How long do I have to respond to a California lawsuit over $35,000?

Your standard deadline is 30 calendar days from the date of personal service, and importantly, the count begins the day after you were actually served, not on the day of service itself. If you were served through substituted service, meaning papers were left with another adult and then separately mailed to you, that method adds 10 additional days to your response deadline. Service by publication, a less common method used when a defendant genuinely can't be located, carries its own separate timing rules entirely.

If your deadline is approaching and you're not going to make it in time, an extension is frequently available simply by stipulation, meaning a mutual written agreement, with the opposing attorney. Most attorneys will grant a first extension request when it's made in writing before the deadline passes, so it's worth asking rather than assuming none is available.