Deadline calculator

United States legal deadline calculator

Choose the court, tribunal or procedure, then enter what happened and when. You will get the date, citation and calculation steps.

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Jurisdiction

Court

Topic

Deadline

21 days from Service of the summons and complaint on the defendant

FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)(i)Binding

Rule notes

Opening words of Rule 12(a) are 'Unless another time is specified by this rule or a federal statute', so a specific federal statute displaces the 21 days. FRCP 6(d) can NEVER add 3 days to this period. Failure to answer exposes the defendant to entry of default under Rule 55(a). Corrected on verification: the entry previously said that Rule 6(d) adds 3 days 'only where service was by mail, by leaving with the clerk, or by other consented means', which invites the reading that a mailed complaint attracts the extra 3 days. It does not. FRCP 6(d) is keyed exclusively to service made under FRCP 5(b)(2)(C), (D) or (F); the summons and complaint are served under FRCP 4, so no 3 days are ever added to the Rule 12(a)(1)(A)(i) period however service was effected. The quoted opening words of Rule 12(a) were also incomplete: the rule reads 'Unless another time is specified by this rule or a federal statute'. Sources: FRCP 6(d) and FRCP 12(a)(1), current text.

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Federal Rules of Civil ProcedureReview coverage and exclusions

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Worked check

One tested United States calculation

Example input: August 3, 2026
Relevant fact: The bankruptcy court judgment was entered on Monday, August 3, 2026.
Expected result: Monday, August 17, 2026

The entry day is excluded and the 14-day Rule 8002 period ends on 17 August. A listed tolling motion can restart the appeal clock.

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Included forums

Federal district courts
Federal appellate courts and Supreme Court
Federal bankruptcy courts
United States Tax Court
United States Court of Federal Claims
United States Court of International Trade

Check outside the calculator

State and territory calculators remain in preparation until an affirmative release record covers the court system, current source, calendar, filing cut-off, local-rule boundary and regressions.
Federal district and circuit local rules, judge-specific orders, electronic-filing cut-offs, live outages and case orders are not inferred.

Primary-source collections

Local and court-specific sources

No single fixed period. Check the source directly.

United States Courts, official court website directory
Choose the relevant one of 94 federal districts or 13 courts of appeals, then record any local-rule period in the matter with its citation and source link.
United States Courts, current rules and local-rule boundary
Local rules and standing orders can add filing, briefing and hearing requirements. They remain reference-only until the exact court and rule edition are selected.
United States Courts, CM/ECF guidance
Electronic-filing cut-offs, time zones, outage procedures and judge-specific orders are recorded as sourced manual deadlines rather than inferred nationally.

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