When must a California complaint and service proofs be completed?

The accepted filing date of the original complaint

Identify all named defendants and retain the accepted complaint. Issuing a summons or mailing papers does not establish completed service.

Responsible actor. The plaintiff responsible for service and filing service proofs. Use an original civil complaint governed by rule 3.110, with no changed court order. Exclude collections under rule 3.740, unlawful detainer and Family Code proceedings.

1. Use an original civil complaint governed by rule 3.110, with no changed court order. Exclude collections under rule 3.740, unlawful detainer and Family Code proceedings.
2. Exclude the established event and count 60 calendar days forward under CCP 12 and rule 1.10. Intermediate weekends and holidays count. A final judicial holiday moves to the next open day under CCP 12a. Check actual additional closures under CCP 12b.
3. Check the actual judicial holidays, closures and statutory or court-ordered qualifications.
4. Complete legally valid service on every named defendant and file each required proof within the applicable period.

CCP 12 excludes the triggering day for ordinary day periods. CCP 12a supplies the final judicial-holiday adjustment, including Saturdays and the CCP 135 holidays. CCP 12b addresses qualifying whole-day office closures. Court-day periods exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays. Calendar-day periods include intermediate closed days. Rule 1.11 supplies Friday observance of a Saturday judicial holiday and Monday observance of a Sunday judicial holiday. The calendar includes Lincoln Day, March 31, Juneteenth, Native American Day and Thanksgiving Friday. It excludes Columbus Day and Good Friday as ordinary full judicial holidays. The observed New Year holiday on December 31, 2027 is confirmed in the county schedule. Actual additional closures require separate evidence.

Establish the actual service method and legally completed event. The tax-cost preset is confined to personal service; rule 3.1700(b)(1) expressly recognizes CCP 1013 mail and CCP 1010.6 electronic additions. Filing-triggered brief and review-answer clocks do not begin merely with service. CCP 1013 and 1010.6 exclude their stated additions for a notice of appeal. A summons-service event and an appellate filing event have distinct requirements. These presets do not calculate excluded service or combined procedural branches.

Official 2026 Rules of Court were reviewed. Publication coverage begins January 1, 2026 and assumes the reviewed branch still governs the input. Displayed final dates use the independently retained 2026 and 2027 California judicial calendar. Earlier or amended editions, emergency orders and actual additional closures require separate review. A closed backward statement boundary receives no date because its exact adjustment is not implemented. Source guides for combined appeal clocks, stipulated responses, cost memoranda and decision finality supply no computed or paid date. These software coverage boundaries do not establish that an actual filing is late.

Fictitious example

Use an original civil complaint governed by rule 3.110, with no changed court order. Exclude collections under rule 3.740, unlawful detainer and Family Code proceedings. Only the disclosed branch and established event apply, with no altered order, eligible service addition or additional closure.

Fictitious facts within the stated coverage. This is the disclosed component, not a determination of legal accrual, effective service, court action or entitlement. No tolling, different service addition, altered order or additional closure is assumed. Closed unsupported base branches receive no computed date.

New defendant in an amended complaint

Rule 3.110(b) supplies a separate thirty-day period after filing an amended complaint that adds a defendant. This sixty-day preset does not calculate that branch.

Extension application

Apply before the service period expires. The declaration must describe why service has not occurred, the efforts made and the proposed date.

Collections exclusion

The rule excludes qualifying collections under rule 3.740. Its different service and default-judgment rules require separate review.

Service methods and distinct statutory additions

Establish the actual service method and legally completed event. The tax-cost preset is confined to personal service; rule 3.1700(b)(1) expressly recognizes CCP 1013 mail and CCP 1010.6 electronic additions. Filing-triggered brief and review-answer clocks do not begin merely with service. CCP 1013 and 1010.6 exclude their stated additions for a notice of appeal. A summons-service event and an appellate filing event have distinct requirements. These presets do not calculate excluded service or combined procedural branches.

Edition and calendar coverage

Official 2026 Rules of Court were reviewed. Publication coverage begins January 1, 2026 and assumes the reviewed branch still governs the input. Displayed final dates use the independently retained 2026 and 2027 California judicial calendar. Earlier or amended editions, emergency orders and actual additional closures require separate review. A closed backward statement boundary receives no date because its exact adjustment is not implemented. Source guides for combined appeal clocks, stipulated responses, cost memoranda and decision finality supply no computed or paid date. These software coverage boundaries do not establish that an actual filing is late.

• Use an original civil complaint governed by rule 3.110, with no changed court order. Exclude collections under rule 3.740, unlawful detainer and Family Code proceedings.
• The base calculation does not resolve the excluded comparisons or establish that the responsible actor completed the required act.

• The accepted filing date of the original complaint
• Identify all named defendants and retain the accepted complaint. Issuing a summons or mailing papers does not establish completed service.
• Rule 3.110(b) supplies a separate thirty-day period after filing an amended complaint that adds a defendant. This sixty-day preset does not calculate that branch.
• Apply before the service period expires. The declaration must describe why service has not occurred, the efforts made and the proposed date.
• The rule excludes qualifying collections under rule 3.740. Its different service and default-judgment rules require separate review.
• Complete legally valid service on every named defendant and file each required proof within the applicable period.
• Trial court electronic filing follows CCP 1010.6 and rules 2.253 and 2.259. Qualifying court-day electronic receipt receives the stated filing-date treatment, but receipt and accepted filing confirmations are distinct. Preserve both, required fees or waiver and proof of service. Rule 2.259(c) addresses proved court-system failure and excludes complaints and other initial pleadings from that provision. Do not assume a draft upload, service receipt or rejected submission establishes filing. Check the actual court and local requirements.