To vacate a court order, you file a motion in the same court that issued it, asking the judge to set the judgment aside because something was fundamentally wrong with how it was entered. This is not an appeal. Knowing how to vacate a court order starts with picking a recognized legal ground, meeting the filing deadline for that ground, and putting together a motion that gives the judge specific facts to work with. In federal court, the framework lives in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60, and most states follow a similar structure with their own wording and timelines.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order
Grounds That Qualify for Relief
Courts do not vacate orders because the losing party is unhappy. You need a reason that goes to the legitimacy of the judgment itself. Federal Rule 60(b) recognizes six categories, and state rules generally track them.
- Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. You missed a court date because of a medical emergency, never received proper notice of the lawsuit, or a clerical mix-up caused you to respond to the wrong deadline. This is the most common ground for overturning default judgments.
- Newly discovered evidence that existed at the time of trial but could not have been uncovered through reasonable effort. The evidence has to be significant enough that it likely would have changed the outcome.
- Fraud or misconduct by the opposing party. The other side lied, withheld evidence, or otherwise manipulated the proceedings.
- The judgment is void. The court lacked legal authority to enter the order, most often because it never had jurisdiction over you due to defective service.
- The judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged.
- Any other reason that justifies relief. Courts read this catch-all narrowly, and it will not rescue a case that simply missed one of the specific categories.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order
Pick the strongest ground you have and build the motion around it. Judges reading these motions want a focused argument, not a scattershot list.
Deadlines You Cannot Miss
Every motion to vacate must be filed within a “reasonable time” after the judgment. What counts as reasonable turns on the circumstances, and courts grow skeptical of delays past a few months without a solid explanation.
Three grounds carry a hard one-year cap measured from the date judgment was entered: mistake or excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, and fraud by the opposing party. Miss that window and the court will not consider your motion on those grounds no matter how strong your facts are.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order
Motions arguing the judgment is void were long thought to face no fixed deadline beyond “reasonable time.” In early 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that void-judgment challenges under Rule 60(b)(4) are subject to the same reasonable-time requirement as every other Rule 60(b) motion. Waiting years to raise a jurisdictional defect will likely doom the motion even when the defect was real.
State deadlines can look very different from the federal rules. Some states impose a six-month limit for excusable neglect. Others allow up to two years when service was defective. Verify the deadline in the jurisdiction where the judgment was entered before you draft anything.
Motion to Vacate or Appeal?
People confuse these two remedies, and choosing the wrong one wastes time you may not have. A motion to vacate goes back to the same judge and asks that judge to erase the judgment because something was wrong with the process. An appeal goes to a higher court and argues the lower court misapplied the law or misread the evidence already in the record.
The practical difference matters. A granted motion to vacate reopens the case, letting you present your side. An appeal generally limits the reviewing court to the existing record, with no new evidence and no retrial of the facts. If your problem is that you never got to present your case at all, a motion to vacate is usually the right tool. If you had a full trial and think the judge got the law wrong, appeal.
Here is the trap. Filing a Rule 60(b) motion does not automatically extend your deadline to appeal. Under the federal appellate rules, a Rule 60 motion pauses the appeal clock only if you file it within 28 days of judgment, the same window that applies to a Rule 59 motion.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right, When Taken File your motion to vacate later than that and the appeal deadline keeps running on its own track. Miss both and you may have no remedy at all. When in doubt, file a protective notice of appeal while the motion to vacate is pending.
What Goes Into the Motion
A motion to vacate has several parts, and courts are unforgiving about missing pieces.
The Motion Document
Open with a caption that matches the original case: case number, court name, party names. Title the document clearly, something like “Motion for Relief from Judgment Under Rule 60(b)” or whatever your jurisdiction requires. The body identifies the specific judgment you want vacated by date and docket entry, states the legal ground you are invoking, and briefly explains why you qualify.
The Supporting Affidavit or Declaration
This is where the motion lives or dies. The affidavit is a sworn statement, signed under penalty of perjury, laying out the facts. Arguing excusable neglect? Explain exactly what happened: dates, circumstances, why you could not have responded sooner. Relying on newly discovered evidence? Describe what it is, when you found it, and why it was not available before. Vague or conclusory statements sink the motion. Courts want specific, verifiable facts.
