Outline of the eviction process in Wyoming

Wyoming residential evictions are forcible entry and detainer (FED) actions under Wyo. Stat. §§ 1-21-1001 to 1-21-1017, heard in the circuit court. The Residential Rental Property Act (§§ 1-21-1201 to 1-21-1211) supplies the renter duties whose breach supports an eviction, the rules for property left behind, and the sheriff’s authority to remove a renter who ignores the court’s order.

The process is short. One three-day notice to quit covers every ground, trial is set 3 to 12 days after the summons is served, a tenant’s continuance is capped at two days without a bond, the officer must execute the writ within two days of receiving it (Sundays excepted), and a tenant has 48 hours after judgment (Sundays excepted) to file a bond to stay the writ on appeal. The statutes we read contain no right to cure and no just-cause rule.

1. Grounds

Section 1-21-1002(a) lists when FED proceedings may be had. For a residential landlord:

• Nonpayment: against tenants “after a failure to pay rent for three (3) days after it is due” (§ 1-21-1002(a)(i)).
• Holdover: against tenants holding over their terms (§ 1-21-1002(a)(i)).
• Breach of renter duties: against renters in violation of § 1-21-1204 or § 1-21-1205 (§ 1-21-1002(a)(vi)). Section 1-21-1204 requires the renter, among other things, to keep the unit clean and safe, not exceed the agreed number of occupants without written permission, be current on all payments, and comply with all lawful requirements of the rental agreement. Section 1-21-1205 prohibits damaging the unit, interfering with another person’s peaceful enjoyment, and unreasonably denying the owner access for repairs, inspection or showings.

The Act applies to a “residential rental unit,” defined as a renter’s principal residence; the definition excludes mobile home lots and occasional recreational rentals (§ 1-21-1201). We found no just-cause or rent-increase law in the statutes read. We also found no statute in these two articles fixing how much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy, so follow the rental agreement and get advice before treating a periodic tenant as a holdover.

2. The three-day notice to quit

Before any FED case is filed, the landlord “must notify the adverse party to leave the premises.” The notice must be served at least three days before commencing the action (§ 1-21-1003). The same notice is used for every ground. The FED sections we read give the tenant no statutory right to cure or to pay and stay, either before suit or after judgment.

The court form. In the Wyoming Judicial Branch self-help FED packet, FED 01 is the Notice to Quit Premises, with checkboxes for the reason, and FED 02 is the Affidavit for Service of Notice to Quit. The notice needs no notary; the affidavit of service does.

How the notice is served (§ 1-21-1003).

• leave a written copy with the defendant; or
• if he cannot be found, leave a written copy at his usual place of abode or business.

The statute does not list mail, email or text as a way to serve this notice. The court’s instructions (FED 00) call the fallback “posting” (leaving the notice where the person lives or works), say to hand it to the person if he is there, and require a server 18 or older. Try personal delivery first and record the attempt.

Counting the days. § 1-21-1003 does not say how the three days are counted, but circuit courts apply the civil rules where no specific rule governs (Circuit Court Rule 2(b)). Under W.R.C.P. 6(a)(1), exclude the day of service, count every day including weekends and legal holidays, and include the last day; if the last day falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the period runs to the end of the next day that is not. The safe practice is to file on the court day after the period ends.

Federally backed or subsidized properties may also be subject to the federal CARES Act 30-day notice; check before relying on a three-day notice alone.

3. Filing

Any circuit court within the judicial district may hear the case (§ 1-21-1001). The court’s instructions (FED 03) say to file with the clerk of circuit court where the property is located and recommend attaching the notice to quit, the affidavit of service and the signed lease. The Judicial Branch says circuit court civil jurisdiction covers recovery up to $50,000. The complaint form is FED 04. We did not verify filing fees; ask the clerk.

Entity landlords (§ 1-21-1017). A business entity may represent itself without an attorney in an FED case if it is represented by an owner, shareholder, member or partner; it owns a majority interest in the property; and it gives written notice to the court and all parties that it is being so represented, signed by every owner, shareholder, member or partner. This exception does not apply when the entity seeks a judgment exceeding the small claims amount in § 1-21-201, which is $6,000. Property managers and employees are not named.

