US federal district courts, criminal
What is the deadline for motion in arrest of judgment?
The period for motion in arrest of judgment normally runs 14 calendar days from the court's acceptance of a verdict or finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, under Fed. R. Crim. P. 34(b). If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, Rule 45(a) carries it to the next open day.
Calculate my deadline- Period
- 14 calendar days
- Trigger
- The court's acceptance of a verdict or finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere
- Rule
- Fed. R. Crim. P. 34(b)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure amended through 2025
Free calculator · No account needed
Calculate your deadline
Enter the date of the court's acceptance of a verdict or finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere. See the date, cited rule and counting steps.
Loading calculator...
Which date starts the 14-day period?
The period runs from the court's acceptance of a verdict or finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
Count forward from the trigger event. Confirm the event on the docket or in the service record before entering a date.
Read Rule 34"The defendant must move to arrest judgment within 14 days after the court accepts a verdict or finding of guilty, or after a plea of guilty or nolo contendere."
Fed. R. Crim. P. 34(b)
This period runs from the specific event in the cited rule. Do not substitute a nearby date such as a hearing, a courtesy copy or the day you first learned of it.
Which date do I enter?How are the 14 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 trigger day and count calendar days under Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a).
If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, Rule 45(a) carries it to the next open day.
Rule 45(a) mirrors the civil counting rule: an inaccessible clerk’s office is excluded from the last day and electronic filing ends at midnight in the court’s time zone. The national calculation does not confirm those local facts.
Read Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(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 court's acceptance of a verdict or finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 (the court's acceptance of a verdict or finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere on this date, with no order, motion or extension affecting the period), with no order, motion, extension or local closure affecting the result. Exclude the trigger day and count calendar days under Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a). The example assumes no local rule, order or closure changes the default period.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Do not count this day | September 1, 2026 |
| Day 1 | Start counting calendar days | September 2, 2026 |
| Day 14 | Ordinary deadline in this example | September 15, 2026 |
Can an order, motion or extension change the deadline?
- Extensions
- Extendable under FRCrP 45(b).
- 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.
- Extendable under FRCrP 45(b).
- A stipulation, scheduling order, standing order or local rule can set a different period and controls over the national default.
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 14-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 court's acceptance of a verdict or finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or when I first learned of it?
The period runs from the court's acceptance of a verdict or finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere 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 34Do I add three days because the document arrived by mail?
Not to this period. Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(c) concerns periods measured after service. This period runs from the court's acceptance of a verdict or finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, so no mailing days are added.
Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(c)Counting days and filing
Is it 14 calendar days or business days?
Calendar days. Count intermediate weekends and holidays. If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a) carries it forward to the next day that is not one of those.
Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)Which time zone and filing cutoff apply?
Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(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.
Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)What if the court is inaccessible on the last day?
Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(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.
Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)Extensions and local rules
Can the court extend this deadline?
Extendable under FRCrP 45(b). A request does not itself extend the period, and no discretionary extension is calculated here.
Read Rule 34Do 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 |
|---|---|
| Fed. R. Crim. P. 34(b) | Trigger and period |
| Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(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.