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Served With a Statement of Claim in Ontario? Your Deadline and Your Next Steps

9th September 2026BY Qasim Nihang

Served With a Statement of Claim in Ontario? Your Deadline and Your Next Steps

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every legal situation is unique — consult a licensed lawyer before making any legal decisions.

Quick Answer: Your Deadline To Respond in Ontario

Quick answer
  1. If you were served with a statement of claim in Ontario, you typically have 20 days to serve and file a statement of defence.
  2. That period is typically 40 days if you were served elsewhere in Canada or the United States, and 60 days if you were served anywhere else.
  3. Serving a notice of intent to defend within the original period typically adds 10 days.
  4. If no defence is delivered, the plaintiff may have you noted in default and may then ask the court for default judgment.
  5. A defence may still be delivered at any time before you are noted in default, so a missed date does not necessarily end your ability to respond.

The Clock Started the Day You Were Served

A statement of claim is the document that starts a lawsuit in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice. Being handed one means someone has named you as a defendant, which is the legal term for the person or business being sued, and that a response period has already begun.

That period runs on its own schedule. It does not pause while you gather your side of the story, and it does not depend on whether the claim against you has any merit. Plenty of people receive a claim they consider unfair or simply wrong, and the response deadline applies to them the same way it applies to everyone else.

The first steps are mostly administrative and can be done in a day. These include identifying which court you are in, calculating your exact deadline, and getting advice before that date arrives. This guide covers each of those, explains what a statement of defence is, and identifies what may happen if the deadline passes without a response.

20 daysto respond if you were served in Ontario
40 daysif you were served elsewhere in Canada or the United States
60 daysif you were served outside Canada and the United States
+10 daysif you serve a notice of intent to defend in time

Quick Start: Find Your Court and Your Deadline

Start with the front page of the document you were served with. It names the court, gives a court file number, and lists the parties. If the heading says Superior Court of Justice and the document is titled Statement of Claim, your response is a statement of defence. If it is titled Plaintiff's Claim, you are in Small Claims Court instead.

Four questions get you to your deadline:

Which document is it?
A Statement of Claim, a Notice of Action, or a Plaintiff's Claim. The title appears near the top of the first page.
Which court issued it?
Superior Court of Justice or Small Claims Court. The court name and the court file number appear in the same heading.
Where were you when you were served?
In Ontario, elsewhere in Canada or the United States, or somewhere else. This changes the number of days you have.
What date were you served?
Write it down now, along with how the document reached you. The count starts from that date.

Once you have those four answers, you have everything you need to work out your deadline and have a useful first conversation about your civil litigation matters in Ontario.

How Long You Have To File a Statement of Defence

In Ontario, a statement of defence is the written document a defendant files to respond to a statement of claim, setting out their position on each allegation. Under Rule 18.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, it is typically due within 20 days of being served in Ontario, 40 days if you were served elsewhere in Canada or the United States, and 60 days if you were served anywhere else.

There is a second document that can buy time. A notice of intent to defend is a short form that tells the court and the other side that you intend to respond. If you serve and file it within your original period, you typically get 10 additional days to deliver the defence itself.

That extension is conditional. It applies where the notice goes out inside the original window. It is a tool for someone acting early, not a rescue for someone who has already run out of time.

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How Long You Have To Respond, by Where You Were Served
The deadline to serve and file a statement of defence in the Superior Court of Justice depends on where you were served, not on where the case was started.
Where you were served Time to respond
In Ontario 20 days
Elsewhere in Canada or in the United States 40 days
Outside Canada and the United States 60 days
If you serve and file a notice of intent to defend (Form 18B) within the period above add 10 days
If the date has already passed: a statement of defence may still be delivered at any time before you are noted in default. Missing the date is not the same as losing the right to respond.
Source: Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, rr. 18.01, 18.02 and 19.01 (ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900194), and Ministry of the Attorney General, Civil claims: simplified procedure (ontario.ca/page/civil-claims-simplified-procedure). Verified September 2026. Deadlines are general information and can differ in a particular case.
Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Law Society of Ontario

Statement of Claim or Plaintiff's Claim: Which Court You Are In

A Statement of Claim starts a case in the Superior Court of Justice. A Plaintiff's Claim starts a case in the Small Claims Court, which typically handles claims up to $50,000. The documents, the response forms, and the governing rules differ between the two, so identifying your court comes before anything else.

In the Superior Court, the Rules of Civil Procedure apply and you respond using a Statement of Defence, Form 18A. In Small Claims Court, the Small Claims Court Rules apply, the response is called a Defence, and the process is designed to be simpler for people without lawyers. Both forums have a response deadline, and in Small Claims Court that period is typically 20 days after service.

If the amount claimed looks close to the line, it is worth reading about the $50,000 Small Claims Court limit so you know which set of rules governs your case.

