If a defendant served with a Toronto small claim files no Defence within 20 days, the plaintiff can have them noted in default. For claims in a fixed amount — debts, invoices, loans — the clerk can then sign default judgment without a hearing; other claims require an assessment of damages. Default judgments are fully enforceable but not invincible: a defendant can move to set one aside by acting promptly, explaining the failure to defend (defective service is the classic), and showing an arguable defence. Speed determines outcomes on both sides of the default line.
- Default starts at day 21: no Defence within 20 days of service lets the plaintiff note the defendant in default.
- For fixed-sum claims (debts, invoices), the clerk signs judgment without a hearing; other damages get assessed.
- Default judgment rests entirely on valid service — defective service voids everything built on it.
- A noted defendant loses notice rights: the case proceeds without them from that point.
- Set-asides run on a triad: prompt motion, explained default, arguable defence — with speed weighted heaviest.
- Enforcement can start immediately — and can be stayed pending a genuine set-aside motion.
How the Default Machinery Works
The Small Claims Rules run on a simple bargain: a served defendant gets 20 days to file a Defence, and a defendant who ignores the bargain loses the right to participate. The machinery has two distinct steps people constantly conflate — noting in default (the gate) and default judgment (the prize) — and everything in both steps stands on one foundation: proper service, proven by affidavit. Toronto's volume makes defaults common: process servers meet evasive defendants, claims sit unread in mailrooms, and companies dissolve mid-dispute. Whether you are the plaintiff working the machinery or the defendant caught in it, the rules reward the same thing: procedural precision, fast. (For the deadline arithmetic across the whole case, the Small Claims deadline calculator computes every date from your service date.)
Step One: Noting in Default
Once 20 days pass from valid service with no Defence filed, the plaintiff requests that the clerk note the defendant in default. Prerequisites: the claim was issued, the Affidavit of Service is in the court file (no proof, no noting — the filing discipline our Toronto filing guide drills), and the deadline has genuinely expired. The consequences for the defendant are immediate and underappreciated: a noted defendant is no longer entitled to notice of steps in the proceeding — the case moves on without them — and cannot file a Defence without the noting being set aside. Practice note for plaintiffs: request the noting promptly at day 21; sitting on ripe defaults invites late Defences that complicate an otherwise clean file.
One timing subtlety cuts against complacent plaintiffs: the 20-day deadline is not a trapdoor that springs automatically. A defendant can file a Defence on day 25 or day 40 and the clerk will accept it — so long as the noting in default has not yet been entered. The deadline creates the plaintiff's right to close the door; it does not close the door itself. That is precisely why the day-21 request matters: the plaintiff who requests noting the morning the deadline expires converts the defendant's lateness into a locked gate, while the plaintiff who waits three weeks often finds a late Defence in the file and the default opportunity gone — with nothing to show for the delay.
Step Two: Getting the Judgment
What happens next depends on the claim's nature. For a liquidated claim — a debt or fixed sum: the unpaid invoice, the bounced cheque, the loan — the plaintiff files the default judgment request and the clerk signs judgment administratively: principal, prejudgment interest (claimed in the pleading and computed to date — the prejudgment interest calculator produces the figure), and fixed costs, with no hearing and no judge. This clerk's pathway is why properly pleaded fixed-sum claims are the fastest recoveries in the building — judgment can issue within weeks of the missed deadline. The craft input is upstream, in the pleading: a claim drafted as a clean liquidated demand rides the administrative rail; a muddled one gets bounced to a judge.
Unliquidated Claims: The Assessment
Claims for unliquidated damages — the botched renovation, the damaged property, anything requiring evaluation — cannot be signed by the clerk. Liability is established by the default, but quantum must be assessed: by motion in writing supported by affidavit evidence, or at an assessment hearing before a judge. The standard trips plaintiffs who assume default means automatic full recovery: the judge assesses damages on evidence — quotes, invoices, photographs, the same proof a trial would demand (our evidence guide applies in full) — and awards what is proven, not what was pleaded. Prepare the assessment like a small trial and the default converts cleanly; arrive with round numbers and the award shrinks to match.
Choosing between the written motion and the oral hearing is mostly a question of what your evidence looks like on paper. Damages that reduce to documents — three repair quotes, the receipts for what you actually spent, photographs with dates — assess cleanly in writing: a tight affidavit exhibiting each document, a one-page damages schedule, and interest computed to date will usually produce an order without anyone appearing. Damages that need explaining — why the cheaper quote wasn't realistic, how the lost bookings were calculated — fare better at an oral assessment where the judge can ask and you can answer. Either way, over-prove rather than round up: assessments are where inflated default claims quietly deflate, and a plaintiff who claims $30,000 but documents $19,000 will collect a judgment for $19,000 — after a delay the padding caused.
Enforcing a Default Judgment
A default judgment is a judgment, full stop: it accrues postjudgment interest, supports garnishment of wages and bank accounts, debtor examinations, and writs — the entire enforcement arsenal our Toronto enforcement guide details. Plaintiffs should enforce promptly but keep the file forensically clean: because default judgments are the most set-aside-able judgments, the affidavit of service and every procedural step will be re-examined if the defendant surfaces. Defendants, symmetrically, most often discover defaults through enforcement — the garnished pay, the frozen account — which brings us to the rescue procedure.
