US federal district courts
How long do I have to serve the summons and complaint in federal court?
A plaintiff normally must serve each defendant within 90 days after the complaint is filed. If service is not made, the court must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant or order service within a specified time, and must extend the time if the plaintiff shows good cause.
Calculate my deadline- Period
- 90 calendar days
- Trigger
- Filing of the complaint
- Rule
- FRCP 4(m)
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure amended through 2025
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Calculate your deadline
Enter the date of filing of the complaint. See the date, cited rule and counting steps.
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Which date starts the 90-day period?
The period runs from the filing of the complaint.
Count forward from filing. Confirm the event on the docket or in the service record before entering a date.
Read Rule 4If a defendant is not served within 90 days after the complaint is filed, the court - on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff - must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant or order that service be made within a specified time. But if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court must extend the time for service for an appropriate period.
FRCP 4(m)
This period runs from the filing date on the docket. Do not substitute the date of service, the date an order was entered or the day you learned of the filing.
Which date do I enter?How are the 90 calendar days counted?
- Exclude the day of the trigger event.
- Count every following day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
- If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, continue to the next day that is not one of those.
Exclude the filing day and count 90 calendar days under FRCP 6(a).
FRCP 6(a) carries a final Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday to the next open day.
Rule 6(a) also treats a day on which the clerk’s office is inaccessible as excluded from the last day, and sets the filing cutoff at midnight in the court’s time zone for electronic filing. The national calculation does not confirm those local facts.
Read FRCP 6(a)The calculation gives the ordinary national-rule date. Check relevant holidays, the court’s accessibility and its filing cutoff separately.
Review the filing checklistWhat does a worked calculation look like?
Fictitious example
Assume the filing of the complaint on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, with no order, motion, extension or local closure affecting the result. The filing date is excluded and 90 calendar days are counted. November 30, 2026 is a Monday and not a federal legal holiday, so the calculator does not roll the date forward.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | Do not count this day | September 1, 2026 |
| Day 1 | Start counting calendar days | September 2, 2026 |
| Day 90 | Ordinary deadline in this example | November 30, 2026 |
Can an order, motion or extension change the deadline?
- Extensions
- Extension is MANDATORY on a showing of good cause. Even absent good cause, courts have discretion to extend rather than dismiss, since the rule permits the court to 'order that service be made within a specified time'.
- 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.
- Rule 4(m) does not apply to service in a foreign country under Rule 4(f), 4(h)(2) or 4(j)(1).
- An amended complaint adding a new defendant starts that defendant’s period from the amended filing in most courts; confirm the local approach.
What should I check before filing?
These checks help you review the result. They do not activate a calendar date or certify that the deadline applies.
Common questions
Find answers about when this 90-day period starts, how it is counted, what can change it and how to keep your calculation.
Starting the clock
Does the clock start on the filing of the complaint, or when I first learned of it?
The period runs from the filing of the complaint as the rule defines it, not from the day you read about it, received a courtesy copy or attended a hearing. Use the date shown on the docket or in the service record.
Read Rule 4Do I add three days because the document arrived by mail?
Not to this period. FRCP 6(d) concerns periods measured after service. This period runs from the filing of the complaint, so no mailing days are added.
FRCP 6(d)Counting days and filing
Is it 90 calendar days or business days?
Calendar days. Count intermediate weekends and holidays. If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, FRCP 6(a) carries it forward to the next day that is not one of those.
FRCP 6(a)Which time zone and filing cutoff apply?
Under FRCP 6(a)(4), electronic filing ends at midnight in the court’s time zone unless a statute, local rule or court order sets a different time. Paper filing ends when the clerk’s office is scheduled to close. This calculator does not verify either fact.
FRCP 6(a)What if the court is inaccessible on the last day?
FRCP 6(a)(3) extends the period to the first accessible day that is not a weekend or legal holiday when the clerk’s office is inaccessible on the last day. Check the court’s closure notices and orders. A national holiday calculation does not establish an outage or local closure.
FRCP 6(a)Extensions and local rules
Can the court extend this deadline?
Extension is MANDATORY on a showing of good cause. Even absent good cause, courts have discretion to extend rather than dismiss, since the rule permits the court to 'order that service be made within a specified time'. A request does not itself extend the period, and no discretionary extension is calculated here.
Read Rule 4Do local rules, standing orders or a scheduling order change the date?
They can. Many courts set their own periods by local rule, standing order or case-specific order, and those control over the national default. This calculator gives the national-rule date only; compare it with any order in the case before relying on it.
Choosing the right calculator
Does this calculator decide whether the rule applies to my case?
No. It calculates a period from the date you provide under the cited rule. It does not decide whether the rule governs your filing, whether an exception applies, or whether the filing has merit. Those questions need separate review.
Can I calculate the deadline without an account?
Yes. Enter the trigger date to see the free national-rule calculation, citation, counting steps and warnings. You can add court context after the result. Missing court review keeps the result provisional.
Results, records and your case
What is included in an Evidence Record?
The retained inputs, result, cited rule, calculation working, warnings and review state. The PDF includes a payload digest and retained-data appendix, and the record can be verified against its fingerprint later. It records the calculation, not a guarantee of legal correctness.
Does saving to a case activate the calendar?
Not automatically. Provisional records remain subject to review. A separately labeled manual date does not alter the original calculation.
Official sources and review
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.
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| FRCP 4(m) | Trigger and period |
| FRCP 6(a) | Counting, legal holidays and the last day |
Rule record reviewed . Guide sources checked . Next source check .
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.