When Is a Motion for New Trial Due in California?

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.

15 calendar days from the first service of notice of entry of judgment, by the clerk under § 664.5 or by any party, and never later than 180 days after entry of judgment. CCP § 659(a)

What catches people out: Fifteen days, no service extension of any kind, and the deadline is jurisdictional. Section 1013 names this notice as one of only three filings its mail, overnight and fax extensions never reach.

Calculate this deadline

The notice of intention to move for a new trial is due within 15 days after the first service of notice of entry of judgment, whether the clerk serves it under section 664.5 or a party serves it. It is also due no later than 180 days after entry of judgment, and whichever of those two dates comes first is the deadline. The 180 days is a limit of its own, not a starting point for another 15. One date can run later: once any party files the first notice of intention, each other party has 15 days after that notice is served on it to file and serve its own.

The section 1013 service extensions do not apply. Section 1013 says so in terms: the extensions do not extend the time to file a notice of intention to move for a new trial, a notice of intention to move to vacate under section 663a, or a notice of appeal. Those three are the carve-outs. If you calendar this the way you calendar a discovery response, adding five days for mail, you will be five days late on a jurisdictional deadline.

The period cannot be extended by the court or by stipulation. Unlike most of the deadlines on this site, there is no good-cause relief and no agreement that cures a late filing.

After a court trial, entry of judgment can come later from January 1, 2027. AB 515 (Stats. 2025, ch. 559) rewrites section 664 so the clerk enters judgment within 30 days after the court files its decision, or within 30 days after the statement of decision becomes final when one was requested, instead of immediately on filing. The same bill makes every request for a statement of decision due before the matter is submitted for decision; today that rule reaches only a trial concluded within one day or in under eight hours over more than one day, and a longer trial has 10 days after the tentative decision. The 15 days still run from service of notice of entry, and the 180 days from entry itself, so watch the docket for the entry.

The motion also has an effect well beyond itself. If the motion is denied, a valid notice of intention extends the time to appeal from the judgment under rule of court 8.108(b), until the earliest of 30 days after the order denying it is served, 30 days after denial by operation of law, or 180 days after entry of judgment. So the new trial deadline is often the first domino in an appellate calendar rather than the end of the trial court one.

In federal court the motion itself, not a notice of intention, must be filed no later than 28 days after entry of judgment under FRCP 59(b), and Rule 6(b)(2) bars the court from extending that time. federalcourtdeadlines.com counts the federal post-trial deadlines.

What the statute does not say on its face

A notice of intention to move for a new trial must be filed and served either (1) after the decision is rendered and before entry of judgment, or (2) "[w]ithin 15 days of the date of serving notice of entry of judgment by the clerk of the court pursuant to Section 664.5, or service upon them by any party of written notice of entry of judgment, or within 180 days after the entry of judgment, whichever is earliest." (Code Civ. Proc., § 659(a).) The 180 days is a deadline of its own, not a starting point for another 15 days.
One later date comes from the statute itself, not from any extension: "upon the filing of the first notice of intention to move for a new trial by a party, each other party shall have 15 days after the service of that notice upon them to file and serve a notice of intention to move for a new trial." (Code Civ. Proc., § 659(a)(2).) The calculator does not rely on it and gives the earlier date.
SERVICE EXTENSIONS DO NOT APPLY TO THE 15 DAYS FOR THE NOTICE OF INTENTION. Section 659 provides that these times "shall not be extended by order or stipulation or by those provisions of Section 1013 that extend the time for exercising a right or doing an act where service is by mail." Section 1013(a) separately and expressly carves out notices of intention to move for new trial.
The court's power to rule expires 75 days after the earlier of the clerk's mailing of notice of entry of judgment under § 664.5 or service on the moving party by any party of written notice of entry of judgment; if no such notice has been given, 75 days after the filing of the first notice of intention to move for a new trial. If not determined within that period the motion is denied by operation of law. (Code Civ. Proc., § 660(c).) The period was extended from 60 to 75 days by Stats. 2018, ch. 317 (A.B. 2230), eff. Jan. 1, 2019. The events it runs from did not change.
Enter both dates and the calculator computes both limits, 15 days after the first service of notice of entry and 180 days after entry of judgment, and gives you the earlier one. With only one date it computes that limit and says which one is missing.
Briefing does not run on § 1005(b). "Within 10 days of filing the notice, the moving party shall serve upon all other parties and file any brief and accompanying documents, including affidavits in support of the motion. The other parties shall have 10 days after that service within which to serve upon the moving party and file any opposing briefs and accompanying documents, including counter-affidavits. The moving party shall have five days after that service to file any reply brief and accompanying documents." (Code Civ. Proc., § 659a.) Those periods "may, for good cause shown by affidavit or by written stipulation of the parties, be extended by any judge for an additional period not to exceed 10 days." (Ibid.) On a JNOV motion the "notice" is the notice of motion, and § 629(b) applies the same periods. Once the time to file counter-affidavits expires, the clerk calls the motion to the trial judge, who designates the time for any oral argument on five days' notice by mail. (Code Civ. Proc., § 661.)
Service extensions on the § 659a opposition and reply: § 1013(a) extends "any right or duty to do any act or make any response within any period . . . after service of the document" when the document is served by mail, and its only new-trial carve-out is the notice of intention itself. On that text the extension reaches the opposition and reply periods, and § 1010.6 does the same for electronic service made through December 31, 2026. No case so holds. This calculator applies it, keyed to how the brief (and then the opposition) is served. Electronic service made on or after January 1, 2027 adds nothing, because AB 540 (Stats. 2026, ch. 263) takes the extension out of § 1010.6. The 10 days to serve the moving brief run from filing the notice, not from service, so nothing extends them.

