The official term for an eviction lawsuit in Oklahoma is a Forcible Entry and Detainer action. The eviction process can differ from county to county, but they more or less are the same:
This article details a summary for a landlord to refer to when evicting a tenant. Alternatively, a landlord can ask an attorney for legal help if they have any questions on landlord-tenant rights. There may be free legal services offered at the local justice court.
Get the quintessential guide to eviction laws on the go from DoorLoop’s “Landlord’s Guide” series.
Now, let’s dive in.
An eviction notice is usually a form that is filled out by the landlord that details their violation and whether or not a tenant can fix the issue. The notice period depends on the reason for eviction. The landlord must give the right form so that they have a bigger chance of winning the case.
Notice requirements include timely delivery of the notice and they have to be written down and delivered to the tenant.
The most common reason for eviction is the failure to make a timely rent payment. A landlord may evict a tenant for failing to pay the rent due.
Rent is considered late in Oklahoma a day past its due. However, a grace period that gives more time to pay rent due may be available if indicated in the lease/rental agreement.
Before a landlord can start with the eviction action for not paying rent, the landlord must provide the tenant a written eviction form called a 5-Day Notice to Pay. This notice informs the renters that are required to move out of the property or they have five days to pay the rent in order to avoid eviction.
If tenants manage to pay all past due rent in full to the landlord before the 5 days are up, the entire eviction process stops and they can continue staying within the rental premises.
A lease agreement can vary between tenants. Landlords and tenants are required to uphold the terms of the lease agreement at all times and avoid committing lease violations.
In Oklahoma, the landlord can evict the tenant for a lease violation. The landlord must provide a written notice called a 15-Day Notice to Comply which gives the tenant 10 days to fix the issue. Should the tenant be unable to correct the issue in 10 days, then they have the remaining 5 days to vacate the property. Lease violations include:
The landlord may continue to file an eviction lawsuit if the tenant fails to resolve any lease violations and remains inside the rental unit after the given notice period.
If a tenant has engaged in illegal activity on the rental premises, the landlord is not legally obligated to inform the tenant that they will be starting the eviction process. In this case, the landlord may skip directly to the next step.
Examples of illegal activity include, but are not limited to:
Felony convictions are also classified as illegal activity:
An Oklahoma eviction process does not allow a landlord to evict a tenant without good cause. The landlord must either wait for the tenant to commit a violation or wait for their rental term to end.
However, a tenant can be evicted if they stay in the property even a day after their written lease ends (and have not arranged for a renewal).
This type of eviction notice usually only applies if the landlord wants to end the tenant's lease. The required notice time given to a tenant depends on their tenancy type. The landlord must provide the right eviction notice which could be either a 7-Day Notice to Quit or a 30-Day Notice to Quit.
Should the tenant remain in the rental premises even after their notice period ends, the landlord may proceed with the eviction in order to evict the tenant from the property.
To download your own Oklahoma lease agreement, visit DoorLoop's Forms Page to quickly download an example lease agreement.
Should the landlord decide to proceed with the eviction process after the notice period has passed, they must start filing for an eviction lawsuit, also known as a Forcible Entry and Detainer action in Oklahoma. Successful evictions rely on correct filings, so the landlord must file all the forms correctly.
Small claims court is usually where most evictions are handled.
It takes between 24 hours to 30 days before a landlord can file a complaint. This depends on the notice given to the tenant. The landlord must wait for the notice period to end before filing for an eviction case.
Before filing for an eviction with the court, you need to issue the tenant a notice to comply. You can either download the free PDF or Word template, or create your Oklahoma eviction notice from here using a step-by-step wizard that guides you through the entire process to make sure you are submitting the legally correct notice.
Keep in mind, the step-by-step wizard will ask you to pay a small fee at the end - it's a small price to pay to ensure legal compliance and protection. The last thing you want is to go to court only to find out you did the first process incorrect.
The Summons and Complaint must be served to the tenant. The landlord must not serve this document themselves. The document should contain information such as the date and time of the court trial.
The Summons is a court order that informs tenants they have to attend the eviction hearing.
Oklahoma allows a professional process server or the sheriff to serve the document. It must be served on the tenant at least 3 days before the eviction hearing is scheduled.
The summons and its corresponding documents have to be served on the tenant through one of the following methods:
The tenant has the option to file an answer, but they are not required to do so.
The Summons and Complaint must be served at least three to five days before an eviction hearing is scheduled.
| Lease Agreement / Type of Tenancy | Eviction Notice to Receive |
|---|---|
| Weekly | 7-Day Notice to Quit |
| Monthly and At-Will | 30-Day Notice to Quit |
A landlord has to provide a strong argument backed up by solid evidence against their tenant in order to win. Should the tenant fail to show up to the hearing, the landlord may win by default.
The tenant has a 3-day period to request a new trial, but they still have to move out of the property.
In an Oklahoma eviction process, the tenant is not required to file an answer, but they may do so if they wish. During the court hearing, the landlord has to support their Forcible Entry and Detainer action with evidence and show it to the judge. This includes, but is not limited by the following:
An eviction hearing is scheduled within 5-10 days after the Summons was issued.
An eviction hearing is scheduled within 5-10 days after the landlord filed the complaint. The tenant has 3 days to request a new trial after the judgment is passed in favor of the landlord.
Once the landlord wins the case and provided the tenant does not file for an appeal or reconsideration, the court will issue a Writ of Execution upon the landlord's request.
The Writ of Execution is a court order which informs the tenant that they must move out of their housing on the property within 48 hours after the Writ is delivered to them in person. If the tenant fails to do so, they will be forcibly evicted.
This final step in the eviction process is to move the tenant out of their housing on the property. Tenants have a maximum of 48 hours to vacate the property after receiving the Writ of Execution.
Only law enforcement officials can remove the tenant from the property.
There is no specific timeline outlined by the law. The Writ of Assistance may be issued within a few hours to a few days while the move-out period can take a few days to a few weeks.
Evicting a family member follows the same process as all other evictions. If it is about nonpayment of rent, the notice must still allow them to pay rent within 5 days. The same goes if they committed a lease violation and so on.
The landlord must give a notice to the tenant because they can only start filing for eviction if the notice period has expired and the tenant does not pay past due rent nor fix their violation—whichever the reason for eviction is.
| Steps of the Eviction Process | Average Timeline |
|---|---|
| Issuing an Official Notice | 24 hours-30 days |
| Issuance and Service of Summons and Complaint | 3-5 days before the hearing |
| Court Hearing and Judgment | 5-10 days |
| Issuance of Writ of Execution | A few hours to a few days |
| Return of Rental Unit | 48 hours |
If the tenant disagrees with the eviction request and they reply to the court, it’s important that you keep extremely good records of everything so you can provide proof to the judge and win your case. This part of the eviction process can make or break your entire eviction request in the event of a dispute.
You can stay organized by:
If the tenant doesn’t pay rent, and they dispute that claim, it’s important that you show the judge the following:
If you are evicting the tenant for lease violations, for example, noise complaints, unauthorized pets, or property damages, it’s important to show proof from any of the following methods:
