Wyoming Eviction Process: A 3-Day Notice to Quit, a Trial 3 to 12 Days After Service, and a 48-Hour Window to Stay It on Appeal

A Wyoming eviction is a circuit court case called forcible entry and detainer [1][2]. It moves fast: a 3-day written notice to leave [3], a trial set so that the tenant is served 3 to 12 days ahead [4], and, if the landlord wins, a writ the sheriff carries out within 2 days of receiving it, Sundays excepted, unless the tenant appeals [8].

Step 1: The notice to quit

Wyoming lets a landlord bring an eviction case against a tenant who stays after the lease ends, who hasn’t paid rent three days after it’s due, or who breaks the renter duties in the state’s residential rental law, such as keeping the unit clean and safe, staying current on payments and not damaging the property or disturbing neighbors [2][10][11].

Before filing, the landlord has to serve a written notice telling the tenant to leave, at least three days before the case starts [3]. The notice is served by handing it to the tenant, or by leaving it at the tenant’s home or business if the tenant can’t be found [3]. The Wyoming Judicial Branch calls this a 72-hour notice and says that if you do what the notice asks by the deadline, such as paying the rent or moving out, the landlord can’t evict you [12].

Step 2: The court case

The landlord files in circuit court [1][12]. The filing fee for a civil case there is a $20 filing fee, a $40 court automation fee and a $10 indigent civil legal services fee [14].

The summons states the reason for the case and the time and place of trial, and it has to be served no fewer than 3 and no more than 12 days before the trial date [4]. You don’t have to file a written answer to take part fully in the trial [4][5], but you can, and the Judicial Branch says an answer is where you can ask for a jury [12]. There’s no fee to file the answer, though a jury fee applies unless you get it waived [12].

If you don’t show up, the court still tries the case, and the landlord has to prove the complaint or it’s dismissed [15]. If you need more time, a continuance for the tenant can’t be longer than two days unless you post a bond, approved by the court, covering rent that comes due and costs if you lose [6].

Repairs as a defense

Wyoming doesn’t let tenants simply stop paying rent over repairs. The Judicial Branch says a bad-conditions defense works only if you followed the steps in the law [12]. Those steps start with being current on all payments and giving the landlord a written notice of the problem and the fix you want, sent by certified mail or served like a notice to quit [16]. If the landlord doesn’t respond or fix it in a reasonable time, you can serve a second notice to repair and then file your own case in circuit court [17].

Step 3: Judgment and the writ of restitution

If the landlord wins, the judgment gives the landlord the property back and costs [7]. In a case for unpaid rent, the court also finds how much rent is due and can enter judgment for that rent, plus costs and attorney’s fees if the lease allows them [7].

At the landlord’s request, the court issues a writ of restitution [18]. Unless the tenant appeals, the officer carries it out within two days after receiving it, Sundays excepted, by putting the landlord back in possession [8]. If the tenant doesn’t leave as the court ordered, the sheriff can remove the tenant’s belongings and keep the tenant from coming back in without another court order [13].

Appeals

An appeal doesn’t stop the eviction on its own. To stay it, the tenant has to file a bond with two or more sureties approved by the court within 48 hours after judgment, Sundays excepted, covering costs and the landlord’s damages while the appeal is pending [9]. In a case for unpaid rent, the tenant also has to deposit the rent in the judgment with the court, and keep depositing rent as it comes due; missing a deposit lets the appeals court affirm the judgment [19].

Deposits and belongings left behind

• Nonrefundable deposits: the lease has to say whether any part of a deposit is nonrefundable, and you have to get written notice of that when you pay it [20].
• Returning the deposit: after the lease ends, the landlord can keep money for unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, and cleaning [21]. The rest, with an itemized list of deductions, is due within 30 days after the lease ends or 15 days after the landlord gets your new address, whichever is later, with 30 more days if there’s damage [21]. A landlord who unreasonably fails to do this can be made to return the full deposit plus court costs [21].
• Belongings: after the tenancy ends, a landlord can throw out trash and things that are hazardous, perishable or worthless [22]. For valuable property, the landlord has to give written notice, and you have seven days to claim it in writing, then seven more days to pick it up; storage costs have to be paid first [22].

Leaving because of domestic violence

Under the Wyoming Safe Homes Act, a tenant who leaves because of a credible, imminent threat of domestic abuse or sexual violence at the home, shown by medical, court or police evidence, and who gives the landlord seven days’ written notice, has a defense against owing rent for the time after moving out [23].

Where to get help

• Legal Aid of Wyoming: a statewide hotline at 1-877-432-9955 for people who qualify [12].
• A landlord-tenant attorney: worth a call as soon as you get court papers, because the trial can be less than two weeks away [4].