4. Summons, service and the hearing

The summons must state the cause of the complaint and the time and place of trial, and is served and returned as in other cases. Service must be made not less than three nor more than 12 days before the day of trial set by the judge (§ 1-21-1004). The court’s instructions (FED 05) say you can ask or hire a process server who is at least 18 or use the sheriff’s office, and that a notarized affidavit of service (private server) or the sheriff’s return of service must be filed afterward.

No answer required. The defendant “shall not be required to file a written answer” to take full part in the trial (§§ 1-21-1004, 1-21-1006). The court provides an optional answer form (FED 09).

Default is not automatic. If the defendant does not appear, the court tries the case as though he were present, and the complaint “must be sustained by proof or the action dismissed” (§ 1-21-1005).

Continuances. No continuance may be granted to the defendant for longer than two days unless he gives a bond, with surety approved by the court, for the rent that may accrue and costs (§ 1-21-1007).

Trial. The court tries the case on the return day of the summons unless it is continued or a jury is demanded, which either party may do (§§ 1-21-1008(a), 1-21-1009).

5. Judgment and appeal

If the court finds the complaint true, it enters judgment for restitution of the premises and costs (§ 1-21-1008(a)). In a nonpayment case it must also find the rent due at the time of the hearing and enter judgment for that amount, with costs and attorney’s fees as provided by the lease, and it issues an execution for the money separate from the writ of restitution (§ 1-21-1008(b)).

• An appeal alone does not stop the eviction. The appeal does not stay the judgment unless, within 48 hours after judgment, Sundays excepted, the tenant files a bond with two or more sufficient sureties approved by the court, covering costs and all damages from the wrongful detention while the appeal is pending (§ 1-21-1014(b)).
• Rent must be deposited. On an appeal from a judgment for rent, the tenant must also deposit the rent stated in the judgment or the appeal is not perfected, and must keep depositing rent as it comes due. If a deposit is missed, the appellate court affirms the judgment on the landlord’s motion (§ 1-21-1015).
• Deadline for the notice of appeal. The FED article sets the 48-hour bond deadline but not the time to file the appeal itself. Under the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure, which treat the circuit court as a trial court and the district court as an appellate court (W.R.A.P. 1.02), the notice of appeal is filed with the clerk of the trial court within 30 days from entry of the appealable order (W.R.A.P. 2.01(a)). So a tenant who misses the 48-hour bond can still appeal, but the writ is not stayed. Confirm the current rule text.

6. The writ and the lockout

When judgment of restitution is entered, the court issues a writ of restitution at the request of the plaintiff, his agent or attorney (§ 1-21-1012). The statute sets no waiting period between judgment and the writ. Unless the defendant takes an appeal, the officer must execute the writ within two days after receiving it, Sundays excepted, by restoring the plaintiff to possession (§ 1-21-1013). The court’s writ form (FED 11) is directed to the county sheriff. If the renter does not vacate as the order requires, the sheriff may remove the renter’s possessions and prevent reentry without further court action (§ 1-21-1211(a)). If the court notifies the officer of a stay on appeal, he must stop, and must put the defendant back in possession if the landlord was already restored (§ 1-21-1014(a)).

Tenant property (§ 1-21-1210). After regaining lawful possession following termination of the rental agreement, the owner may immediately dispose of trash and property reasonably believed to be hazardous, perishable or valueless and abandoned. Property remaining in the unit after termination is presumed valueless and abandoned. Valuable property may be removed from the unit and is then handled this way:

