ARIZONA · SHOW · EDUCATE · ROUTE
I was served in Arizona.
Twenty days — computed below with the citation attached and Rule 6(a)'s mechanics in the trace. The law of the answer is shown in the rule's own words — including the trap that silence admits — and what to file is a decision that stays yours, a licensed Arizona attorney's, or a certified legal document preparer's.
1 · The Rule 12(a)(1)(A)(i) computation for your service date
2 · What an answer is, in the rule's own words (Ariz. R. Civ. P. 8(b))
Admit
In responding to a pleading, a party must state in short and plain terms its defenses to each claim and admit or deny the allegations asserted against it (8(b)(1)).
Deny
A denial must fairly respond to the substance of the allegation; a good-faith partial denial admits the true part and denies the rest (8(b)(2), (4)).
Lacking knowledge
A party who lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the truth of an allegation must so state — and the statement has the effect of a denial (8(b)(5)).
The general denial is CONDITIONAL in Arizona: A party who intends in good faith to deny ALL the allegations of a pleading — including the jurisdictional grounds — may do so by a general denial subject to the obligations provided in Rule 11(a). A party who does not intend to deny everything must deny specifically, or generally deny all except what is specifically admitted (8(b)(3)).
Silence admits: An allegation — other than one relating to the amount of damages — is ADMITTED if a responsive pleading is required and the allegation is not denied (8(b)(6)). Silence admits.
3 · Drafting is routed — here is why, honestly
Document preparation for another person in Arizona is a CERTIFIED activity: Rule 31.3 exempts certified legal document preparers acting in compliance with ACJA § 7-208, and the Supreme Court's program requires certification of individuals and businesses preparing documents without attorney supervision. That certification has not been made for this platform — so this surface shows the law and the clocks, and routes the drafting itself to a licensed Arizona attorney or a certified LDP. The official self-service forms are free and public: azcourts.gov/selfservicecenter.
4 · The options the law gives you — shown, then routed
The Rule 12(b) motion menu
Jurisdiction, venue, process, service, failure to state a claim, and the rest may be raised by motion — and Arizona requires a good-faith consultation certificate before certain Rule 12 motions (Rule 12(i)). Threshold defenses omitted from the first response can be waived (Rule 12(h)).
Ariz. R. Civ. P. 12(b), (h), (i)
Affirmative defenses
Rule 8(c)'s list — accord and satisfaction, arbitration and award, assumption of risk, and the rest — must be affirmatively stated in the response or risk waiver.
Ariz. R. Civ. P. 8(c)
Counterclaims and crossclaims
A compulsory counterclaim arising from the same transaction may be lost if not brought now.
Ariz. R. Civ. P. 13
An extension of time
The court may extend for good cause — before expiry with or without motion; after expiry on excusable neglect (Rule 6(b)). Get extensions in writing.
Ariz. R. Civ. P. 6(b)
Eviction cases are different
If your summons is an EVICTION summons, the RPEA speed track controls — the appearance date on the summons is the clock, measured in days, and this 20-day flow does not apply.
Ariz. R. P. Evict. Actions 5, 11
The tier your case lands in
Once at issue, discovery is capped by the Rule 26.2 tier (deemed by damages claimed) — the tier calculator shows the arithmetic and the reassignment paths.
Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26.2
Deciding among these is legal judgment. TrialVector Arizona →
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