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Superior Court and Small Claims Court Side by Side
Check the title of the document you were served with. It tells you which court you are in, which form you respond with, and how much the response costs.
  Superior Court of Justice Small Claims Court
Document that starts the case Statement of Claim (Form 14A) Plaintiff's Claim (Form 7A)
Your response document Statement of Defence (Form 18A) Defence (Form 9A)
Time to respond 20 days if served in Ontario; 40 or 60 days if served outside it 20 days after you are served
Amount in dispute No monetary ceiling Up to $50,000, not counting interest and costs
Rules that apply Rules of Civil Procedure, Reg. 194 Rules of the Small Claims Court, O. Reg. 258/98
Court fee to file your response $194 $77
Sources: Rules of Civil Procedure, Reg. 194 and Rules of the Small Claims Court, O. Reg. 258/98 (ontario.ca/laws); court forms (ontariocourtforms.on.ca); Small Claims Court monetary limit and fees (ontario.ca/page/fees-small-claims-court); Superior Court fees, O. Reg. 293/92 (ontario.ca/page/civil-court-fees). Fees verified September 2026 and can change.
Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Law Society of Ontario

What To Do in the First 72 Hours

Six steps cover almost everything that matters in the first three days.

  1. 1
    Record the service date and method.Note the day the document reached you and how it arrived. That date anchors your deadline, so it belongs in writing rather than in memory.
  2. 2
    Read the front page carefully.Identify the court, the court file number, the plaintiff, and every defendant named. Check that your name and your business name are spelled the way you use them.
  3. 3
    Calculate the deadline and put it somewhere you cannot miss it.Use the period that matches where you were served, and treat the date as firm rather than approximate.
  4. 4
    Preserve your documents, which means keeping them and not altering or deleting them.Contracts, invoices, receipts, emails, and text messages about the dispute can matter later, so stop any routine deletion now.
  5. 5
    Decide whether you need a notice of intent to defend.If a proper defence cannot realistically be prepared inside the original period, this is the step that typically adds 10 days to the time you have to file your defence.
  6. 6
    Get advice before the deadline, not after it.A short conversation early often costs far less than the work needed to undo a missed deadline. You can speak with a lawyer before your deadline even if you have not decided how to respond.

One point catches small business owners in particular: a corporation typically must be represented by a lawyer in a Superior Court proceeding unless the court orders otherwise. If the defendant named is your company rather than you personally, factor that in early.

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Your First 30 Days After Being Served
The sequence below assumes you were served in Ontario. It shows how little room the notice of intent to defend actually buys.
Day 0
You are served
The count starts on this date, whether or not you have read the document.
Days 1 to 3
Record, identify, calculate, preserve
Write down the service date, identify the court and file number, work out your deadline, and preserve documents and messages about the dispute.
By day 20
Serve and file your statement of defence, or a notice of intent to defend
Serving means giving a copy to the other parties. Filing means submitting it to the court. Both steps are required.
By day 30
Statement of defence due, if you used a notice of intent to defend
The extension applies only where the notice went out within the original period.
After your deadline
The plaintiff may have you noted in default
Default judgment may follow. A defence may still be delivered at any time before you are noted in default.
If you were served elsewhere in Canada or in the United States, read day 20 as day 40; if you were served outside Canada and the United States, read it as day 60. The notice of intent to defend adds 10 days in each case.
Source: Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, rr. 18.01, 18.02 and 19.01 (ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900194). Verified September 2026.
Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Law Society of Ontario

Defend, Settle, or Counterclaim: Three Realistic Paths

Most defendants have three realistic paths. You can file a defence and dispute the claim, negotiate a settlement with the plaintiff, or file a defence together with a counterclaim, which is a claim of your own back against the plaintiff. These paths overlap, and many cases settle after a defence has been filed.

Timing matters more than strategy at the start. Filing a defence protects your position while negotiations continue, which is why settlement talks and a filed defence often run side by side rather than one instead of the other. If a negotiated resolution appeals to you, it may help to read about resolving a dispute outside court.

Whether the claim was brought in time can also matter. Ontario's Limitations Act, 2002 sets time limits for starting most claims, and a claim brought outside that period may face a limitation defence. Our guide to how long someone has to sue in Ontario explains how those periods are counted, though whether one applies to your case is a question for a lawyer.

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What It Costs To File a Response in Ontario
Court fees payable when you respond to a claim. These are the filing fees only, set by regulation, and they do not include legal fees.
$77
to file a defence in Small Claims Court
$194
to file a statement of defence in the Superior Court
No extra fee
the 10-day extension costs nothing more, because the defence fee does not apply again after a notice of intent to defend
Fee waiver
may be available if you cannot afford court fees
Sources: Superior Court of Justice and Court of Appeal – Fees, O. Reg. 293/92 (ontario.ca/page/civil-court-fees); Small Claims Court – Fees and Allowances, O. Reg. 332/16 (ontario.ca/page/fees-small-claims-court); fee waivers (ontario.ca/page/have-your-court-fees-waived). Fees verified September 2026, are set by regulation and can change. Confirm the current fee with the court office before filing.
Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Law Society of Ontario

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

If your deadline passes without a defence, the plaintiff may ask the court to note you in default, which means the court records that you have not responded. Once that happens, the plaintiff may seek default judgment, a judgment granted without a trial. A defence may still be delivered at any time before you are noted in default.

