Indiana court deadline calculator

Indiana’s counting rule is Trial Rule 6(A), which the Supreme Court rewrote effective July 1, 2026 while leaving the mechanics in place. The day of the act, event or default is excluded and the last day included, unless that day is a Saturday, a Sunday, a legal holiday “as defined by state statute” or a day the office where the act is to be done is closed; in any of those cases the period runs to the end of the next day that is none of them. When the period is less than seven days, the intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays and closed days drop out of the count. The rule reaches periods set “by any applicable statute”, so it governs limitation periods as well as rule deadlines, and Appellate Rule 25(B) repeats it almost word for word for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

Twenty days to respond since July 1, 2026

The 2026 amendment moved the response periods out of Rule 12 and into a new Rule 6(D). A response to any pleading is due twenty days after it is served, a response to a motion twenty days after service, and a reply fourteen days after the response. The old twenty-three-day answer for a summons served by mail is gone; the three mail days now come only from Rule 6(G), and the summons and complaint, served under Rule 4, get none. A defendant who needs more time can file a notice under Rule 6(B) on or before the original due date and receive one automatic thirty-day enlargement without an order. A Rule 12 motion changes the clock again: the responsive pleading is due ten days after the order denying the motion, and a plaintiff whose complaint is dismissed for failure to state a claim may amend once as of right within ten days after notice of the order.

Two holiday lists: the statute’s and the Governor’s

IC 1-1-9-1 declares fourteen legal holidays “for all purposes”, moves a Sunday holiday to Monday and a Saturday holiday to the Friday before, and includes two days most offices never close for: Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12 and George Washington’s Birthday on the third Monday in February. Under IC 1-1-9-2 the Governor may shift the observance of a holiday, and every year’s memorandum observes Lincoln’s Birthday on the Friday after Thanksgiving and Washington’s Birthday on a working day beside Christmas (December 24 in 2026, December 23 in 2027). The Supreme Court publishes that observed list as the days the appellate courts, the Tax Court and state judicial offices are closed, and notes that county clerks may keep different hours and holidays.

Trial Rule 6(A) looks at both ideas. Its third clause names a legal holiday as the statute defines it, which by its words includes February 12; its fourth names any day the office is closed, which includes the Friday after Thanksgiving. No decision read says whether a court would roll a deadline past a February 12 on which the clerk was open. The calculator therefore computes each result three ways, with the statute’s dates, with the Governor’s closed days, and with both, and reports the earliest as the deadline so that a filing on it is timely under every reading, with the later dates shown as alternatives. Election days are on both lists: the primary in May and the general or municipal election in November close the courts in 2026, 2027 and 2028.

Short periods, e-service after 5:00 p.m. and midnight filing

A period of less than seven days is counted in business days, so a three-day period that begins the Tuesday before Thanksgiving skips the holiday and the weekend. Whether it also skips the closed Friday depends on which list applies, and the calculator shows both answers. Service by electronic means approved by the Office of Judicial Administration is complete on transmission, but Rule 5(B)(3)(c) deems service made on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday or closed day, or after 5:00 p.m. the recipient’s local time, complete on the next business day; Rule 86(B)(3)(a) states the transmission rule for IEFS service without that sentence, and which text controls an IEFS filing at 5:30 p.m. is an open question. Filing itself runs to midnight: under Rule 87(H) an e-filed document is filed at the time on its Notice of Electronic Filing, and e-filing “must be completed before midnight” in the time zone of the court, which in Indiana may be Eastern or Central.

Motions to correct error and the thirty-day appeal

A motion to correct error must be filed not later than thirty days after the entry of final judgment is noted in the Chronological Case Summary (Trial Rule 59(C)), a period the court may not enlarge (Rule 6(C)). The clerk’s notice does not start the clock: Rule 72(E) says lack of notice does not affect the time to contest a ruling, with a narrow exception for a party without actual knowledge when the clerk’s service is not noted in the CCS. If the court neither sets a hearing nor rules within forty-five days of filing, or within thirty days after a hearing, the motion is deemed denied under Rule 53.3 and the appeal period starts that day. The notice of appeal is due thirty days after the final judgment is noted, or thirty days after the ruling on a timely motion to correct error is noted or deemed made, and a late notice forfeits the appeal (Appellate Rule 9(A)). In the appellate courts, Rule 25(C) adds three calendar days when a party serves a paper by mail or commercial carrier, but not to the appellant’s brief, a petition for rehearing or a petition to transfer, and not when the paper was e-served.

