MyCivilHelp — Sued for a debt in Ohio? Answer within 28 days of service.

A woman in a headscarf at a small table at night under a lamp, court papers in front of her, looking up at a calendar — Most people find out how long they had after it's gone. Ohio Civil Rule 12(A)(1): twenty-eight days after service of the summons and complaint.

Your deadline

How long do you actually have?

Most people guess. Guessing is how deadlines get missed. Enter the day the papers were delivered to your address — by certified mail, the date on the signed receipt, which the clerk has — even if someone else at your address signed for it.

The day the summons was delivered — the certified-mail date, even if someone else signed

Have you been served?

Yes, I was served Not served yet

—pick a date

Your deadline appears here, with the exact day of the week.

An estimate from the rules (Civil Rule 6(A): the day of service is not counted, every day after it is, and a last day on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next day that is not), not legal advice. If certified mail was refused or not claimed and the papers came again by ordinary mail, your answer date is the one the clerk wrote on the summons. It does not account for an extension a judge granted. Always confirm your own date with the court — we'll help you check, free.

The cost of doing nothing

What silence costs.

Ohio's municipal and county courts took 302,324 new contract cases in 2025, up from 182,908 in 2023.¹ In Hamilton County (Cincinnati), the one Ohio county in Princeton's Debt Collection Tracker, 85.9% of 19,512 debt lawsuits ended in a default judgment.²

How much are they suing you for? — the amount in the complaint

Doing nothing vs. answering

What they ask the court to order you to pay—

Your Answer, prepared by us$149

A man in a charcoal overcoat on the sandstone steps of a columned courthouse, holding a folder of documents, calm and confident — Debt buyers and banks sue in Ohio's municipal courts for claims up to $15,000. The rules that protect you are written down, and they don't change because you don't have a lawyer.

Your rights

What the law gives you.

A lawsuit is a claim, not a verdict. Here is what Ohio's rules ask of each side.

What the rules ask of the plaintiff

Attach a copy of the account or written instrument it sues on, or state in the complaint the reason it is not attached (Civ.R. 10(D)(1))
Set out its claim in numbered paragraphs, which your Answer responds to one by one (Civ.R. 10(B))
Serve you within six months of filing, unless it shows good cause (Civ.R. 4(E))
Apply to the court for any default judgment — with seven days' written notice of the hearing once you have appeared (Civ.R. 55(A))

If a debt buyer is suing you: the FTC found debt buyers paid about four cents per dollar of face value (2013).

Your job

Serve and file a written Answer within 28 days of being served (Civ.R. 12(A)(1), 5(D))
Write your defenses into the Answer, and attend every hearing the court sets (Civ.R. 8(C))

We prepare it. You sign it, send a copy to the plaintiff's lawyer, and file it with the clerk.

A default has to be asked for.With no Answer on file, the plaintiff applies to the court for a default judgment. Once you have appeared in the case, you get written notice at least seven days before the hearing on it.Ohio Civ.R. 55(A)

Answer what they actually said.Your Answer admits, denies, or says you don't know, paragraph by paragraph — and saying you don't know has the effect of a denial.Ohio Civ.R. 8(B)

Silence is treated as agreement.Whatever you don't deny is taken as admitted — everything except the amount of damage. That is the whole reason an Answer matters.Ohio Civ.R. 8(D)

The account must be attached.A claim on an account or written instrument has to attach a copy of it to the complaint, or say why it is not attached.Ohio Civ.R. 10(D)(1)

Old debt has a time limit.A consumer debt must be sued on within six years, counted from 30 days after the last charge or payment. A time limit is a defense that has to be written into your Answer.R.C. 2305.07(C) · Ohio Civ.R. 8(C)

Most of your pay stays yours.Even after a judgment, at least 75% of your disposable earnings is exempt from garnishment. To ask for a hearing, your written request must reach the clerk within five business days after you receive the garnishment notice.R.C. 2329.66(A)(13) · 2716.06(C)

Some money and property can't be touched.Social Security and veterans' benefits are protected by federal law, and Ohio exempts other money and property from collection on a judgment.42 U.S.C. §407 · 38 U.S.C. §5301 · R.C. 2329.66

