When does qualifying lower-court rehearing change the certiorari period?

Under Supreme Court Rule 13.3, qualifying lower-court rehearing moves the ninety-day certiorari event for all parties to denial of rehearing or, if rehearing is granted, subsequent entry of judgment. A timely petition by any party qualifies. The rule also addresses an untimely petition the lower court appropriately entertains and sua sponte rehearing. Merely submitting a late request does not establish those facts.

Responsible actor. The party seeking certiorari after qualifying rehearing in the lower court.

Preserve the rehearing filing, governing timeliness rule and actual lower-court consideration.

Identify denial or the new judgment after a grant, including effects on every party.

Check Supreme Court computation, any actual extension and completed petition filing and service.

The rehearing branch changes the operative event for the certiorari petition rather than creating an independent extra filing period. Confirm the lower court’s actual timeliness rule or its appropriate consideration of late or sua sponte rehearing. This guide supplies no automatic date or paid calculation. Preserve the rehearing disposition, new judgment where applicable and Supreme Court filing conditions.

1. Preserve the rehearing filing, governing timeliness rule and actual lower-court consideration.
2. Identify denial or the new judgment after a grant, including effects on every party.
3. Check Supreme Court computation, any actual extension and completed petition filing and service.
4. After establishing a Rule 13.3 event, exclude that event day and count ninety calendar days under Supreme Court Rule 30.1. Denial of rehearing and entry of a new judgment after a grant are alternative events. Neither the date a rehearing request was mailed nor later mandate issuance substitutes for the operative disposition.
5. The final-day adjustment belongs to Supreme Court Rule 30.1, including its listed federal holidays and an actual Court-building closure order. The lower court’s calendar can matter to whether rehearing was timely, but it does not automatically establish a Supreme Court filing-day holiday. Keep those two calendar inquiries separate.
6. The certiorari petition goes to the Supreme Court Clerk, not the lower court that considered rehearing. Apply current Rule 29.2 to the actual submission method, including proper electronic submission followed by required paper copies within three days through a specified method. Complete separate Rule 29 service and preserve the lower-court rehearing orders as supporting petition records.

After establishing a Rule 13.3 event, exclude that event day and count ninety calendar days under Supreme Court Rule 30.1. Denial of rehearing and entry of a new judgment after a grant are alternative events. Neither the date a rehearing request was mailed nor later mandate issuance substitutes for the operative disposition.

The final-day adjustment belongs to Supreme Court Rule 30.1, including its listed federal holidays and an actual Court-building closure order. The lower court’s calendar can matter to whether rehearing was timely, but it does not automatically establish a Supreme Court filing-day holiday. Keep those two calendar inquiries separate.

The rehearing branch changes the operative event for the certiorari petition rather than creating an independent extra filing period. Confirm the lower court’s actual timeliness rule or its appropriate consideration of late or sua sponte rehearing. This guide supplies no automatic date or paid calculation. Preserve the rehearing disposition, new judgment where applicable and Supreme Court filing conditions.

Assume timely rehearing was denied March 4, 2026. The independent ninety-day count begins March 5 for the established Rule 13.3 denial event. The Court calendar and filing facts still require confirmation.

Assume qualifying rehearing was denied March 2, 2026. Ninety raw days end Sunday, May 31. Apply Supreme Court Rule 30.1 and check the following days for its federal holidays and actual Court-building closure. A lower-court holiday alone does not establish a Supreme Court adjustment.

Rehearing is granted on April 2 and a new judgment is entered April 20. Rule 13.3 selects subsequent judgment entry for the granted branch. The grant and judgment are distinct acts. Establish April 20 as the actual qualifying event before counting.

A party files a late rehearing request, which the lower court rejects without appropriately entertaining it. The mere late request does not establish Rule 13.3’s untimely-but-entertained branch. Investigate the original certiorari period rather than assigning a new ninety days.

Actual lower-court rehearing qualification

Establish a timely petition under the applicable lower-court rules or the separate Rule 13.3 circumstances for appropriately entertained untimely rehearing or sua sponte consideration. Filing a late request alone proves none of those alternatives.

Federal rehearing timeliness where applicable

FRAP 40(d)(1) ordinarily allows fourteen days after judgment or an amended decision, subject to order or local rule. Its specified civil federal-party branch allows forty-five days unless an order changes that time. A state rehearing uses the applicable state rules, not FRAP by default.

Denial versus granted rehearing and new judgment

A denial uses its date. A grant requires subsequent entry of judgment. The operative event affects all parties, whether or not they requested or joined rehearing.

Separate lower-court and Supreme Court calendars

Establish rehearing timeliness under the lower court’s rules, then apply Supreme Court Rule 30.1 to the certiorari count and actual final-day closure.

Petition filing and required copies

Apply current Rule 29.2 filing methods, required paper copies and separate party service. Preserve completed submissions rather than relying on a notification alone.

Actual certiorari extension after rehearing

Any Rule 13.5 certiorari extension must be actually granted to the relevant party. Rehearing does not itself grant that discretionary extension.

• The rehearing branch changes the operative event for the certiorari petition rather than creating an independent extra filing period. Confirm the lower court’s actual timeliness rule or its appropriate consideration of late or sua sponte rehearing. This guide supplies no automatic date or paid calculation. Preserve the rehearing disposition, new judgment where applicable and Supreme Court filing conditions.
• This page addresses the additional rehearing facts needed to select the certiorari trigger. The ordinary certiorari page explains the initial judgment and state review-denial branches. The same petition cannot acquire a new ninety days from an unqualified late request or from the mandate.

• Preserve the rehearing filing, governing timeliness rule and actual lower-court consideration.
• Identify denial or the new judgment after a grant, including effects on every party.
• Check Supreme Court computation, any actual extension and completed petition filing and service.
• The certiorari petition goes to the Supreme Court Clerk, not the lower court that considered rehearing. Apply current Rule 29.2 to the actual submission method, including proper electronic submission followed by required paper copies within three days through a specified method. Complete separate Rule 29 service and preserve the lower-court rehearing orders as supporting petition records.
• The certiorari petition goes to the Supreme Court Clerk, not the lower court that considered rehearing. Apply current Rule 29.2 to the actual submission method, including proper electronic submission followed by required paper copies within three days through a specified method. Complete separate Rule 29 service and preserve the lower-court rehearing orders as supporting petition records.