United States · Federal civil procedure
When must the parties hold their Rule 26(f) conference?
The parties must confer as soon as practicable and at least twenty-one days before a scheduling conference is held or a scheduling order is due. Proceedings exempted under Rule 26(a)(1)(B) and actual different court orders are excepted. Rule 26(f)(4) permits specified expedited local scheduling. Establish the operative scheduling events. This guide calculates no date.
- Period
- As soon as practicable and at least twenty-one days before the operative scheduling event, subject to exceptions
- Trigger
- The actual scheduling conference or properly established Rule 16(b) scheduling-order due date
- Rule
- FRCP 26(f)(1)
December 1, 2025 compilation
Source guide · No automated date
Establish the actual procedure and conditions
The scheduling anchor can itself require comparing multiple Rule 16(b) events. Minimum lead time, exemptions and actual schedules cannot be resolved by the isolated single-date preset.
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Which event starts this procedure?
Identify the actual scheduling conference and establish when a scheduling order is due under Rule 16(b).
Check whether the proceeding is exempted from initial disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1)(B) or the court orders otherwise.
Check any applicable Rule 26(f)(4) expedited local schedule and preserve the actual conference date.
FRCP 26(f)(1)Which timing conditions must be established?
- Identify the actual actor, pleading and required act.
- Establish the specified event and applicable order.
- Resolve the material conditions. This guide publishes no calculated date.
- Check final-day conditions and preserve service and filing evidence separately.
Establish the actual future event and applicable minimum lead time. Exclude the hearing or trial event and count backward under Rule 6(a). A final Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves backward to an earlier qualifying day. State-declared holidays under Rule 6(a)(6)(C) apply to forward periods only. Check federal and President or Congress declared holidays. Earlier service can satisfy a minimum lead time. This guide does not present the minimum as the only permissible action date.
Exclude the hearing or trial event and count backward under Rule 6(a). A final Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves backward to an earlier qualifying day. State-declared holidays under Rule 6(a)(6)(C) apply to forward periods only. Check federal and President or Congress declared holidays. Earlier service can satisfy a minimum lead time.
FRCP 6(a)(1)Why is no automated date published?
The scheduling anchor can itself require comparing multiple Rule 16(b) events. Minimum lead time, exemptions and actual schedules cannot be resolved by the isolated single-date preset.
Which conditions change the assessment?
- Different scheduling acts
- Rule 26(f)(1) refers to a scheduling conference or an order due under Rule 16(b). Establish the actual operative event rather than selecting an assumed hearing date.
- Exemptions and orders
- The text excepts proceedings exempted under Rule 26(a)(1)(B) and a court order otherwise.
- Expedited local schedule
- Rule 26(f)(4) permits a local rule to require a shorter conference lead time and to shorten or replace the written report when needed for the expedited schedule.
- This page does not establish effective service, merits, compliance or an actual court grant.
- Service and filing are different acts. Verify both when required.
What should I verify before acting?
Common questions
This procedure and its conditions
Can the scheduling-order due date be assumed from one service date?
Rule 16(b)(2) compares ninety days after any defendant is served and sixty days after any defendant appears, subject to good-cause delay. Establish both events.
FRCP 16(b)(2)Who arranges the conference?
The attorneys of record and appeared unrepresented parties share responsibility for arranging the conference and attempting good-faith agreement.
FRCP 26(f)(2)Can an expedited local rule change the ordinary minimum?
Rule 26(f)(4) permits the specified shorter conference and report arrangements when necessary for the expedited schedule.
FRCP 26(f)(4)Official sources and review
Provisions used (5)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| FRCP 26(f)(1) | This actor, required act, operative event and period |
| FRCP 16(b)(1)–(2) | Judge’s scheduling-order procedure and composite time |
| FRCP 26(f)(2)–(4) | Joint responsibility, plan and expedited local procedure |
| FRCP 6(a)(1) | Event exclusion and intermediate calendar days |
| FRCP 6(a)(3)–(6) and (b)(1) | Actual final-day conditions, filing boundaries and applicable extension limits |