Debt collectors have rules too.Federal law bars debt collectors from false statements and threats, and from calls before 8 am or after 9 pm.15 U.S.C. §1692c, e

Service objections come first.An objection to how the papers were served is lost if it is left out of your Answer or a first motion.Ohio Civ.R. 12(H)(1)

If a debt buyer is suing.The Federal Trade Commission's study of the industry found debt buyers paid about 4 cents per dollar of face value. (Many Ohio suits are brought by the original bank or lender instead.)FTC, 2013

This is information about how Ohio's rules work, in plain English. It is not advice about what you should do in your case. We prepare the documents you choose to file, and we'll tell you when we think a lawyer should look at yours.

The package

What we prepare, and how it works.

Text us your case numberWe confirm the case in the public record and text you back, usually the same day.

We read your court recordCourt, case number, plaintiff, and the filings so far. Then we ask you the few questions only you can answer — when the papers were delivered to your address (the clerk has the signed receipt), and a photo of the complaint you received.

You review it, then signEverything is prepared for your case. Read it on your phone and tell us what to change; then print it and sign it in ink, because the clerk takes a paper original.

You file itSend a copy to the plaintiff's lawyer by mail, or by e-mail to the address the lawyer listed on the complaint, and file the signed original with the clerk the same day. Neither court's cost schedule lists a fee for filing an Answer. We stay on text and email until it's in.

Page one of a sample Ohio Answer prepared by MyCivilHelp for a fictitious defendant, watermarked SAMPLE — Page one of a sample Ohio Answer from our builder, for a fictitious defendant. Yours carries your court, your case number, and the choices you make.

$149flat, for the whole package

Your written AnswerResponds to each numbered paragraph of the complaint at your direction, with the defenses you choose, in the form Ohio's rules require.
Certificate of serviceThe proof of service Ohio's rules require at the end of the Answer, naming how the plaintiff's lawyer got the copy.
Your deadline, counted28 days from the day you were served, counted the way the rules count, at the top of your instructions.
Filing instructionsServe the plaintiff's lawyer and file with the clerk, step by step.
What happens nextThe scheduling order, mediation in Columbus, requests for admission and a summary-judgment motion (28 days each) — what each one means.
Questions answered by text and emailUntil it's filed, and after.

You print the Answer and sign it in ink: the clerk takes the paper original.

Start with your case number

You review it, you sign it, you file it, you stay in control. We don't give legal advice or promise an outcome — we prepare the documents you choose to file, and we get the details right.

About us

Who we are — and who we aren't.

MyCivilHelp is the Indiana, Connecticut, Florida and Ohio service of Tx Civil Help Inc, which has prepared debt-defense documents for people sued by debt buyers since 2025. We are not a law firm and we will never pretend to be one.

Founder & software developer

Uma Maheshwar Reddy Thipparthi

Uma founded Tx Civil Help in 2025 after seeing how routinely people lose debt cases by default: beaten by a missed deadline rather than by the facts. The company was built around a single idea: the paperwork that protects you shouldn't cost more than the debt you're being sued over.

He wrote the software that reads the public docket, counts the deadline and prepares each package, and he sets how we operate: flat, published pricing instead of hourly billing, plain English instead of legalese, and a written reply to every person who contacts us, whether or not they ever become a client.

Uma is not an attorney, and we do not give legal advice. We prepare court documents at your direction.

View founder profile on LinkedIn

We'd rather you pick the right option than the one that pays us. Here is every route, including the free ones.

Do nothingEverythingA default judgment, and Ohio allows wage and bank garnishment after it. In Hamilton County, 85.9% of 19,512 debt lawsuits ended in a default judgment.

Hire an attorneyVariesThe strongest option if your case is large or complicated — and we'll tell you when we think it is.

Online form generatorVariesYou answer a questionnaire and software fills a template. Reading the record and getting the details right are on you.

Do it yourselfFreeAbsolutely possible: you draft the Answer yourself and file it with the clerk. Ohio Legal Help has a debt-collection answer template; legal aid may help if you qualify.

MyCivilHelp$149We read your actual court record, prepare the complete package for your case, and answer your questions by text and email until it's filed.

How did you know I was sued?

