Skip to main content

US federal district courts

What is the deadline for court of appeals' period to rule on authorization for a second or successive application?

The period for court of appeals' period to rule on authorization for a second or successive application normally runs 30 calendar days from filing of the motion in the court of appeals for authorization, under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D). If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, FRCP 6(a) carries it to the next open day.

Calculate my deadline
Period
30 calendar days
Trigger
Filing of the motion in the court of appeals for authorization
Rule
28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D)
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure amended through 2025

Free calculator · No account needed

Calculate your deadline

Enter the date of filing of the motion in the court of appeals for authorization. See the date, cited rule and counting steps.

Type MM/DD/YYYY or choose a date. Use the filing date on the docket, not the service date.

Loading calculator...

Which date starts the 30-day period?

The period runs from the filing of the motion in the court of appeals for authorization.

For 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D), count forward from the trigger event. Confirm the event on the docket or in the service record before entering a date.

"The court of appeals shall grant or deny the authorization to file a second or successive application not later than 30 days after the filing of the motion."

28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D)
Read 28 USC 2244
Filing, service and entry are different events.

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. Confirm that event before applying 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D).

Which date do I enter?

How are the 30 calendar days counted?

  1. 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D). 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.

The 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) record uses this method. Exclude the trigger day and count calendar days under FRCP 6(a).

For 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D), if the final day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, FRCP 6(a) carries it to the next open day.

The supporting computation provision for 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) adds this boundary. 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 rule calculation does not confirm those court-specific facts.

Read FRCP 6(a)
28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) does not establish every filing fact.

The calculation applies the ordinary method recorded for 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D). Check applicable holidays, court accessibility and the filing cutoff separately.

Review the filing checklist

What does a worked calculation look like?

Fictitious example

Assume the filing of the motion in the court of appeals for authorization on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 (filing of the motion in the court of appeals for authorization 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 FRCP 6(a). The example assumes no local rule, order or closure changes the ordinary period under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D).

Example counting steps
StepWhat is countedDate
FilingDo not count this daySeptember 1, 2026
Day 1Start counting calendar daysSeptember 2, 2026
Day 30Ordinary deadline in this exampleOctober 1, 2026
Example resultThursday, October 1, 2026
Try these dates using the worked-example button

Can an order, motion or extension change the deadline?

Extensions
A statutory command to the court, not a party deadline, and widely treated by the circuits as hortatory rather than jurisdiction-stripping.
Orders and local rules
A scheduling order, approved stipulation, standing order or local rule can control over the ordinary period described by 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D).
Read 28 USC 2244
  • A statutory command to the court, not a party deadline, and widely treated by the circuits as hortatory rather than jurisdiction-stripping.
  • A stipulation, scheduling order, standing order or local rule can control over the ordinary period described by 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D).

What should I check before filing?

Use these checks before relying on the 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) result. They do not activate a calendar date or certify that the rule applies.

Common questions

Find answers about when the 30-day period under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) starts, how it is counted and what can change it.

Starting the clock

Does the clock start on the filing of the motion in the court of appeals for authorization, or when I first learned of it?

Under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D), the period runs from the filing of the motion in the court of appeals for authorization, 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 28 USC 2244

Do I add three days because the document arrived by mail?

Not to the period under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D). FRCP 6(d) concerns periods measured after service. This period runs from the filing of the motion in the court of appeals for authorization, so no mailing days are added.

FRCP 6(d)

Counting days and filing

Is it 30 calendar days or business days?

For 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D), count calendar days, including intermediate weekends and holidays. If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, FRCP 6(a) carries it forward as provided by that rule.

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. Confirm that boundary before relying on a 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) result.

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. The encoded holiday calendar does not establish an outage or local closure. This check remains separate from the ordinary 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) count.

FRCP 6(a)

Extensions and local rules

Can the court extend this deadline?

A statutory command to the court, not a party deadline, and widely treated by the circuits as hortatory rather than jurisdiction-stripping. A request does not itself extend the period under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D), and no discretionary extension is calculated here.

Read 28 USC 2244

Do local rules, standing orders or a scheduling order change the date?

They can. A local rule, standing order or case-specific order can control over the ordinary period calculated under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D). Compare the result with every applicable order 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 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D). It does not decide whether the rule governs your filing, whether an exception applies, or whether the filing has merit.

Can I calculate the deadline without an account?

Yes. Enter the trigger date to see the free calculation under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D), including the citation, counting steps and warnings. Court-specific facts can keep a result provisional.

Results, records and your case

What is included in an Evidence Record?

An eligible 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) record retains the inputs, result, cited rule, calculation working, warnings and review state. It records that calculation and its fingerprint, not a guarantee of legal correctness.

Does saving to a case activate the calendar?

Not automatically. A provisional 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) result remains subject to review, and a separately labeled manual date does not alter the original calculation.

Official sources and review

The period for 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D) and its counting method come from the cited federal provisions. Official links open the court’s published rules and accessible rule text where available.

Provisions used in this guide
ProvisionPurpose
28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D)Trigger and period
FRCP 6(a)Counting, legal holidays and the last day
Read the official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Published by Deadline Engine. This calculator applies the ordinary period under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(D). It does not decide whether the rule applies, obtain an extension or file anything for you.

Cookie preferences

Deadline Engine uses necessary cookies for authentication and security. You can choose whether we may load Plausible Analytics to measure aggregate site use. We do not use advertising or marketing tracking. You can change this any time from the footer. Read the Cookie Policy.