Computing federal court deadlines under FRCP 6

Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure sets the arithmetic for almost every federal civil deadline: which day to start from, which days count, what happens when the last day is a weekend or holiday, and when mail service adds three days. Here is how each part works, with examples on real 2026 dates.

What Rule 6(a) covers

Rule 6(a) applies to any period in the Civil Rules, in a local rule or court order, and in any statute that doesn’t specify its own method of counting. The appellate, bankruptcy and criminal rules use the same method (FRAP 26(a), Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9006(a) and Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)), so the steps below carry over.

Since the 2009 amendments, “days are days”: every day counts, including weekends and holidays, whatever the length of the period. That is why most short federal periods are multiples of seven (7, 14, 21, 28 days).

Periods stated in days: Rule 6(a)(1)

For a period stated in days, or in a longer unit such as weeks, months or years:

1. Exclude the day of the event that triggers the period, such as the day you were served (6(a)(1)(A)).
2. Count every day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays (6(a)(1)(B)).
3. Include the last day. If it is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period runs until the end of the next day that is not one of those (6(a)(1)(C)).

Periods stated in hours: Rule 6(a)(2)

Periods in hours are rare (they mostly appear in orders, for example in emergency matters) and are counted differently:

• Start counting immediately when the triggering event happens.
• Count every hour, including hours on Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
• If the period would end on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it runs until the same time on the next day that is not one.

For example, a 48-hour period that starts at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 24, 2026 would end at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 26, 2026. That is a Saturday, so it runs to 3:00 p.m. on Monday, December 28, 2026.

When the last day ends: Rule 6(a)(4)

Unless a statute, local rule or court order sets a different time, the last day ends:

• for electronic filing, at midnight in the court’s time zone; and
• for filing by other means, when the clerk’s office is scheduled to close.

Check the local rules and the judge’s practices: some set an earlier cut-off for particular filings. If you file in a court in another time zone, its time zone controls, not yours.

If the clerk’s office is inaccessible: Rule 6(a)(3)

Unless the court orders otherwise, if the clerk’s office is inaccessible on the last day of a period counted in days, the time to file runs to the first accessible day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. For a period in hours, if the office is inaccessible during the last hour, the time runs to the same time on the first accessible day that is not one of those days. The rule doesn’t define “inaccessible”; many local rules and CM/ECF procedures say what happens when the filing system is down. Don’t assume an outage extends your deadline without checking them.

Counting backward: Rule 6(a)(5)

Some periods run before an event, such as “at least 14 days before the hearing.” The same steps apply, counting backward. Rule 6(a)(5) defines the “next day” as the next day going forward for periods measured after an event, and going backward for periods measured before an event. So a backward count that lands on a weekend or holiday moves earlier, never later.

Legal holidays: Rule 6(a)(6)

A “legal holiday” under Rule 6 is:

• (A) the day set aside by statute for observing New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day;
• (B) any day declared a holiday by the President or Congress; and
• (C) for periods measured after an event, any other day declared a holiday by the state where the district court is located.

“The day set aside for observing” matters when a holiday falls on a weekend. Under 5 U.S.C. § 6103(b), a holiday on a Saturday is generally observed on the Friday before, and one on a Sunday on the Monday after. In 2026, Independence Day (July 4) is a Saturday, so Friday, July 3 is the legal holiday.

Category (B) can catch you out: in some years the President has given federal employees an extra day off near a holiday by executive order. Check whether your court treats such a day as a legal holiday. State holidays under (C) count only for periods counted forward from an event, not for periods counted backward.

Federal legal holidays, 2026 (and New Year’s Day 2027)

Days under 6(a)(6)(B) and (C) are not in this table.

The 3 extra days for mail service: Rule 6(d)

When a party may or must act within a specified time after being served, and service is made under Rule 5(b)(2)(C) (mail), (D) (leaving it with the clerk) or (F) (other means the person consented to), 3 days are added after the period would otherwise expire under Rule 6(a).

• Electronic service gets no extra days. Rule 6(d) used to cover electronic service as well; the 2016 amendment removed it. Service through the court’s electronic-filing system or by email under Rule 5(b)(2)(E) gets no added time.
• Hand delivery gets no extra days, and neither does service of the summons and complaint under Rule 4.
• Only periods that run from service. A period that runs from the entry of judgment or the filing of a paper, such as the 28 days for a Rule 59 motion, gets no added days, however the judgment reached you.
• Add the days at the end. First work out the last day under Rule 6(a), including any move past a weekend or holiday. Then add 3 days, counting weekends and holidays. If the third day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period runs to the next day that is not (the Committee Note to the 2005 amendment works through this order).

Extending a deadline: Rule 6(b)

When an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time:

• before the time expires, with or without a motion or notice if the court acts, or if a request is made before the original time or an extension expires (6(b)(1)(A)); or
• after the time has expired, on motion, if the party failed to act because of excusable neglect (6(b)(1)(B)).

Some deadlines can’t be extended at all. Rule 6(b)(2) forbids extending the time to act under Rules 50(b) and (d) (renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and a related new-trial motion), 52(b) (amended findings), 59(b), (d) and (e) (new trial and motions to alter or amend a judgment) and 60(b) (relief from judgment). Local rules often add requirements for extension requests, such as stating whether the other side consents. See our guide to a motion for extension of time.

A quick checklist

• What triggers the period, and on what date? Service, entry of an order or judgment, or a future event such as a hearing?
• Does a local rule, standing order or scheduling order set a different period?
• Count forward or backward, skipping the trigger day and counting every day.
• Does the last day fall on a weekend, a federal holiday, a day declared by the President or Congress, or (counting forward) a state holiday where the court sits?
• Was the paper served by mail, left with the clerk or served by other consented means? If so, add 3 days at the end.
• What time does the last day end for how you will file, and in which time zone?

Check your count with the calculator

The free federal deadline calculator applies these rules step by step: it excludes the trigger day, counts every day, moves past weekends and federal legal holidays (forward or backward), adds the 3 days for mail service when you tick the box, and shows each step with the rule it comes from. The examples in this article were computed with the same code.

It does not know about state holidays, days declared by the President or Congress, periods in hours, clerk’s-office closures or deadlines set by local rule or order. Those are yours to check.

For the documents behind common deadlines, see the filing guides for an answer, an opposition to a motion, a Rule 59 motion and a notice of appeal, or browse all federal filing guides.

Questions

Do weekends count in federal court deadlines?

Yes. Every day counts, including Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. A weekend or holiday matters only if it is the last day of the period, which then moves to the next day that isn’t one.

Do I get 3 extra days if I was served through CM/ECF or by email?

No. Since December 1, 2016, Rule 6(d) adds 3 days only for service by mail, by leaving the paper with the clerk, or by other means you consented to under Rule 5(b)(2)(F).

Is the day after Thanksgiving a legal holiday?

Not under federal law. It can count as one under Rule 6(a)(6)(C) for forward-counted periods if the state where the district court sits declares it a holiday. Check the state’s holiday list and the court’s local rules.

Sources

• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 6 (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School)
• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, current official text (United States Courts)
• 5 U.S.C. § 6103, federal holidays (Legal Information Institute)