Verified against the official source

Default in a Peruvian civil case: what happens if you don't answer the lawsuit?

Short answer

If you do not answer the lawsuit in time, the judge declares you in default (rebeldía): the case continues without you and the facts in the claim are presumed true, although that presumption is rebuttable and has exceptions. You can join the case at any point, but in whatever stage it has reached: deadlines that passed do not come back.

VerificationVerified against the official sourceSee the sources ↓

6sources cited
6read at the official source
1official institutions

Judiciary

Checked 1 Oct 2026Next review 29 Mar 2027

By Gyason · verified 1 Oct 2026

PeruviansForeign residents

Send on WhatsApp

What default is

Default (rebeldía) is not a penalty or an offence. It is the procedural position of someone who was served with a lawsuit and did not answer it in time. Article 458 of the Código Procesal Civil says:

“Si transcurrido el plazo para contestar la demanda, el demandado a quien se le ha notificado válidamente ésta no lo hace, se le declarará rebelde.”

(“If the deadline to answer passes and the defendant, validly served, has not answered, he will be declared in default.”)

There are two conditions: the deadline to answer has passed, and service was valid. The same article adds a second case: a party is also in default if, after being told their lawyer has stopped representing them or their attorney-in-fact has resigned, they do not appear within the time set in article 79.

The deadlines to answer depend on the type of proceeding: 30, 10 or 5 business days. We explain them in served with a lawsuit.

What the law presumes

This is the effect that matters most. Article 461 says:

“La declaración de rebeldía causa presunción legal relativa sobre la verdad de los hechos expuestos en la demanda, salvo que: 1. Habiendo varios emplazados, alguno contesta la demanda; 2. La pretensión se sustente en un derecho indisponible; 3. Requiriendo la ley que la pretensión demandada se pruebe con documento, éste no fue acompañado a la demanda; o 4. El Juez declare, en resolución motivada, que no le producen convicción.”

Two words carry the weight:

Presumption. The judge starts from the idea that what the claim says is true. The plaintiff no longer has to convince the judge from scratch.
Rebuttable (relativa). Evidence can overturn it. It is not an automatic loss.

And there are four cases in which the presumption does not apply, even if you are in default:

Case	What it means in practice
Several defendants, and one of them answered	Another defendant’s defence blocks the presumption
The claim rests on a right that cannot be disposed of (derecho indisponible)	Rights the parties cannot bargain away or waive
The document the law requires is missing	If the law requires proof by a document and the lawsuit did not include it, default is not enough
The judge is not convinced	The judge can declare, in a reasoned ruling, that the facts are not convincing

What happens to the case

The case does not stop. Article 460 says that, once default is declared, the judge rules on whether the case is procedurally sound (saneamiento) and, if it is, “procederá a expedir sentencia” (will proceed to issue judgment), except in the cases of article 461. In other words, default can shorten the road to a judgment.

You also stop hearing about most of it. Article 459 says the default declaration is served on you personally (por cédula) if you have a home address, and otherwise by public notice (edictos). After that you are only served with some orders: the one declaring the case procedurally sound, summonses to hearings, the notice that judgment is coming, the judgment and the order requiring compliance. All other orders “se tendrán por notificadas el mismo día que lo fueron a la otra parte”: they count as served on you the day they were served on the other side.

And you become exposed to provisional measures. Article 463 says that once default is declared “pueden concederse medidas cautelares contra el emplazado para asegurar el resultado del proceso”. An attachment of assets (embargo) is the best known. We explain it in provisional measures and attachment.

How to get back into the case

Default does not shut you out for good. Article 462 says:

“El rebelde puede incorporarse al proceso en cualquier momento, sujetándose al estado en que éste se encuentre.”

(“The defaulting party may join the case at any time, subject to the stage it has reached.”)

You can come in whenever you choose, but you do not go back. If the deadline to answer has passed, none of the articles on default gives you a new one. If the evidence has already been heard, you come in after that stage. Every day you wait closes stages you can no longer take part in.