Whether the affidavit must be notarized depends on the jurisdiction. Federal courts and many state courts accept unsworn declarations signed under penalty of perjury. Some state courts still require a notary. Check the local rules before filing so a technical defect does not get your motion bounced.
Meritorious Defense Statement
If you are trying to vacate a default judgment, courts almost universally require a “meritorious defense,” meaning a legitimate reason you should win, or at least not lose, if the case is reopened. This is not a full trial brief. You need to show your defense is more than a delay tactic. In a debt collection default, for instance, your meritorious defense might be that you already paid the debt, the statute of limitations has expired, or you dispute the amount owed. The standard for default judgments comes from Rule 55(c), which lets the court set aside a default judgment under the Rule 60(b) framework.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment
Proposed Order
Most courts expect a proposed order for the judge to sign if the motion is granted. Spell out the relief: vacating the judgment, reopening the case, setting a new schedule. Keep it simple.
Filing and Serving
File the motion with the clerk of the court that entered the original judgment. Federal courts use CM/ECF, and electronic filing is mandatory in nearly all federal cases. Most state courts have their own e-filing platforms, though some still accept paper filings at the counter. The clerk’s office can point you to instructions if the system is new to you.
Filing fees vary. If you cannot afford the fee, apply for a fee waiver by showing financial hardship. Federal courts allow parties to proceed “in forma pauperis” on a showing of inability to pay, and most state courts offer a similar process.
After filing, serve the opposing party with a copy of the motion and every supporting document. Service rules differ. Some jurisdictions require personal delivery by a process server or sheriff’s deputy. Others allow certified mail or electronic service through the court’s filing system when the opposing party is registered. However you serve, file a proof of service documenting when and how the other side received the papers.
Stopping Collection While the Motion Is Pending
Filing a motion to vacate does not automatically stop the other side from collecting. If a money judgment is against you, the winning party can pursue wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens while your motion sits on the judge’s desk. This catches people off guard constantly.
Federal judgments carry an automatic 30-day stay on enforcement after entry. Once that closes, enforcement can begin unless you take further steps. You can ask the court for a stay pending the outcome of your motion, or post a bond or other security to get a stay automatically. If the judgment is for a specific dollar amount, the bond usually has to cover the full judgment plus estimated interest and costs.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 62 – Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment
If enforcement is already active, say a garnishment order is in place, include a request for an emergency stay in your motion to vacate or file a separate motion for a temporary restraining order. Spell out the irreparable harm you will suffer if collection continues while the court reviews the underlying judgment.
The Hearing
Some courts decide motions to vacate on the written submissions alone. Others set a hearing where both sides argue in person. If you get a hearing, treat it like any court appearance: arrive early, bring copies of everything you filed, and be ready to answer the judge’s questions about your affidavit.
The judge’s focus is whether you have met the legal standard for the ground you raised. For excusable neglect, expect questions about why you did not respond sooner and what you have done since learning about the judgment. For fraud, be ready to point to specific evidence of the other side’s misconduct. Judges weigh your argument against the principle that court decisions should be final, so your explanation needs to justify undoing a completed case.
After the Ruling
If the Court Grants the Motion
The original judgment is wiped out, and the case typically reverts to whatever stage it was at before the judgment was entered. For a vacated default, you will usually need to file an answer to the original complaint within a deadline the court sets, and the case proceeds as if the default never happened. For other vacated judgments, the court may order a new trial or new hearing on the merits. The slate is not fully clean: the other side’s claims are still alive, and you now have to defend against them on the substance.
If the Court Denies the Motion
A denial is not necessarily the end. You can appeal the denial, but the window is short, often 30 days from the date of the order. Appellate courts review a denial for abuse of discretion, a difficult standard that requires showing the trial court’s decision was so unreasonable no fair-minded judge could have reached it.
If you still have time to file a direct appeal of the underlying judgment, that option remains. Remember the deadline interaction: a Rule 60(b) motion filed more than 28 days after judgment does not pause the appeal clock in federal court.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right, When Taken Once both the motion and the appeal deadline have passed, the judgment stands.