Setting Aside: The Defendant's Rescue
Default judgments are enforceable, not sacred. A defendant may move to set aside the noting and judgment, and Toronto deputy judges decide the motion on the settled triad: (1) promptness — did the defendant move as soon as they learned of the default? (2) explanation — a reasonable excuse for not defending: never served, service at an old address, serious illness, reasonable confusion — with defective service the categorical winner, since a claim never properly served produces a judgment built on nothing; and (3) an arguable defence — not proof of winning, but a genuine issue worth trying, shown with some evidence. The factors interact: overwhelming strength on one can offset weakness on another, but delay poisons everything — a defendant who learned of the judgment in March and moved in September has usually answered the motion against themselves. Where the motion is genuine, the court can stay enforcement pending its hearing — the immediate practical relief that unfreezes the account while the fight is had.
The Set-Aside Motion in Practice
The working parts: a notice of motion with a supporting affidavit that tells the whole story with exhibits — when and how you learned of the judgment (the garnishment notice, dated), why no Defence was filed (the lease showing you had moved before “service”; the hospital records), and the defence itself, attached as a draft Defence with its documentary support (the drafting principles from our defendant's playbook apply). Serve the plaintiff; attend the motion; expect terms if you succeed — set-asides commonly come with conditions: the Defence filed within days, sometimes payment of the plaintiff's thrown-away costs, occasionally money paid into court where the defence looks thin. Terms are victory — the case returns to the ordinary track (conference, maybe trial), and the garnishment stops. Toronto reality check: these motions are genuinely winnable — deputy judges prefer merits to defaults — but they are won on affidavit quality and speed, which is precisely where a Small Claims lawyer retained the week you learn beats one retained the month after.
Plaintiff's Guide: Default-Proofing Your File
Since set-aside motions re-litigate your procedure, build defaults that survive them: serve impeccably — personal service by a professional process server with a detailed affidavit is the gold standard; current-address diligence (a corporate profile search for companies, per our business-suing guide; a quick verification for individuals) beats serving the address from a three-year-old invoice; plead liquidated amounts as liquidated so the clerk's pathway stays open; note default promptly and enforce without theatrical delay — but keep expectations calibrated: a percentage of defaults will come back via set-aside, and the properly built file loses nothing when they do — the case simply proceeds on the merits with the defendant now paying attention (and often paying costs). The default machinery, used precisely, is the court's gift to disciplined plaintiffs: the fastest, cheapest judgment available — and the first collections conversation, via the wage garnishment calculator, starts the same week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Judgment obtained when a served defendant files no Defence within 20 days: the defendant is noted in default, and for fixed-sum claims (debts, invoices, loans) the clerk signs judgment administratively — no hearing required. Claims needing damage evaluation get an assessment before a judge instead.
For a properly pleaded liquidated claim with clean proof of service: the defendant can be noted in default at day 21 after service, and the clerk's judgment can follow within weeks. It is the fastest recovery pathway in the court — entirely dependent on procedural precision upstream.
The clerk's formal recording that the defendant failed to defend in time. From noting, the defendant loses the right to notice of further steps and cannot file a Defence without the noting being set aside. It is the gate between the missed deadline and the judgment.
For fixed sums, the clerk signs judgment for the pleaded debt plus claimed interest and fixed costs. For unliquidated damages, no: liability is established but quantum is assessed on evidence — quotes, invoices, photos — and judges award what is proven. Round numbers without support get cut at assessments just as they would at trial.
Act the same week: get the court file (claim, affidavit of service, judgment), preserve proof of when and how you learned, and retain counsel for a set-aside motion. Speed is the heaviest factor on the motion, and enforcement can often be stayed pending its hearing — which stops garnishments while you fight.
The triad: you moved promptly after learning of the default; you have a reasonable explanation for not defending (defective service, wrong address, illness); and you have an arguable defence on the merits, shown through a draft Defence with some supporting evidence. Strength on one factor can offset weakness on another — except delay, which damages everything.
It is the strongest set-aside ground of all: a judgment built on defective service stands on nothing, and courts set such judgments aside almost as of right. The affidavit of service will be scrutinized against your evidence (the lease showing you'd moved, the wrong physical description). Move immediately regardless — promptness still frames the motion.
Yes — a default judgment is fully enforceable: wage and bank garnishment, debtor examinations, and writs are all available immediately. This is why most defendants discover defaults through enforcement, and why the set-aside motion (with a stay of enforcement) is urgent business, not someday business.
It rejoins the ordinary track: the Defence is filed (usually on tight terms), the settlement conference is scheduled, and the merits get decided normally. Set-asides commonly come with conditions — costs thrown away, deadlines, occasionally payment into court — and the enforcement already taken is unwound per the order.
Impeccable service (professional process server, detailed affidavit, current-address diligence), liquidated pleading that keeps the clerk's pathway open, prompt noting and enforcement, and a clean paper trail. A percentage of defaults return via set-aside regardless — the well-built file simply proceeds on the merits, often with costs, having lost nothing.