Discovery deadlines in federal court come from a handful of rules that all count the same way. Rules 33, 34 and 36 give a party 30 days after service to answer interrogatories, respond to requests for production and respond to requests for admission. Rule 6(a) counts those days, Rule 6(d) adds three for some service methods, and Rule 26 sets the disclosure deadlines that run from the Rule 26(f) conference and the trial date rather than from service. Choose the deadline above and the calculator applies the right combination.
The 30-day responses
Interrogatory answers and objections are due within 30 days after the interrogatories are served (Rule 33(b)(2)). A written response to a request for production is due within 30 days after the request is served, or, for a request delivered before the Rule 26(f) conference under Rule 26(d)(2), within 30 days after that conference (Rule 34(b)(2)(A)). A matter in a request for admission is admitted unless a written answer or objection is served within 30 days (Rule 36(a)(3)). All three can be shortened or extended by stipulation under Rule 29 or by court order, and a scheduling order often does.
Date of service: · 30 days · The period does not run from service
- Count 30 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- is not a court day (Veterans Day), so the deadline moves forward to .
- The period does not run from service adds no extra days.
Deadline:
The count itself follows Rule 6(a): the day of service is excluded, every calendar day counts including weekends and holidays, and a last day on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday carries the deadline to the next day that is none of those. Because the 30-day periods are long, the only question in most cases is whether the last day lands on a closed day.
Which service methods earn three more days
Rule 6(d) adds three days when a party must act within a specified time after being served and the paper was served by mail, by leaving it with the clerk, or by other means the party consented to in writing. Until , electronic service was on that list; it no longer is. A set of interrogatories served through CM/ECF or by e-mail under Rule 5(b)(2)(E) gives the responding party exactly 30 days. The same request dropped in the mail gives 33, and if the thirty-third day is a weekend day the deadline moves to Monday under Rule 6(a)(1)(C).
Date of service: · 14 days · Electronic service (CM/ECF or consented e-mail)
- Count 14 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Electronic service (CM/ECF or consented e-mail) adds no extra days.
Deadline:
The three days attach to the period, not to the service date, and only to periods that run from service. A deadline measured from the Rule 26(f) conference, from a court order or from the trial date gets nothing from Rule 6(d), whatever paper was mailed along the way.
Disclosures run from the conference, not from service
Initial disclosures are due at or within 14 days after the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference, unless the court orders or the parties stipulate otherwise (Rule 26(a)(1)(C)). A party first served or joined later has 30 days after being served or joined (Rule 26(a)(1)(D)). The written report of the Rule 26(f) conference is itself due within 14 days after the conference (Rule 26(f)(2)), so the two deadlines usually coincide.
Date of the Rule 26(f) conference:
- Count 14 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- is not a court day (Thanksgiving Day), so the deadline moves forward to .
Deadline:
Expert disclosures are counted backward: absent a stipulation or court order, they are due at least 90 days before the trial date, and rebuttal disclosures within 30 days after the other party’s disclosure (Rule 26(a)(2)(D)). Pretrial disclosures of witnesses and exhibits are due at least 30 days before trial, and objections to them within 14 days after they are made (Rule 26(a)(3)). The federal calculator counts the backward periods; this page covers the forward ones.
Early Rule 34 requests
A request for production may be delivered to a party more than 21 days after that party was served with the summons and complaint, even though discovery has not opened. Rule 26(d)(2) treats the request as served at the first Rule 26(f) conference, so the 30-day period starts on the conference date. Enter the conference date, not the delivery date, as the start.
Subpoenas to non-parties
A person commanded to produce documents under a subpoena may serve written objections before the earlier of the time specified for compliance or 14 days after the subpoena is served (Rule 45(d)(2)(B)). Because that period is 14 days, a Thanksgiving week or a year-end closure often falls inside it, but Rule 6(a) counts those days anyway; only a last day on a weekend or holiday moves.
Motions to compel and the discovery cutoff
The federal rules set no deadline for a motion to compel under Rule 37(a). Most districts fill the gap with a local rule or a scheduling order, commonly a fixed number of days after the response was due or before the discovery cutoff, and some judges require a discovery conference first. Use the scheduling order as the authority, and the “Count any number of days” entry above to apply Rule 6(a) to whatever period it sets.
What the scheduling order can change
Almost every deadline on this page yields to a Rule 16(b) scheduling order or a Rule 29 stipulation. Stipulations that would interfere with a court-ordered deadline need the court’s approval (Rule 29(b)). When the order sets a different period or a date certain, that governs; the calculator’s job is then to count the period the order sets, and the case schedule calculator builds the order’s own timeline from the complaint onward.
Questions about federal discovery deadlines
How many days do you have to answer interrogatories in federal court?
Thirty days after they are served, unless the court orders or the parties stipulate otherwise. Three days are added if the interrogatories were mailed or left with the clerk, but not if they were served electronically; objections not stated in time are waived unless the court excuses them (Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(2), (4); 6(d)).
Does electronic service add three days to a federal discovery deadline?
No. Since , Rule 6(d) adds three days only after service by mail, by leaving the paper with the clerk, or by other means the party consented to. Service through the court’s CM/ECF system or by e-mail under Rule 5(b)(2)(E) adds nothing (Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(d)).
What happens if you miss the deadline for requests for admission?
Each matter is admitted. Rule 36(a)(3) deems a request admitted unless a written answer or objection is served within 30 days of service; the court can allow withdrawal or amendment under Rule 36(b), but only on motion and only if it serves the merits without prejudicing the requesting party (Fed. R. Civ. P. 36(a)(3), (b)).
When are initial disclosures due?
At or within 14 days after the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference, unless a stipulation or court order sets another time or a party objects during the conference. A party served or joined later has 30 days after being served or joined (Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(C), (D)).
Can a document request be served before the Rule 26(f) conference?
It can be delivered more than 21 days after the summons and complaint are served, but it is treated as served at the first Rule 26(f) conference, so the 30-day response period starts then, not on delivery (Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(d)(2)).
Is there a deadline for a motion to compel in federal court?
The federal rules set none. Rule 37(a) requires a certification that the movant conferred in good faith first, and most districts set a deadline by local rule or scheduling order, often measured from the response or the discovery cutoff. Check the local rules of the district (Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1)).