Being noted in default and default judgment are two separate steps, and the gap between them is the part most people do not know about. Missing your date by a day is not the same as losing the case, and delivering a defence promptly may still be possible.

Do not count on advance warning. Reform proposals under Ontario's Civil Rules Review include a notice giving defendants a further chance to respond before being noted in default, but that proposal is not in force. You can read more about the 2026 changes to Ontario's civil litigation rules and which of them apply today.

Common Mistakes Defendants Make

  • Waiting to see whether it is serious. The response period runs from service, not from the day you decide the claim matters. Start the count immediately.
  • Assuming the 20-day figure applies to everyone. Someone served outside Ontario typically has 40 or 60 days, and someone served in Ontario who assumes otherwise loses time they never had.
  • Contacting the plaintiff instead of responding. A phone call or an email to the other side does not stop the clock. Only the required documents, served and filed, do that.
  • Serving the defence but not filing it. Serving means giving a copy to the other parties. Filing means submitting it to the court. Both steps are required, along with an affidavit of service.
  • Deleting messages or tidying up records. Documents and messages about the dispute may become evidence, and altering them can cause more damage than their contents.
  • Ignoring a claim against a company because it is not personal. A corporate defendant typically needs a lawyer, and a default judgment against a business can affect its bank accounts and property.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days do I have to respond to a statement of claim in Ontario?

You typically have 20 days from the date of service if you were served in Ontario. That period is typically 40 days if you were served elsewhere in Canada or the United States, and 60 days if you were served anywhere else. The count starts on the date of service, not the date you read the document.

What happens if I just ignore the statement of claim?

If nothing is filed by your deadline, the plaintiff may have you noted in default, meaning the court records that you did not respond. The plaintiff may then seek default judgment, which is a judgment granted without a trial. That judgment can lead to enforcement steps against your income or property.

Can I still file a defence if the 20 days have already passed?

Possibly. A statement of defence may still be delivered at any time before you are noted in default, so a passed deadline does not automatically close the door. Once you have been noted in default, the process becomes more complicated and typically requires a court motion. Getting advice quickly matters most at this stage.

What is a notice of intent to defend, and does it buy me more time?

A notice of intent to defend is a short court form telling the other parties that you intend to respond to the claim. If you serve and file it within your original response period, you typically receive 10 additional days to deliver your statement of defence. It has to be served and filed within the original window to have that effect.

Is a statement of claim the same thing as a Small Claims Court claim?

No. A Statement of Claim starts a case in the Superior Court of Justice, while a Plaintiff's Claim starts a case in the Small Claims Court, which typically handles claims up to $50,000. The forms, rules, and procedures differ between the two courts, although both have a deadline to respond.

Do I need a lawyer to respond, or can I file a defence myself?

An individual can respond without a lawyer, and Small Claims Court is designed with that in mind. A corporation typically must be represented by a lawyer in the Superior Court unless the court orders otherwise. Even where self-representation is permitted, advice before the deadline can help you avoid mistakes that are costly to fix.

What does it mean to be noted in default, and is that the same as losing?

Being noted in default means the court has recorded that you did not deliver a defence in time. It is a procedural step rather than a decision about who is right, and it comes before any judgment. It does open the door to default judgment, so it is a step worth acting quickly to address.

I do not owe this money — do I still have to file something by the deadline?

Yes. The response period applies regardless of how strong you believe your position is, and disagreeing with the claim is a reason to file a defence rather than a reason to skip one. Your disagreement belongs in the statement of defence, where the court can consider it.

Getting Advice Before the Deadline Passes

The most useful thing to understand about being sued in Ontario is that the response deadline runs independently of the merits. A claim you consider baseless carries the same clock as one you expect to be difficult, and responding on time keeps your options open in either case.

If you have been served, you do not need to have decided how to respond before speaking with someone. Our office helps clients across Toronto, Scarborough, and the wider GTA respond to civil claims, and Qasim Ali, Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law, leads the firm's civil litigation work. You can contact our office to talk through your deadline and your options.

Talk to us before your deadline

You do not need to have decided how to respond. A short conversation early can tell you what your deadline is and what your options are.

Contact Nihang Law
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every legal situation is unique — consult a licensed lawyer before making any legal decisions.
Qasim Ali — Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law Professional Corporation

About the author

Qasim Ali

Principal Lawyer · Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Toronto & Scarborough, Ontario · Law Society of Ontario

Qasim Ali is the Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law Professional Corporation, serving clients across Toronto, Scarborough, and the broader Greater Toronto Area. He provides full-service legal representation across immigration, real estate, family law, criminal law, civil litigation, employment law, wills and estates, and business law.

Nihang Law is particularly recognized for its depth in immigration and real estate law — a combination that serves newcomers and growing families navigating both legal systems simultaneously.

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