When must I petition for permission to appeal a class-certification order?

Identify actual entry of the order granting or denying class-action certification. Do not substitute signature, service or receipt.

The forty-five-day condition applies if any party is the United States, a United States agency, or a United States officer or employee sued for an act or omission connected with duties performed on the United States’ behalf. A government subject matter, government witness or unrelated private conduct alone does not establish that condition.

Rule 23(e)(1) orders are outside this permission procedure. Permission is discretionary and does not itself stay district proceedings.

If reconsideration or a later order may affect the starting event, establish the controlling law and actual facts before using this scoped preset.

1. Independently verify the qualifying order and correct federal-party branch.
2. Exclude actual order entry.
3. Count 14 calendar days, including intermediate weekends and holidays.
4. Roll a closed final day and check extra holidays, inaccessibility and the actual circuit filing cutoff.

FRCP 6(a)(1) applies to time specified in the Civil Rules, including Rule 23(f). Exclude actual order entry and count every calendar day. If the final day is Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday, continue to the next open day. The petition goes to the circuit clerk under FRAP 5(a)(1). Its appellate filing boundary is separate from the district court’s order-entry event.

FRCP 6(a)(6) includes listed federal holidays, President or Congress declared holidays and, for forward periods, state-declared holidays where the district court is located. Check actual local instructions, additional holidays and clerk inaccessibility. The national preset does not establish these case facts.

The period runs after entry, so service of the order does not automatically add three days. FRAP 26(c) and FRCP 6(d) concern specified service-triggered periods.

Fictitious example

A fictitious qualifying certification order is entered July 6. No party meets Rule 23(f)’s federal-party condition. No reconsideration or later order changes the starting event. Exclude July 6. Fourteen calendar days reaches the assumed open July 20.

Fictitious facts. No extra state holiday, inaccessible clerk, unresolved reconsideration or later-order issue is assumed.

Federal-party condition

The forty-five-day condition applies if any party is the United States, a United States agency, or a United States officer or employee sued for an act or omission connected with duties performed on the United States’ behalf. A government subject matter, government witness or unrelated private conduct alone does not establish that condition.

Excluded order

Rule 23(f) excludes orders under Rule 23(e)(1). Confirm that the actual order grants or denies class-action certification.

Permission and stay

Filing requests discretionary permission. It does not grant the appeal or stay district proceedings. A district or appellate stay order is separate.

Reconsideration and later orders

This scoped calculator excludes unresolved reconsideration, revised-order and antecedent-start issues. Nutraceutical’s footnote 7 and remand do not decide every such branch.

No equitable tolling

Nutraceutical holds the Rule 23(f) limit nonjurisdictional but unavailable for equitable tolling. The court of appeals cannot extend permission-petition time under FRAP 26(b)(1).

• The calculator does not grant permission, determine appellate jurisdiction or establish the underlying case facts.
• The displayed national count does not resolve additional holidays, local filing instructions, reconsideration or revised-order issues.

• Identify the qualifying order, actual entry and any reconsideration issue.
• Establish whether any party meets Rule 23(f)’s precise federal-party condition.
• Prepare the Rule 5(b)(1) facts, question, relief and reasons permission should be granted and is authorized. Attach the required order and related opinion or memorandum.
• Check Rule 5(c) form, copies, length and any court-specific instructions.
• File with the circuit clerk and serve every other party to the district-court action.
• File the petition with the circuit clerk and separately serve every other party to the district-court action under FRAP 5(a)(1). Unless another prescribed time applies, electronic appellate filing ends at midnight in the time zone of the circuit clerk’s principal office under FRAP 26(a)(4)(B). Ordinary nonelectronic petition filing requires actual clerk receipt, not mailing alone, under Rule 25(a). Verify applicable special filing methods, proof, clerk closing and inaccessibility.