# Default judgment — definition

> A default judgment is the judgment entered against a defendant who has failed to plead or otherwise defend, after the clerk has first entered that party's default.

- Source: https://ottoforfirms.com/glossary/default-judgment/
- Publisher: Otto — https://ottoforfirms.com
- Updated: 2026-09-01

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**Default judgment** — A default judgment is the judgment entered against a defendant who has failed to plead or otherwise defend, after the clerk has first entered that party's default.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(a) requires the clerk to enter default when the failure to defend "is shown by affidavit or otherwise." Rule 55(b)(1) lets the clerk enter judgment where the claim is "for a sum certain or a sum that can be made certain by computation," on the plaintiff's request with an affidavit showing the amount due; all other cases go to the court under Rule 55(b)(2), and a defendant who has appeared must receive at least 7 days' written notice of the application. Rule 55(c) permits setting aside an entry of default for good cause and a final default judgment under Rule 60(b). State practice differs materially, but the two-step structure and the sum-certain limitation are near-universal, and the sum-certain affidavit is exactly where affidavit-of-debt exposure concentrates.

## Primary sources

1. [Fed. R. Civ. P. 55](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_55)

## See also

- [Affidavit of debt](https://ottoforfirms.com/glossary/affidavit-of-debt/)
- [Service of process](https://ottoforfirms.com/glossary/service-of-process/)
- [Post-judgment interest](https://ottoforfirms.com/glossary/post-judgment-interest/)

## Where this appears

- [What documents you need to file suit on a credit-card debt](https://ottoforfirms.com/guides/documents-to-file-suit/)
- [SCRA and bankruptcy scrubs: what each protects and when the check must run](https://ottoforfirms.com/guides/scra-and-bankruptcy-scrubs/)
- [Choosing an e-filing path by court, for high-volume filers](https://ottoforfirms.com/guides/e-filing-for-high-volume-filers/)

Last reviewed 2026-07-29

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This is an informational reference, not legal advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. Limitations periods turn on facts this page cannot know — which state's law governs, the contract type, when the claim accrued, and whether anything tolled or revived it. Confirm against the primary source and your own counsel before acting.