New York splits its timing rules between two statutes. The Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) say how long a period is and when service is complete; the General Construction Law (GCL) says how days are counted and what happens when a period ends on a weekend or holiday. The calculator applies both, and shows the step each one contributes.
Counting under the General Construction Law
Section 20 excludes the day the reckoning starts from. Section 25-a provides that when a period ends on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the act may be done on the next succeeding business day. Unlike federal and Florida law, § 25-a says this even for periods measured before an event, so a “before” deadline that lands on a weekend moves later, not earlier. Because that leaves fewer days of notice than the statute asks for, practitioners usually serve by the business day before, and the motion calculator below shows that earlier day first.
Date of service: · 10 days · NYSCEF or other electronic service
- Count 10 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- NYSCEF or other electronic service adds no extra days.
- is not a court day (Lincoln's Birthday), so the deadline moves forward to .
Deadline:
Mail, overnight and NYSCEF service
CPLR 2103(b) adds days to the prescribed period when a paper is served:
| Method | Days added |
|---|---|
| Mail from within New York | 5 days |
| Mail from another state | 6 days |
| Overnight delivery service | 1 business day |
| NYSCEF (electronic filing system) | None |
| Personal delivery | None |
The days are added to the period itself, and § 25-a is applied once at the end. That is different from the federal and Florida rules, which compute the period, move it off a weekend, and only then add the extra days. Mail sent from outside the United States is not covered by CPLR 2103(b)(2), so check the court’s guidance if that applies to you.
Date of service: · 10 days · Overnight delivery service
- Count 10 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Overnight delivery service adds time. Count 1 court day after , skipping 2 weekend days, Lincoln's Birthday (), Washington's Birthday (): .
Deadline:
Time to answer the summons
CPLR 320(a) gives a defendant 20 days after service to appear. The time is 30 days after service is complete when the summons was served by delivery to a person of suitable age and discretion plus mailing, nail and mail, service on a designated agent, a court-ordered method, service outside the state (CPLR 313 to 315), service under CPLR 303, or delivery to a state official. Other methods, such as service on a corporation under CPLR 311, keep the 20 days. Under CPLR 308(2) and (4), service is complete ten days after proof of service is filed with the clerk, so the answer comes 40 days after that filing. The CPLR 2103 mail days do not apply to a summons.
Date of service (or the date proof of service was filed, for CPLR 308(2) or (4)): · CPLR 308(2) or (4), counted from the day proof of service was filed (10 + 30 days)
- Count 20 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- CPLR 308(2) or (4), counted from the day proof of service was filed (10 + 30 days) adds time. Count 20 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
Deadline:
The notice of appeal
An appeal as of right must be taken within 30 days after service of the judgment or order with written notice of its entry (CPLR 5513(a)). Entry alone starts nothing: the clock waits for service of the notice of entry, by either side. CPLR 5513(d) applies the mail and overnight days of CPLR 2103 no matter which party served, so a judgment served by mail within New York leaves 35 days.
Date the judgment or order was served with notice of entry: · Mail from within New York
- Count 30 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Mail from within New York adds time. Count 5 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- is not a court day (Christmas Day), so the deadline moves forward to , passing (Saturday), (Sunday).
Deadline:
Motions: notice counted back from the return date
CPLR 2214(b) requires a notice of motion to be served at least 8 days before the return date, or at least 16 days before it if the movant wants answering papers 7 days ahead. When the motion is mailed, the CPLR 2103(b)(2) mail days are added — 13 days for in-state mail, 21 with a demand — as the Second Department held in Zisholtz v Mandel (2018). Answering papers get no mail days: they are timely when mailed on the day they are due (Williams v Davita, 2019). Choose New York motion: last day to serve the notice of motion above.
General Construction Law § 25-a also covers periods “before which” an act must be done, and read literally it moves a weekend last day later, leaving the other side less notice than the statute requires. No appellate decision settles the point, so the calculator shows the business day before as the deadline and the literal reading as an alternative.
Return date of the motion: · With a demand for answering papers, by personal delivery or NYSCEF (16 days)
- Count 8 calendar days before (that day is not counted): .
- With a demand for answering papers, by personal delivery or NYSCEF (16 days) adds time. Count 8 calendar days before (that day is not counted): .
- is not a court day (Saturday), so the deadline moves back to .
Deadline:
Other reading: (General Construction Law § 25-a read literally: the next business day after it)
Which days are public holidays
GCL § 24 lists New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Lincoln’s Birthday (February 12), Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus each general election day — every November, not only in even years. A holiday on a Sunday (other than Flag Day) moves to Monday; nothing moves for a Saturday. The day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are not public holidays, even where court offices close. The Unified Court System also closes on a few Fridays that are not public holidays — , and June 18, December 24 and . Section 25-a does not extend a deadline that lands on one, so the calculator keeps the date; choose New York State courts under Which court? to have it flagged, and file on NYSCEF or a day earlier.
Questions about New York deadlines
How long do you have to answer a summons in New York?
Twenty days after service in most cases. A summons served under CPLR 303, 308(2) to (5) or 313 to 315, or delivered to a state official, gives 30 days counted from completion of service; for 308(2) and (4), completion comes ten days after proof of service is filed with the clerk (CPLR 320(a)).
How long do you have to file a notice of appeal in New York?
Thirty days after you are served with the judgment or order and written notice of its entry. Entry by itself starts nothing, and service of that notice by mail or overnight delivery adds the CPLR 2103(b) days whoever served it, so in-state mail leaves 35 days (CPLR 5513(a), (d)).
How many days does mail service add in New York?
Five days for mail from within New York and six for mail from another state; overnight delivery adds one business day, and NYSCEF or personal delivery adds none. The added days become part of the period before the weekend-and-holiday rule is applied, once, at the end (CPLR 2103(b)).
Does Election Day extend a deadline in New York?
Yes. Each general election day is a public holiday under General Construction Law § 24, every November and not only in even years, so a period that ends on it runs to the next business day. Lincoln’s Birthday and Columbus Day extend New York deadlines the same way (N.Y. Gen. Constr. Law §§ 24, 25-a).
Do New York court closures on Christmas Eve extend a deadline?
No. Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and the day after Thanksgiving are not public holidays under General Construction Law § 24, and § 25-a does not extend a deadline that lands on a Friday the courts close, such as . File on NYSCEF or a day earlier (N.Y. Gen. Constr. Law §§ 24, 25-a).
How far ahead must a notice of motion be served in New York?
At least 8 days before the return date, or 16 days if you demand answering papers 7 days ahead. Mailing the notice adds the CPLR 2103(b)(2) days, giving 13 days for in-state mail or 21 with a demand (CPLR 2214(b); Zisholtz & Zisholtz, LLP v Mandel, 2d Dept 2018).
Federal courts in New York
For forward-counted federal deadlines, the calculator treats these GCL § 24 days as days “declared a holiday by the state” under FRCP 6(a)(6)(C), the clause that brings state holidays into federal counts. Use the federal calculator and choose the Southern or Eastern District of New York under Which court?; the calculator then applies New York’s holidays and flags the districts’ own announced closures. For other states’ mailing rules, see extra days for service by mail.