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Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.401 · Chapter 14. Default Proceedings and Judgments

Default

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)

(a) Entry of default

Upon proper application of the petitioner, the clerk must enter a default if the respondent or defendant fails within the time permitted to:

(1) Make an appearance as stated in rule 5.62;

(2) File a notice of motion to quash service of summons under section 418.10 of the Code of Civil Procedure; or

(3) File a petition for writ of mandate under section 418.10 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(b) Proof of facts

(1) The petitioner may apply to the court for the relief sought in the petition at the time default is entered. The court must require proof to be made of the facts stated in the petition and may enter its judgment based on that proof.

(2) The court may permit the use of a completed Income and Expense Declaration (form FL-150) or Financial Statement (Simplified) (form FL-155) and Property Declaration (form FL-160) for all or any part of the proof required or permitted to be offered on any issue to which they are relevant.

(c) Disposition of all matters required

A judgment based on a default must include disposition of all matters subject to the court's jurisdiction for which a party seeks adjudication or an explicit reservation of jurisdiction over any matter not proposed for disposition at that time.

Notes and commentary — not rule text

History

Rule 5.401 adopted effective January 1, 2013.

Source of truth

Edition
As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
Official file
https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/five/rule5_401
Text hash
sha256 036a7f40c575dc7ec293ccff3179e392684503b2089033a142f580a88fdffd9b
Composed by
compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph

This rule cites

Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.