California’s general rule is short: the time to do an act “is computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded” (Code Civ. Proc. § 12). The complications are in the holiday list, in how the method of service extends the period, and — since 2026 — in a statute that ends the extra days for electronic service.
How a California period is counted
- Leave out the day the paper was served.
- Count calendar days, including weekends and holidays in the middle.
- Add any extension for the method of service (below).
- If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or judicial holiday, the deadline becomes the next court day (Code Civ. Proc. §§ 12, 12a).
Section 12a treats every Saturday and every judicial holiday as a “holiday” for this purpose, and § 12b does the same for a day the court is closed for the whole day. Periods counted back from a hearing follow a different section, § 12c; use the court days calculator or the motion deadline calculator for those.
Judicial holidays are not the state holiday list
California’s courts close on the holidays listed in Code of Civil Procedure § 135, which starts from the state holidays in Government Code § 6700 and then removes several: Lunar New Year, Diwali, Genocide Remembrance Day, Admission Day, Columbus Day and, from 2027, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Sylvia Mendez Day. It adds every Saturday and the day after Thanksgiving. Courts stay open on Columbus Day — unlike federal courts — and close on Lincoln’s Birthday and Native American Day — unlike federal courts.
Two changes take effect in 2027. Farmworkers Day (formerly Cesar Chavez Day) moves from March 31 to April 10 under SB 1394 (Stats. 2026, ch. 708); is a Saturday, so courts close Friday, April 9 under rule 1.11 of the California Rules of Court. And because New Year’s Day 2028 is a Saturday, courts close . The 2027 court holidays page lists every date.
Extra days for the way the paper was served
Code of Civil Procedure § 1013 extends “any period of notice and any right or duty to do any act or make any response” after service by these methods:
| Method of service | Extension | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Mail, both addresses in California | 5 days | calendar |
| Mail, either address outside California but in the United States | 10 days | calendar |
| Mail to the Secretary of State’s address confidentiality program | 12 days | calendar |
| Mail, either address outside the United States | 20 days | calendar |
| Express Mail or other overnight delivery | 2 days | court |
| Fax | 2 days | court |
| Electronic service, through | 2 days | court |
The extension is added to the period, and the last day is moved off a weekend or holiday once, at the end. When the extension is in court days, it is counted from the last day of the base period, skipping any day the court is closed.
Date of service: · 30 days · Mail, within California
- Count 30 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Mail, within California adds time. Count 5 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
Deadline:
Date of service: · 10 days · Express Mail or other overnight delivery
- Count 10 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Express Mail or other overnight delivery adds time. Count 2 court days after , skipping 2 weekend days, Day after Thanksgiving (): .
Deadline:
Section 1013 does not extend the time for a notice of intention to move for a new trial, a notice of intention to move to vacate under § 663a, or a notice of appeal. Some other statutes are not extended at all; the time to sue a public entity under Government Code § 945.6 is a frequently litigated example (Cole v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist. (1986) 177 Cal.App.3d 1). If the statute that sets your period has its own counting language, it controls.
Electronic service after AB 540
Assembly Bill 540 (Stats. 2026, ch. 263) removes the two-court-day extension for electronic service from § 1010.6, effective . Service completed in 2027 gets no extra days.
The bill has no transition provision. If a paper is e-served in late 2026 and the response period ends in 2027, it is not settled whether the old or new rule applies. The calculator computes both and shows the earlier date — the one that is timely under either reading.
Date of service: · 30 days · Electronic service
- Count 30 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Electronic service adds no extra time if the law in effect on the deadline governs, because the deadline falls after (AB 540 (Stats. 2026, ch. 263) repeals the two-court-day extension from ).
Deadline:
Other reading: (Add the period and the service extension, then move off a non-court day (§§ 12a, 1013) — with the extra time, under the law in effect on )
Date of service: · 30 days · Electronic service
- Count 30 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Electronic service adds no extra time for service after (AB 540 (Stats. 2026, ch. 263) repeals the two-court-day extension from ).
Deadline:
The rest of § 1010.6 is unchanged. A document served electronically at any time up to 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day is served that day; one served on a Saturday, Sunday or court holiday is deemed served on the next court day (§ 1010.6(a)(4)). There is no 5:00 p.m. cutoff for electronic service in the current statute.
Date of service: · 10 days · Electronic service
- Service on (Saturday) is deemed made on the next court day, .
- Count 10 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Electronic service adds time. Count 2 court days after , skipping 2 weekend days: .
Deadline:
Counting court days instead
Some California periods are stated in court days rather than calendar days. Choose California: court days after a date to count only days the court is open. For motion deadlines counted back from the hearing — 16, 9 and 5 court days under § 1005(b) — use the California motion deadline calculator, which adds the service days in the order § 12c requires.
Questions about California response deadlines
How many days does mail service add in California?
Five calendar days when both addresses are in California, 10 when either is elsewhere in the United States, 12 for mail to the Secretary of State’s address confidentiality program, and 20 when either is outside the country. Overnight delivery and fax add two court days instead (Code Civ. Proc. § 1013).
Does electronic service add two court days in California?
Only for service completed through . AB 540 (Stats. 2026, ch. 263) deletes the two-court-day extension from § 1010.6 on , so a paper e-served in 2027 gets no extra days at all (Code Civ. Proc. § 1010.6(a)(3)).
Is Columbus Day a court holiday in California?
No. California’s state courts stay open on Columbus Day, unlike federal courts, because Code of Civil Procedure § 135 removes it from the state holiday list. Lincoln’s Birthday, Native American Day and the day after Thanksgiving are judicial holidays instead, and deadlines that end on them move (Code Civ. Proc. § 135).
When is a paper e-served on a Saturday considered served in California?
On the next court day. A document e-served at any time up to 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day counts as served that day, with no 5:00 p.m. cutoff, but one sent on a Saturday, Sunday or court holiday is deemed served when the court next opens (Code Civ. Proc. § 1010.6(a)(4)).
Does § 1013 extend the time to file a notice of appeal?
No. Section 1013’s mail, overnight and fax days do not extend the time for a notice of appeal, a notice of intention to move for a new trial, or a notice of intention to vacate under § 663a. Some statutes, such as Gov. Code § 945.6, are not extended at all (Code Civ. Proc. § 1013).
Local closures and court orders
Superior courts sometimes close a courthouse for a day that is not on the statewide list. If your court was closed for the whole of a day, § 12b treats it as a holiday; enter it under Was the court closed on a day in the period? A court order setting a different deadline always controls over the computed date.