Then the briefing clock starts

Filing on time is half of it. Briefing on this motion does not run on § 1005(b), and nothing counts back from the hearing. Under CCP § 659a, the moving party serves and files its brief within 10 days of filing the notice of intention, the other parties have 10 days after that service to oppose, and the moving party has 5 days after that service to reply. Once the opposition time runs, the clerk calls the motion to the trial judge, who sets any oral argument on five days' notice (§ 661). Under CCP § 660(c) the court's power to rule ends 75 days after the earlier of the clerk's mailing or a party's service of notice of entry of judgment, or, if no notice was given, 75 days after the first notice of intention is filed. After that the motion is denied by operation of law. The civil motion deadline calculator counts the briefing chain forward, across weekends and California court holidays.

Common questions

How long do you have to file a motion for new trial in California?

15 calendar days from the first service of notice of entry of judgment, by the clerk under § 664.5 or by any party, and never later than 180 days after entry of judgment, under CCP § 659(a). Calendar days count weekends and holidays; if the last day lands on one, the deadline rolls to the next court day.

Does the method of service extend the motion for new trial deadline?

No. This period takes no service extension at all, so the date is the same however the triggering papers were served. Adding days for mail here is how the deadline gets missed.

Can the motion for new trial deadline be extended?

No. Nothing extends this deadline: not a stipulation between counsel, not a court order, and not good cause. Treat the date as fixed. One later date is written into the statute rather than granted as an extension: once any party files the first notice of intention, each other party has 15 days after that notice is served on it to file and serve its own (Code of Civil Procedure section 659(a)(2)).

When are the opposition and reply due on a motion for new trial?

Opposition is due 10 days after service of the moving brief, and the reply 5 days after service of the opposition, under Code of Civil Procedure section 659a. The moving brief itself is due 10 days after the notice of intention is filed. These are calendar days counted forward, not court days counted back from the hearing.

What catches people out on the motion for new trial deadline?

Fifteen days, no service extension of any kind, and the deadline is jurisdictional. Section 1013 names this notice as one of only three filings its mail, overnight and fax extensions never reach.

Other motion deadlines

Demurrer Anti-SLAPP special motion to strike Motion to strike Motion to quash service of summons Motion to compel further responses Motion for reconsideration Motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict

This deadline was verified against the code on September 29, 2026. The § 659a briefing periods and the § 660(c) last day to rule were read on September 29, 2026. Every figure on this page is read from the same rules engine the calculators use, so it cannot disagree with them. See methodology.

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