When must I file the Supreme Court joint appendix?

Use entry of the order granting certiorari, noting probable jurisdiction or postponing consideration of jurisdiction.

Confirm whether the Clerk has allowed the deferred method. A request alone does not establish permission.

Check whether the Court dispensed with the appendix or changed a time limit under Rule 26.8 or 26.9.

1. Use entry of the grant, probable-jurisdiction or postponed-jurisdiction order. Confirm that the Clerk has not allowed deferral.
2. Exclude the established trigger day.
3. Count 45 calendar days.
4. Apply Rule 30.1 final-day adjustment.
5. Complete the required filing by that date.

Supreme Court Rule 30.1 excludes the trigger day and includes every intermediate calendar day. For periods shorter than seven days it excludes intermediate closed days. Each fixed period reviewed here is at least seven days.

The ordinary period follows order entry. It does not restart when parties agree contents, receive a brief or arrange printing.

If the final day is Saturday, Sunday, a federal legal holiday listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103 or a Court-building closure ordered by the Court or Chief Justice, Rule 30.1 continues the period to the next day that is none of those. Check actual Court closure orders. The calculator does not infer additional closures.

Fictitious example

Fictitious entry of an order granting certiorari on August 24, 2026. The Clerk has not allowed a deferred appendix and no other order changes the ordinary time. Exclude the established trigger day, August 24, 2026. Counting 45 calendar days reaches October 8, 2026. The final day is an open weekday.

Fictitious facts and dates. No different schedule, additional Court closure or extension is assumed.

Approved deferral

If the Clerk allows Rule 26.4 deferral, the petitioner or appellant files no more than 14 days after receiving the respondent’s brief. Use that separate receipt-based procedure.

Required copies and service

Rule 26.1 ordinarily requires 40 copies prepared under Rule 33.1 and service of three copies on each other party under Rule 29.

Printing-cost statement

Rule 26.3 requires an immediate filed and served cost statement when the appendix is filed. Party agreements and disputed unnecessary portions have separate allocation provisions.

Dispensed appendix or changed time

The Court may dispense with the appendix under Rule 26.8. Rule 26.9 allows specified shortening or extension for good cause. Read the actual direction.

• The calculator counts the encoded default period after an established trigger. It does not determine jurisdiction, party alignment or the effect of a particular order.
• Check the Court’s docket, actual directions and proof of the required act.

• Verify entry of the qualifying order.
• Confirm whether the Clerk approved deferral or the Court dispensed with the appendix.
• Review agreed contents and any required designations.
• Prepare the required appendix copies, contents table and cover information.
• Serve required copies and immediately file and serve the cost statement.
• Check actual Rule 26.9 timing changes.
• Rule 29.2 distinguishes timely paper receipt, qualifying USPS postmark, commercial-carrier delivery and proper electronic submission. Under the March 2026 rule, electronic timeliness requires the paper copies to be delivered or mailed by a specified method within three days. Rule 29.7 and the current guidelines impose additional electronic-submission requirements for represented filers and identify exceptions. Filing with the Court does not itself transmit the document to other parties.
• Check represented-filer electronic requirements and paper-copy requirements. The March 2026 guidelines exempt specified sealed and privacy-sensitive filings from electronic submission.
• Preserve both filing and separate service evidence.