How court deadlines are usually counted
Many court rules — including Rule 6(a) of the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure — use a similar method for periods stated in days:
- Exclude the day of the event that triggers the period (for example, the day a document is served).
- Count every day, including weekends and legal holidays.
- Include the last day — but if it is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period continues to the next day that is not one of those.
Choose Calendar days for this method. Some state rules and contracts count court days (business days) instead, skipping weekends and holidays entirely — choose Court days for those. For periods counted backwards from a future date (such as “10 days before the hearing”), choose Before; if the last day falls on a weekend or holiday, the calculator moves to the previous court day.
Holidays included
With holidays switched on, the calculator treats these US federal holidays as non-court days, using their observed dates: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. State courts often close on additional days (for example the day after Thanksgiving or state-specific holidays), and courts may close unexpectedly — those days are not included.
Important limitations
Deadlines depend on the exact rule, the court, the method of service (some methods add extra days), and any court order. This calculator is a counting aid, not legal advice. Always check the applicable rules or confirm with an attorney or the court clerk before relying on a date.
For general business-day counting, use Add Days to Date; to count the days between two dates, use Days Between Dates.