- Source
- calcourtdeadlines.com
- Rules
- 73 verified, 10 awaiting sign-off
- Verified
- September 29, 2026
- Generated
- Monday, October 12, 2026
California Litigation Deadline Chart
The main California civil deadlines on one page, each with the code section behind it. Across the site, 73 rules verified against the code, 10 awaiting attorney sign-off; each motion row that rests on a pending rule says so. Print it or save it as a PDF.
Not legal advice. Rules attested September 29, 2026; last full pass August 17, 2026. Verify every date yourself. Read the full disclaimer
Each verified rule carries its own date on the methodology page, all of them September 29, 2026: the date the maintaining attorney last attested it. The last full pass, signed off on August 17, 2026, checked the rules against their official sources (the code, the California Rules of Court, or for court holidays the Judicial Council calendar), with the exceptions listed on the about page. Rules still awaiting sign-off are listed on the methodology page as not yet verified. County local rules are paraphrased summaries. Individual department and judge standing orders are included only where the court publishes them and we have read the document, so assume your own department has requirements beyond what you see here. Verify every date against the operative code sections, your court's rules and your department's own order before relying on it. Using this site creates no attorney-client relationship.
A chart states the rule. It does not apply it. None of the periods below have been adjusted for weekends and court holidays. A deadline counted forward rolls to the next court day under CCP § 12a; one counted backward from a hearing moves to the court day before, a convention this site discloses because section 12a is written for periods that run forward. Several periods also move with the method of service. Use a calculator for an actual date.
Responding to a complaint
| How you were served | Response due | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Personal delivery | 30 days | CCP § 415.10 |
| Substituted service (left with someone, then mailed) | 40 days | CCP § 415.20(b) |
| First-class mail to a defendant outside California | 40 days | CCP § 415.40 |
| Notice and acknowledgment of receipt | 30 days from execution | CCP § 415.30(c) |
| Unlawful detainer, any method | 10 court days, plus 5 court days if service was completed through the Secretary of State's Safe at Home program (by mail or in person) | CCP § 1167 Not yet verified: awaiting attorney sign-off. |
Full detail and a calculator: response to a complaint. The base period is 30 days under CCP § 412.20(a)(3).
Written discovery responses
| Instrument | Days | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Interrogatories (Form or Special) | 30 | CCP § 2030.260(a) |
| Requests for Production | 30 | CCP § 2031.260(a) |
| Requests for Admission | 30 | CCP § 2033.250(a) |
Service extensions
| Method of service | Calendar days | Court days | On a § 1005(b) motion notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic service | none | +2 if served by Dec. 31, 2026; none from Jan. 1, 2027 | +2 court days if served by Dec. 31, 2026; none from Jan. 1, 2027 |
| Personal service | none | none | none |
| Mail within California | +5 | none | +5 calendar days |
| Mail outside California, within the U.S. | +10 | none | +10 calendar days |
| Mail outside the U.S. | +20 | none | +20 calendar days |
| Express mail / overnight delivery | none | +2 | +2 calendar days |
| Mail to a Safe at Home confidential address (address-confidentiality program) | +12 | none | +12 calendar days |
Motion trigger deadlines
| Motion | Deadline | Runs from |
|---|---|---|
| Motion to compel further responses CCP §§ 2030.300(c), 2031.310(c), 2033.290(c) | 45 days | service of the verified responses, extended by the method of service |
| Demurrer The complaint or cross-complaint, served with a summons CCP § 430.40(a) | 30 days | completion of service of the summons and complaint. No mail or electronic-service extension (CCP § 1016) |
| Demurrer An amended complaint, or a cross-complaint served on a party that has appeared CCP § 430.40(a); CCP § 471.5(a); CCP § 432.10; CCP § 428.60 | 30 days | service of the amended complaint or cross-complaint, extended by the method of service |
| Demurrer An answer or an amended answer CCP § 430.40(b); CCP § 471.5(b) | 10 days | service of the answer, extended by the method of service |
| Motion to strike The complaint or cross-complaint, served with a summons CCP §§ 435, 435.5 | 30 days | completion of service of the summons and complaint. No mail or electronic-service extension (CCP § 1016) |
| Motion to strike An amended complaint, or a cross-complaint served on a party that has appeared CCP §§ 435, 435.5; CCP § 471.5(a); CCP § 432.10; CCP § 428.60 | 30 days | service of the amended complaint or cross-complaint, extended by the method of service |
| Motion to strike An answer or an amended answer CCP §§ 435, 435.5; CCP § 435(b)(1); CCP § 430.40(b); CCP § 471.5(b) | 10 days | service of the answer, extended by the method of service |
| Motion to quash service of summons CCP § 418.10(a) | 30 days | completion of service of the summons. No mail or electronic-service extension (CCP § 1016) |
| Anti-SLAPP special motion to strike The complaint or cross-complaint, served with a summons CCP § 425.16(f) | 60 days | completion of service of the summons and complaint. No mail or electronic-service extension (CCP § 1016) |
| Anti-SLAPP special motion to strike An amended complaint served on a party that has appeared (new claims only) CCP § 425.16(f); CCP § 1013(a) | 60 days | service of the amended complaint, extended by the method of service |
| Motion for reconsideration CCP § 1008(a) | 10 days | service of written notice of entry of the order, extended by the method of service |
| Motion for new trial CCP § 659(a) | 15 days | the first service of notice of entry of judgment, by the clerk under § 664.5 or by any party. No service extension applies. Outside limit: never later than 180 days after entry of judgment |
| Motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict CCP §§ 629, 659 | 15 days | the first service of notice of entry of judgment, by the clerk under § 664.5 or by any party. No service extension applies. Outside limit: never later than 180 days after entry of judgment |
Motion hearing notice
| Paper | Court days before hearing | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Moving papers filed and served | 16 | CCP § 1005(b) |
| Opposition | 9 | CCP § 1005(b) |
| Reply | 5 | CCP § 1005(b) |
Criminal motions run on a different clock: 10, 5 and 2 court days under rule of court 4.111. See criminal motion deadlines.
What this chart cannot do
Three things move every date above, and none of them fit in a table. Weekends and court holidays roll a deadline forward under section 12a, except that a date counted backward from a hearing moves to the court day before (a convention this site discloses, because section 12a is written for periods that run forward), and California closes on four days that are not federal holidays, so an out-of-state calendar gets them wrong. The method of service changes both the start date and, on a notice period, the direction of the adjustment. And county local rules add trial-preparation deadlines this chart does not carry at all.
The court holiday calendar covers the first, every calculator handles the second, and county local rules covers the third. How each figure was verified is on the methodology page.
Rules attested September 29, 2026, last full pass August 17, 2026; the date for each rule is on the methodology page. Every figure on this page is read from the same rules engine the calculators use, so the chart cannot disagree with them.
Rules verified September 29, 2026 · CCP amendments through January 1, 2026, and AB 540 (Stats. 2026, ch. 263) from January 1, 2027 · engine v1.3.0