What is the deadline for federal civil notice of appeal?

The period runs from the entry of the judgment or order appealed from.

Count forward from entry. Confirm the event on the docket or in the service record before entering a date.

FRAP 4(a)(1)(A): 'the notice of appeal required by Rule 3 must be filed with the district clerk within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order appealed from.' 28 USC 2107(a): 'no appeal shall bring any judgment, order or decree in an action, suit or proceeding of a civil nature before a court of appeals for review unless notice of appeal is filed, within thirty days after the entry of such judgment, order or decree.'

FRAP 4(a)(1)(A); 28 USC 2107(a)

1. Exclude the day of the trigger event.
2. Count every following day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
3. If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, continue to the next day that is not one of those.

FRAP 26(a) supplies the counting rule.

The applicable circuit time zone and state legal holidays require court-specific confirmation.

FRAP 26(a) also treats a day on which the clerk’s office is inaccessible as excluded from the last day, and sets the electronic filing cutoff at midnight in the time zone of the circuit clerk’s principal office. Circuit local rules and briefing orders often control; the national calculation does not read them.

Fictitious example

Assume the entry of the judgment or order appealed from on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 (no United States party and no tolling motion), with no order, motion, extension or local closure affecting the result. The calculator applies the ordinary 30-day branch. The selected court, local rules, orders, filing system and closure notices still require confirmation.

Extensions

Extension only under FRAP 4(a)(5) (motion within 30 days after expiry, on excusable neglect or good cause, capped at 30 days after the prescribed time or 14 days after the order granting the motion, whichever is later) or reopening under FRAP 4(a)(6). There is no other relief.

Orders and local rules

A scheduling order, stipulation approved by the court, standing order or local rule can set a different period and controls over the national default.

• A qualifying post-judgment motion can alter when the appeal clock runs.
• Extensions and reopening are limited to the routes in FRAP 4.

These checks help you review the result. They do not activate a calendar date or certify that the deadline applies.

• Correct trigger date from the district docket or the court of appeals docket
• The circuit’s briefing schedule, local rule or order, which commonly displaces the national default
• Applicable legal holidays and any closure notice for the circuit clerk’s office
• Time zone of the circuit clerk’s principal office and the electronic filing cutoff
• Current rules and any order entered in the appeal

Find answers about when this 30-day period starts, how it is counted, what can change it and how to keep your calculation.

The period and the counting method come from different provisions. The official source is the court’s published rules; the reading links open the rule text at the Legal Information Institute.

Rule record reviewed September 1, 2026. Guide sources checked September 1, 2026. Next source check November 15, 2026.

Published by Deadline Engine. This tool calculates the ordinary period under the cited rule. It does not decide whether the rule applies, obtain an extension or file anything for you.