2026 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Thursday, February 12, 2026 — Lincoln's Birthday
- Monday, February 16, 2026 — Presidents' Day
- Tuesday, March 31, 2026 — Cesar Chavez Day
- Monday, May 25, 2026 — Memorial Day
- Friday, June 19, 2026 — Juneteenth
- Friday, July 3, 2026 — Independence Day (observed — July 4 falls on a Saturday)
- Monday, September 7, 2026 — Labor Day
- Friday, September 25, 2026 — Native American Day
- Wednesday, November 11, 2026 — Veterans Day
- Thursday, November 26, 2026 — Thanksgiving Day
- Friday, November 27, 2026 — Day after Thanksgiving
- Friday, December 25, 2026 — Christmas Day
California judicial-branch holidays (Code Civ. Proc. § 135; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10). Dates in other years are computed by the same published rules. Individual courthouses can close on additional days — one more reason to confirm with the clerk.
What the papers mean, in plain language
The lawsuit
An "unlawful detainer" is California's eviction lawsuit. The packet you were handed is usually a Summons (SUM-130) and a Complaint (UD-100). Being served does not mean you have lost — it means a deadline has started.
The response
Form UD-105, "Answer — Unlawful Detainer," is the Judicial Council form a tenant can use to respond in writing. Filing a response is how a tenant tells the court their side and gets a court date instead of a default.
If nothing is filed
After the deadline passes with no response on file, the landlord can ask the court to decide the case without you (a default judgment), which can lead to a writ of possession and a sheriff lockout.
Free help exists: every California superior court has a Self-Help Center for people without lawyers, and a person with low income can ask the court to waive its filing fee (Form FW-001). Free tenant legal-aid organizations also exist in many counties — the Self-Help Center can point to them.
Prepare your answer
Your UD-105 response, built from your own answers. $99, once — pay only if you continue.
What you get
- — You answer intake questions in plain language. The software places your answers on the official UD-105.
- — You review every line before you file anything. You decide what the form says, including which boxes are checked. Filing stays in your hands.
- — You get a print-ready, court-ready document and plain instructions for filing it with your court.
What we never do
- — We do not give legal advice, choose defenses for you, or recommend what to claim.
- — We do not predict what the court will do or score your chances.
- — You review everything, you decide everything, and nothing is charged without your explicit go-ahead.
JusticeOS is not a law firm and is not your lawyer. The official UD-105 form itself lists possible defenses; whether any applies to your situation is a judgment only you — or a lawyer — can make. When a question needs a lawyer, we say so and point to free help.