Ohio court filings are public record. The municipal court clerks publish their civil cases online — the same records you can search yourself on the clerk's site, which is exactly why we hand you the case number and ask you to check.

What if I haven't been served yet?

Then you're in the best position of anyone reading this. Your 28 days don't start until you're served — but if anyone at your address signed for a certified letter from the court, you may already be served; ask the clerk. If you haven't been, you can have the Answer ready and file it the moment the clock starts.

Is $149 really the whole price?

Yes — that is our fee, not the debt. No hourly billing, no percentage, no charge for questions. Neither the Columbus nor the Dayton municipal court's cost schedule lists a fee for filing an Answer.

What if I actually owe the money?

Plenty of people do. An Answer is how your side goes into the court's file: under Ohio's rules, a statement in the complaint that you do not deny is taken as admitted, except the amount (Civ.R. 8(D)). What your Answer says — what you admit and what you deny — is your choice, and we prepare the Answer you choose to file.

It also keeps you in the case. With nothing on file, the plaintiff can apply for a default judgment.

I already have a judgment against me. Is it over?

Not necessarily. Ohio's Civil Rule 60(B) lets a person ask the court to set a judgment aside in certain situations. The motion must be made within a reasonable time, and for mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect not more than one year after the judgment. Whether anything applies depends on the record. Text us the case number and we'll tell you what the court file shows, at no charge, and whether we think a lawyer should look at it.

Who is behind MyCivilHelp?

Tx Civil Help Inc, a Texas corporation founded in 2025 by Uma Maheshwar Reddy Thipparthi, who runs it today. You can reach us at [email protected] or by text at (888) 396-7107. Texas is where we started; Indiana, Connecticut, Florida and Ohio are where we work next.

Before you trust us

Worried this is a scam? Good. Check.

A text about a lawsuit from a company you've never heard of should make you suspicious. Every item below is a record we don't control. Check them, then decide.

The company is on the public record

Tx Civil Help Inc is a Texas corporation, Secretary of State file no. 806499657, at 5900 Balcones Dr #13025, Austin, TX 78731. Search the name on the Texas Comptroller's own site.

Search the Texas Comptroller

A named owner you can look up

Uma Maheshwar Reddy Thipparthi founded the company in 2025 and runs it today. His professional profile is public, and the company he runs is the one that will be preparing your documents.

Uma on LinkedIn

Your case is on the clerk's site

We only know what the court published. Look your case number up at the top of this page, then check it yourself on the court clerk's site: fcmcclerk.com for Columbus, the Clerk of Court's Public Access for Dayton.

Open the Columbus clerk Open the Dayton clerk

Payment goes through Stripe

Card details never come to us. The receipt says Tx Civil Help Inc, the charge is $149, once, and there is no subscription. The Texas site takes payment the same way.

See the Texas site

What we will never ask forYour Social Security number, your bank login, or a card number by text or email. And we never ask you to pay before you've checked your case on the court clerk's site.

How we reach youTexts come from (888) 396-7107 and email from [email protected]. We don't phone you; anything else isn't us. Text us before you decide anything. Verifying costs nothing.

Step-by-step instructions for the clerks' sites, and a case-number lookup, are on the verify page.

Text message updates

Get case updates by text

Give us your mobile number and we'll text you about your case — deadline reminders, answers to your questions, and confirmation when your documents are ready. This is opt-in: we only text people who ask us to.

SMS terms & consent

How you opt in. We send text messages only to people who have asked us to: by submitting the form on this page, by texting us first, or by giving us your mobile number when you contact us by email or through this site. We do not send text messages to people who have not opted in.

What we send. Case notifications, deadline reminders, replies to your questions, and confirmation when your documents are ready. Message frequency varies by your case. Message and data rates may apply.

How to stop. Reply STOP to any message and we stop immediately and permanently. Reply HELP for help, or email [email protected]. You can also opt out at any time by emailing us.

Your privacy. We never sell, rent, or share your mobile number with third parties, and we do not share it for marketing purposes. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

Questions: [email protected] · MyCivilHelp is a service of Tx Civil Help Inc, 5900 Balcones Dr #13025, Austin, TX 78731.

Sued by a debt collector in Ohio? The clock starts at service.

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