Getting a Default Judgment in Ontario

Once a claim has been properly served, Ontario’s courts — whether Small Claims Court or the Superior Court of Justice — give the defendant a set window of time to respond formally, usually by filing a defence. The exact number of days depends on the specific court and on how and where the defendant was served, but the underlying structure is the same everywhere: the deadline exists to give the defendant a genuine opportunity to be heard, and missing it has real consequences.

If that deadline passes without a defence being filed, the plaintiff doesn’t need to wait indefinitely or guess at what happens next. The court process generally allows the plaintiff to move toward a judgment without the defendant’s participation, on the assumption that someone who was properly notified of a claim and chose not to respond has had their chance. This is the basic logic behind a default judgment — it isn’t a shortcut or a loophole, but a built-in consequence of ignoring a properly served claim.

It’s worth noting that “not responding” generally means not filing the required court document within the deadline — a phone call to the plaintiff, or an informal email saying the claim is disputed, usually doesn’t stop the default process on its own. The court system relies on formal steps being taken within its own procedures, which is part of why a defendant who genuinely intends to dispute a claim needs to act within the stated timeline rather than relying on an informal conversation.

Before a plaintiff can obtain an actual default judgment, the usual first step is having the defendant formally “noted in default.” This is a procedural record, made by the court registrar, confirming that the defendant was served and that the time to respond has passed without a defence being filed. It isn’t the final judgment itself, but it’s a necessary step along the way.

Once a defendant has been noted in default, their ability to participate in the case changes. Generally, they can no longer simply file a defence on their own initiative — they typically need to bring a motion asking the court for permission to file one late, and to explain why they didn’t respond in time. This is part of why acting promptly, the moment a defendant realizes they’ve missed a deadline, matters more than it might seem.

Once a defendant has been noted in default, the plaintiff can generally move to actually obtain judgment. How this happens depends largely on what kind of claim is involved. For a claim seeking a specific, easily calculated amount of money — a debt, an unpaid invoice, or a liquidated sum under a contract — default judgment can often be processed administratively by court staff, without needing to appear before a judge.

For a claim involving damages that aren’t a fixed amount — for example, a claim where the court still needs to assess what’s reasonable in the circumstances — the process is usually more involved. Even with the defendant in default and not contesting the claim, a judge may need to hold a brief hearing to assess the appropriate amount, rather than simply rubber-stamping whatever figure the plaintiff initially claimed.

In either situation, the plaintiff generally needs to properly complete and file the court’s required default judgment materials, which typically call for specific supporting information rather than a bare request. Getting this paperwork right the first time tends to move the process along considerably faster than having it returned for corrections.

It’s also worth remembering that a default judgment request still goes through at least some review by court staff, even without the defendant weighing in. A request that’s vague about how the amount was calculated, or missing proof of proper service, is likely to come back with questions rather than a judgment attached, which simply adds delay to a process otherwise meant to be relatively quick.

Even though the defendant isn’t participating, a plaintiff seeking default judgment still needs to support the claim with real evidence — the court doesn’t simply take the plaintiff’s word for the amount owing. This typically includes proof that the defendant was properly served, along with an affidavit or sworn statement setting out exactly how the amount claimed was calculated.

For a debt or unpaid invoice, this generally means attaching the underlying invoices, contracts, or account statements, together with a clear breakdown of the principal amount, any interest claimed, and how that interest was calculated. Our guide to interest on unpaid debts in Ontario covers how interest calculations typically work, which is useful background when preparing this kind of supporting material.

Sloppy or incomplete supporting evidence is one of the more common reasons a default judgment request gets held up or rejected outright, even where the underlying claim is perfectly valid. Taking the time to organize clear, well-documented proof of the debt before filing tends to avoid unnecessary delay at this stage.

A default judgment isn’t necessarily the final word. Ontario courts have discretion to set one aside where a defendant can show a genuinely good reason for not responding in time — for example, never having actually received the claim, a serious illness, or some other circumstance that reasonably prevented a timely response.

Beyond explaining the delay, a defendant generally also needs to show that there’s an arguable defence worth putting before the court — in other words, that letting the case proceed normally could realistically lead to a different outcome, not just that the defendant would prefer another chance. Courts also tend to look at how promptly the defendant moved once they became aware of the judgment, and whether setting it aside would unfairly prejudice the plaintiff.

A motion to set aside a default judgment is a formal step with its own procedural requirements, and it’s generally approached with more success the sooner it’s brought after the defendant learns what’s happened. Letting significant time pass before acting tends to work against the defendant, even where the underlying explanation is a reasonable one.

Before getting to enforcement, it’s worth pausing on something that trips up a lot of plaintiffs: a default judgment is only as good as the information behind it. If the defendant’s address on file is outdated, or the amount claimed wasn’t calculated carefully, a judgment obtained quickly on paper can end up being harder to actually collect on than one that went through a contested hearing with everything double-checked along the way.

Obtaining a default judgment confirms, formally, that the amount is owed — but it doesn’t by itself produce payment. Just like any other judgment, it generally still needs to be enforced if the defendant doesn’t pay voluntarily. Our guide to enforcing a judgment in Ontario covers the main tools available, including garnishment and a writ of seizure and sale.

It’s worth keeping in mind that a default judgment can sometimes be more fragile than a judgment obtained after a full hearing, since there’s always some possibility a defendant later applies to have it set aside. Where real money is already being pursued through enforcement, it’s generally sensible to keep clear records of each enforcement step taken, in case a defendant’s later motion requires the plaintiff to account for what’s happened since judgment was obtained.

For context on where a default judgment fits among the court options available for recovering money in Ontario, our Small Claims Court guide and the broader Money & Enforcement hub walk through the related steps. This is general information about how default judgments typically work in Ontario, not legal advice for a specific situation.