Answer to Unlawful Detainer
Fill it with Ezel. AI intake, blocker review, court-ready PDF.
Two ways to file
Pick one. If you start with the single form, you can upgrade in-app later for the difference, no double-charge.
Fill UD-105 with Ezel
AI-assisted intake, completeness review, and a court-ready PDF for UD-105 only. Print, sign in pen, file yourself.
Eviction Defense packet
Everything a tenant needs to defend an unlawful detainer in California: file the answer, prove service on the landlord, attach extra defenses, and waive the filing fee if money is tight.
What Ezel does with UD-105
Tell Ezel what's going on. The rest is automatic.
What is UD-105?
Tenant's response to an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit in California Superior Court.
What happens if you miss the deadline: If you miss it, the court can enter a default judgment against you.
How to file
- Filing fee
- First-appearance fee in a limited civil unlawful detainer case is set by Cal. Gov. Code § 70613 and the Judicial Council uniform fee schedule. The dollar amount depends on the amount demanded by the complaint: lower for claims of $10,000 or less, higher above. Recent schedules put the answer fee in the $225-$370 range; the operative number is published on courts.ca.gov and changes periodically, so verify before filing. Pro se tenants who qualify file FW-001 (fee waiver) at the same time as the UD-105.
- Filing method
- in-person, mail, efile (county-specific; many California courts accept e-filing for unlawful detainer answers, particularly in larger counties such as Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Alameda)
- Filing deadline
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1167 sets the answer deadline. After personal service of the summons and complaint, the tenant has 5 court days (excluding weekends and judicial holidays per CCP § 12 and § 12a) to file. After substituted service or mail-and-post service, the clock typically extends to 15 days, commonly summarized as '15 days after service by mail.' Missing the deadline lets the landlord request a default judgment under CCP § 1169, which produces a writ of possession and effectively ends the case. The court can extend the deadline only by noticed motion or by stipulation; missing the deadline without a court order is a hard loss in nearly every case.
- How to serve
- POS-030 (Proof of Service by First-Class Mail) is filed alongside the answer to show service on the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney of record. Per Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1015, when the plaintiff has counsel of record, service is on the attorney, NOT on the landlord directly. Service of the answer is by mail under § 1013(a); personal service is also acceptable but rare in pro se practice. The 5-day add-on for in-state mailing under § 1013(a) does not extend the answer deadline (the deadline runs from service OF the complaint on the tenant, not from service OF the answer on the landlord).
- Wet signature
- Yes, sign in pen after printing.
- Notarization
- No
- Original and copies
- One signed original to the clerk, one conformed copy returned to the tenant for their records, and one copy mailed (with POS-030) to the plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney. Practical instruction: print 3 copies, sign all 3 on the verification, file 1, mail 1, keep 1.
Common pitfalls
Two highest-leverage checks for the AI review on UD-105. (1) Deadline. The 5-court-day window is short; the review should flag any indication that the verification date is more than 5 court days after the user's reported personal-service date, since that suggests a default risk. (2) Service of the answer on opposing counsel. Mailing the answer to the landlord directly when the landlord has counsel of record is improper service under § 1015 and can be challenged. The review must check whether POS-030 is addressed to the attorney listed on the complaint when one is listed.
Don't memorize the rules. Ezel walks you through UD-105 field by field, flags what the AI review treats as a blocker, and renders a court-ready PDF.
Start filing →You'll likely also file
Other Ezel-supported forms that commonly file alongside UD-105. Each one has its own guided fill, AI review, and PDF render.
Field-by-field guidance
We've mapped every field on UD-105: what it asks, what counts as a blocker, what trips most filers up. Ezel applies all of it as you fill. Plain-English questions in, court-ready PDF out.
18 fields handled for you. You don't have to read them all.
Start for $49 →Or read all 18 fields yourself
Rule 2.111(1) requires the case caption to identify 'the attorney for the party in whose behalf the paper is presented, or of the party if he or she is appearing in person.' Without the filer's name the court cannot route service or identify the answering party.
Caption must include 'office address or, if none, residence address or mailing address (if different).' Pro se filers without an office address must list residence or mailing address.
Part of the address required by rule 2.111(1).
Part of the address required by rule 2.111(1). Defaults to CA on this form because this is a California court filing.
Part of the address required by rule 2.111(1).
Rule 2.111(1) lists 'telephone number' among the items the caption 'must' include. Disability Rights California's pro se guide also instructs tenants to print their phone number.
Rule 2.111(1) literally lists 'e-mail address' among the items the caption 'must' include, with NO explicit exception for self-represented parties. However, the Disability Rights California pro se guide instructs tenants to print 'name, address, telephone number, and email address' without indicating email is mandatory. In practice, California court clerks accept UD-105 filings from self-represented tenants with a blank email field; no reported clerk rejections on this basis. The rule appears to be drafted with attorneys in mind (also requires fax + State Bar number). For the runtime AI review: do not block or even warn on a blank email for self-represented filers.
Rule 2.111(2) requires identifying 'the party on whose behalf the paper is filed.' For self-represented tenants this is conventionally written as 'Defendant in Pro Per' or 'Defendant, in Propria Persona.'
The case caption must identify 'SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF [name]'. Unlawful detainer cases are filed in the county where the property is located (CCP § 1166).
Caption must include the court's street address.
Caption must include the court's city and ZIP.
Counties with multiple courthouses (LA, San Diego, Sacramento, Orange, Alameda, others) require the specific branch name so the clerk can route the file. Failing to specify can result in the answer being routed to the wrong branch and missing the assigned judge.
Rule 2.111(4) requires the case number on every page of every filed document. Without a case number the clerk cannot match the answer to the existing case.
Caption must include the plaintiff's name. Disability Rights California's pro se guide instructs: 'Print the Plaintiff's (Landlord's) name, exactly as it appears on the Complaint.'
Caption must include the defendant's name. In our UI this auto-cross-fills from your_name; the underlying form field is required either way.
Form text reads 'Check ONLY ONE of the next two boxes.' Box 2a (general denial) is permitted only if complaint demands $1,000 or less. Box 2b (specific denials) requires listing paragraph numbers admitted/denied. One must be selected to constitute a valid answer; an answer with neither denial mode selected leaves the complaint effectively unanswered.
Form text states 'Must be completed in all cases.' If a non-attorney UDA was paid for help, their identity, address, registration county, registration number, and expiration date must all be disclosed (BPC §§ 6411, 6412). Software like fill is not a UDA , it's a tool, not a person , so the truthful answer for self-represented users using only software is 'did not.'
The Verification block at the end of the form must be dated and signed under penalty of perjury. Without a date the verification is invalid and the answer can be stricken on motion.
Sources
- Form UD-105 (PDF, Rev. January 1, 2026)
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 1167 (answer deadline in unlawful detainer)
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 1169 (default judgment in unlawful detainer)
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 446 (verification of pleadings)
- California Government Code § 70613 (uniform civil case filing fees)
- Disability Rights California, Instructions for UD-105
- California Courts Self-Help: Eviction (tenant)
Ready to file UD-105?
You've seen what's involved. Fill UD-105 with Ezel in minutes, not hours.