What you can do once you join depends on the stage of the case, and a lawyer has to judge that with the file in hand. Two things are worth checking first:

Service. Article 458 requires that the lawsuit was validly served. If it was served at an address where you do not live, or on someone else, a lawyer should look at it immediately. This page does not cover the rules for annulling service.
The exceptions in article 461. If one applies, the presumption of truth does not work against you.

What this page does not cover

We do not cover how to ask for service to be annulled or how to appeal the judgment. We also do not cover what a defaulting party can argue at each stage. All of that depends on where the specific case stands.

How to file

Look at the case file as soon as possibleFind out what stage the case is at and which orders have been issued. If you are in default, many of them were treated as served without you knowing (article 459).
Formally join the case with a lawyerYou can join at any time (article 462). The sooner you do, the more stages remain in which you can take part.
Check whether any exception in article 461 appliesIf another defendant did answer, if the right in dispute cannot be disposed of, or if a document the law requires is missing, the presumption of truth does not apply.
Check how you were servedDefault requires valid service (article 458). If you were served at the wrong address, ask your lawyer to look at it straight away.
Be ready for provisional measuresOnce default is declared, the plaintiff can ask for provisional measures against you (article 463), such as an attachment of assets.

What people fail to ask in time

Can your bank account be frozen while you are in default?

Find out before it matters →

What most people believe — and what the law says

The belief

If you are declared in default, you automatically lose.

The law

Not automatically. Default creates a rebuttable legal presumption that the facts in the claim are true (article 461). Rebuttable means evidence can overturn it, and the law lists four cases in which it does not apply, including a judge who rules that the facts are not convincing.

The belief

Once you are in default, there is nothing you can do.

The law

You can join the case at any time (article 462). What you cannot do is go back: you enter the case at whatever stage it has reached.

The belief

If you join late, the judge has to give you a new deadline to answer.

The law

Article 462 says the defaulting party takes the case as it stands. Neither that article nor the rest of the chapter on default gives a new deadline to answer.

The belief

If they don't have your address, they can't notify you of the default.

The law

Article 459 provides that, if the defaulting party has no known home address, they are notified by public notice (*edictos*).

The belief

As long as you don't answer, nothing of yours can be seized.

The law

The opposite: once default is declared, article 463 allows provisional measures against you to secure the outcome of the case.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly does being declared in default mean?

That the judge has found you did not answer the lawsuit within the deadline despite being validly served (article 458). From then on the case continues without your defence, and the law presumes the facts in the claim are true, unless proven otherwise or unless one of the cases in article 461 applies.

When does default not create a presumption that the claim is true?

Article 461 lists four cases: there are several defendants and one of them answered; the claim rests on a right the parties cannot dispose of; the law requires the claim to be proven with a document and the lawsuit did not attach it; or the judge declares, in a reasoned ruling, that the facts are not convincing.

Will I keep being notified if I am in default?

Only of some orders. Article 459 says you are served with the default declaration, the order declaring the case procedurally sound, summonses to hearings, the notice that judgment is coming, the judgment itself and the order requiring compliance. All other orders are treated as served on you the same day they were served on the other side.

Can I be in default even if I did answer the lawsuit?

Yes, in a second situation. Article 458 also declares in default a party who, after being told their lawyer has stopped representing them or their attorney-in-fact has resigned, does not appear within the time set in article 79.

I never knew about the lawsuit. Am I still in default?

Article 458 requires that the lawsuit was validly served. If you think service was not valid, that is the first thing a lawyer should look at. This page does not cover the rules for having service annulled.

The exact law

Código Procesal Civil (Texto Único Ordenado, aprobado por Resolución Ministerial N° 010-93-JUS)Artículo 458read

When default is declared

«Si transcurrido el plazo para contestar la demanda, el demandado a quien se le ha notificado válidamente ésta no lo hace, se le declarará rebelde.»