• Give the renter written notice describing the property and stating that it will be disposed of after seven days from service unless the renter takes it or notifies you in writing of an intent to take it. The court form is FED 16.
• The notice is deemed served on the date it is sent by certified mail to an address the renter gave you in writing for this purpose, personally delivered to the renter under Rule 4 of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure, or published in a newspaper published or widely circulated in the county.
• No written response within seven days: the property is conclusively deemed abandoned and you may keep or dispose of it.
• Written response within seven days: the property “shall be held for an additional period of seven (7) days after the written response is received.” The next sentence of the same paragraph says the property is conclusively abandoned if the renter fails to take it “within the additional fifteen (15) day period” (§ 1-21-1210(a)(iii)). The two numbers do not match, and the court’s instructions (FED 15) repeat the statutory wording without resolving it. The cautious course is to hold the property 15 days after you receive the response.
• You are entitled to removal and storage costs (reasonable costs if you store it yourself, actual costs if stored commercially), paid before the renter takes the property.

Self-help. We found no section in these two articles authorizing a landlord to lock out a tenant or cut utilities, and none setting a specific penalty for doing so.

Recent law changes landlords should know

• 2025: removal of unauthorized occupants (Senate Enrolled Act No. 20, SF0006, effective July 1, 2025). New §§ 1-21-1401 to 1-21-1403 let an owner or authorized agent ask law enforcement to immediately remove persons unlawfully occupying a residential dwelling. It is not an eviction shortcut: it does not apply to “a current or former tenant pursuant to a written or oral rental or lease agreement,” or where there is known pending litigation over the dwelling between the owner and the occupant. A person wrongfully removed has a cause of action (§ 1-21-1403).
• 2026 budget session. We reviewed the list of bills that passed in the 2026 session and found none whose title concerned landlord-tenant law, forcible entry and detainer or residential rentals. That was a title review, not a search of enrolled text, so confirm current statute text.
• No statewide tenant programs found. We found no Wyoming statute creating a right to counsel, mandatory mediation or eviction record sealing, and verified no local overlay.

What actually goes wrong

• Serving the notice too early in a rent case. The nonpayment ground is a failure to pay rent for three days after it is due (§ 1-21-1002(a)(i)). The cautious reading is that the three-day notice under § 1-21-1003 is served after that ground exists, not before.
• Mailing or texting the notice to quit, or leaving it at the door without trying the tenant first. Section 1-21-1003 provides for leaving a written copy with the tenant or, if he cannot be found, at his abode or business.
• Summons served outside the 3 to 12 day window before trial (§ 1-21-1004), or no proof offered when the tenant does not appear (§ 1-21-1005).
• An LLC appearing through a manager or without the notice signed by every owner or member, or asking for more than $6,000 without an attorney (§ 1-21-1017).
• Disposing of valuable property without the seven-day written notice, or too soon after the renter answers it in writing (§ 1-21-1210).
• Using the 2025 unauthorized-occupant law against a former tenant. Current and former tenants are excluded.

When to bring in an attorney

Use counsel when the landlord is an entity that does not fit § 1-21-1017 or the claim exceeds $6,000; when the tenancy is month to month and you are ending it without a breach; when a jury is demanded; for subsidized housing; and for any appeal, because the bond deadline runs in hours. The Wyoming attorneys listed below represent landlords in the circuit courts.

Sources

• Wyo. Stat. §§ 1-21-1001 to 1-21-1009 and 1-21-1011 to 1-21-1017 (forcible entry and detainer), 2025 Wyoming Statutes.
• Wyo. Stat. §§ 1-21-1201 to 1-21-1205, 1-21-1210 and 1-21-1211 (Residential Rental Property Act); § 1-21-201 (small claims amount).
• 2025 Senate Enrolled Act No. 20 (SF0006), creating Wyo. Stat. §§ 1-21-1401 to 1-21-1403, effective July 1, 2025.
• Wyoming Judicial Branch, Self-Help Forms: FED 00, 01, 02, 03, 05, 08, 11, 15 and 16 (instructions, notice to quit, affidavit of service, writ and abandoned property notice), and the Circuit Courts page.
• Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure 1.02 and 2.01(a) (Wyoming Judicial Branch PDF).

This guide is general information about Wyoming procedure and is not legal advice. Court practice, fees and scheduling vary by county. Confirm current text before relying on any deadline.