Counting back from an Indiana hearing

A written motion and its notice of hearing must be served not less than five days before the hearing (Rule 6(E)), opposing affidavits not less than one day before (Rule 6(F)), and notice of an application for default judgment at least three days before the hearing on it when the party has appeared (Rule 55(B)). The clerk gives thirty days’ notice of a pre-trial conference and counsel confer ten days before it (Rule 16). The short periods count only business days, and the rule does not say which way a date lands when it falls on a weekend or holiday; the calculator moves it earlier, which is never late.

Statutes of limitation under Trial Rule 6

Because Rule 6(A) applies to any period set by statute, a limitation period whose last day falls on a weekend or legal holiday runs to the next business day. The two-year periods for injury to person or property (IC 34-11-2-4) and for medical malpractice (IC 34-18-7-1) and the one-year outer limit for a Rule 60(B) motion are offered as named deadlines on the years rule, counted to the same calendar date and then moved. Accrual, tolling and the medical review panel’s ninety-day extension are not computed; enter the date you have determined.

What the Indiana calculator does not cover

Every rule on this page was read on the Supreme Court’s rules site and the Indiana Code on iga.in.gov on November 9, 2026, with the Governor’s 2026 and 2027 holiday memoranda; the 2028 holidays are computed from the statute and the Governor’s practice. The counting rules and every named deadline were reviewed by an attorney. It does not know a county clerk’s own closures or hours, local rules, the Tax Court’s rules, or whether Rule 6(G)’s mail days reach a statutory period such as the thirty-day petition for judicial review, which the calculator leaves at thirty days.

Questions about Indiana deadlines

How many days do you have to answer a complaint in Indiana?

Twenty days after service of the summons and complaint under Trial Rule 6(D)(1), as amended effective July 1, 2026, with no days added for the manner of service. A party may take one automatic thirty-day enlargement by filing a notice on or before the original due date (Rule 6(B)), and a Rule 12 motion postpones the answer until ten days after the court rules on it (Rule 12(A)).

Does Indiana count weekends in short deadlines?

Not when the period is less than seven days: Trial Rule 6(A) excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays and days the office is closed, so a five-day notice of a motion hearing is five business days. Periods of seven days or more count every day. Appellate Rule 25(B) has the same rule for the appellate courts.

Is February 12 a court holiday in Indiana?

IC 1-1-9-1 lists Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday, February 12, as a legal holiday for all purposes, and Trial Rule 6(A) refers to a legal holiday as defined by state statute. The Governor, however, observes the holiday on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and state judicial offices are open on February 12. Because no decision read settles which day controls, the calculator treats the earlier result as the deadline and shows the other date as an alternative.

Does e-filing or e-service add three days in Indiana?

No. Trial Rule 6(G) adds three days only when the paper was served by United States mail. Electronic service through the Indiana E-Filing System or by e-mail adds nothing, but service made after 5:00 p.m. the recipient’s time, or on a weekend, holiday or closed day, is complete the next business day under Rule 5(B)(3)(c), so the count starts a day later.

What is the deadline to appeal a judgment in Indiana?

Thirty days after the entry of the final judgment is noted in the Chronological Case Summary (Appellate Rule 9(A)(1)). A timely motion to correct error moves it to thirty days after the ruling is noted, or after the motion is deemed denied under Trial Rule 53.3, whichever comes first. A late notice forfeits the appeal. A petition to transfer to the Supreme Court is due 45 days after the Court of Appeals’ decision, or 30 days after rehearing is decided, with no extension.

When is a motion to correct error due in Indiana?

Not later than thirty days after the entry of the final judgment is noted in the Chronological Case Summary (Trial Rule 59(C)), and the court cannot extend that time (Rule 6(C)). If the court sets no hearing and does not rule within 45 days of filing, the motion is deemed denied (Rule 53.3) and the 30-day appeal period starts from that day.