How early must a California CCP 998 offer be served?

The established trial or qualifying arbitration commencement date

CCP 998(b)(3) identifies commencement by opening statement or, absent one, the specified witness oath or evidence event. A nominal setting does not establish actual commencement.

Responsible actor. The party serving the statutory offer to compromise. Use a qualifying written offer, effective personal service and the established commencement event. The base ten-day component excludes service-method additions. Only the disclosed component is supported. Additional actual closures, altered orders and excluded service methods require separate review. A closed base boundary is refused because this preset does not apply the legally applicable final-day treatment.

1. Use a qualifying written offer, effective personal service and the established commencement event. The base ten-day component excludes service-method additions. Only the disclosed component is supported. Additional actual closures, altered orders and excluded service methods require separate review. A closed base boundary is refused because this preset does not apply the legally applicable final-day treatment.
2. Exclude the established scheduled event and count backward 10 calendar days under CCP 12c. The displayed base boundary preserves the stated lead time. The preset applies no automatic adjustment when that boundary is closed; check the actual act and applicable holiday treatment before relying on it.
3. Check the actual judicial holidays, closures and statutory or court-ordered qualifications.
4. Serve a written offer with the required terms and signed-acceptance mechanism. Preserve service and separately establish whether acceptance precedes the controlling withdrawal event.

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.

These base components do not add mail, electronic, fax, express or overnight service time. CCP 1013 and 1010.6 identify eligible additions, service conditions and express exceptions. CCP 1005 supplies its own motion-delivery provisions and excludes CCP 1013 for its identified notices. New-trial and CCP 663a intention-notice filings do not receive the stated mail or electronic additions. Establish the actual service method and governing procedure before applying any addition. A summons-service completion event is not determined by the general document-service addition.

The official sections were reviewed, including the retained 2026 and operative-2027 CCP 473 and 415.20 editions. Publication coverage for day and court-day components begins January 1, 2026, or a later expressly stated section effective date. Year components begin no earlier than January 1, 2021, or the section’s later stated effective date, and assume the current reviewed branch applies. These are software coverage boundaries, not findings that an actual act is late. Displayed final dates are confined to the independently reviewed 2026 and 2027 judicial calendar. Closed backward base boundaries and closed minimum-deposition boundaries receive no computed or paid date because their exact adjustment is not implemented. Earlier editions, emergency measures, tolling, different service methods and actual additional closures require separate review.

Fictitious example

Use a qualifying written offer, effective personal service and the established commencement event. The base ten-day component excludes service-method additions. Only the disclosed component is supported. Additional actual closures, altered orders and excluded service methods require separate review. A closed base boundary is refused because this preset does not apply the legally applicable final-day treatment. The disclosed component, effective personal or specified nonmail service and no changed order.

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.

Acceptance contents

The offer must include the statement of its terms and a provision permitting signed acceptance. Acceptance must be written and signed by counsel or the unrepresented party.

Excluded proceedings

Subsections (g) and (i) exclude the specified eminent-domain plaintiff offer, public-prosecutor enforcement action and labor arbitration.

Service methods and distinct statutory additions

These base components do not add mail, electronic, fax, express or overnight service time. CCP 1013 and 1010.6 identify eligible additions, service conditions and express exceptions. CCP 1005 supplies its own motion-delivery provisions and excludes CCP 1013 for its identified notices. New-trial and CCP 663a intention-notice filings do not receive the stated mail or electronic additions. Establish the actual service method and governing procedure before applying any addition. A summons-service completion event is not determined by the general document-service addition.

Edition and calendar coverage

The official sections were reviewed, including the retained 2026 and operative-2027 CCP 473 and 415.20 editions. Publication coverage for day and court-day components begins January 1, 2026, or a later expressly stated section effective date. Year components begin no earlier than January 1, 2021, or the section’s later stated effective date, and assume the current reviewed branch applies. These are software coverage boundaries, not findings that an actual act is late. Displayed final dates are confined to the independently reviewed 2026 and 2027 judicial calendar. Closed backward base boundaries and closed minimum-deposition boundaries receive no computed or paid date because their exact adjustment is not implemented. Earlier editions, emergency measures, tolling, different service methods and actual additional closures require separate review.

• Use a qualifying written offer, effective personal service and the established commencement event. The base ten-day component excludes service-method additions. Only the disclosed component is supported. Additional actual closures, altered orders and excluded service methods require separate review. A closed base boundary is refused because this preset does not apply the legally applicable final-day treatment.
• The base calculation does not resolve the excluded comparisons or establish that the responsible actor completed the required act.

• The established trial or qualifying arbitration commencement date
• CCP 998(b)(3) identifies commencement by opening statement or, absent one, the specified witness oath or evidence event. A nominal setting does not establish actual commencement.
• The offer must include the statement of its terms and a provision permitting signed acceptance. Acceptance must be written and signed by counsel or the unrepresented party.
• Subsections (g) and (i) exclude the specified eminent-domain plaintiff offer, public-prosecutor enforcement action and labor arbitration.
• Serve a written offer with the required terms and signed-acceptance mechanism. Preserve service and separately establish whether acceptance precedes the controlling withdrawal event.
• Where filing is required, distinguish accepted filing from service. CCP 1010.6(e)(3) gives the stated same-court-day treatment to qualifying electronic court receipt between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 p.m.; noncourt-day receipt is deemed on the next court day. Its confirmation and rejection provisions still matter. Preserve the accepted filing confirmation, effective service evidence and applicable local requirements. Court-office paper availability and case-specific orders require separate review. This does not turn a service-only response, court determination, completed discovery or trial commencement into a filing-only act.