How does an Acknowledgment of Service affect the defence deadline?

• A. The deadline to file a defence is extended to 28 days from service of the AOS
• B. The deadline to file a defence is unchanged
• C. The defence deadline is extended to 60 days from issue
• D. The defence deadline is shortened to 7 days from service

Answer: (A)

An Acknowledgment of Service changes when you must respond. When the AOS is served, the defendant gains extra time to prepare a defence. Specifically, the defence deadline becomes 28 days from the date the Acknowledgment of Service is served. If no AOS is filed, the defence deadline would be 14 days from service of the claim form, so the AOS extends the period rather than leaving it unchanged or shortening it. This is why extending to 28 days from the service of the AOS is the correct description. The other options mismatches the standard timing rule: they imply no change, a much longer period from issue, or a shorter period from service, which don’t reflect how AOS affects timings.