California trial deadlines govern every stage of a case, from the statute of limitations that runs before you file through the appeal window that closes after judgment, and most of them are strict enough that missing one can end the case on its own. Civil and criminal cases run on different clocks, but both share a pattern: the court will enforce the deadline whether or not the underlying claim or defense has merit.
How Soon You Have to File a Civil Case
Every civil lawsuit carries a statute of limitations, and once it runs the court will refuse to hear the case. The clock usually starts when the harm occurred, though California’s discovery rule can push the start date forward for injuries that could not reasonably have been known at the time.
- Personal injury, including assault, battery, and negligence: two years from the date of injury.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1
- Oral contracts: two years from the breach.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 339
- Written contracts: four years from the breach.
- Property damage: three years from the date of damage.
- Medical malpractice: three years from the date of injury or one year from discovery, whichever comes first.
Claims against a public entity are different. You generally have to submit a government tort claim within six months of the incident before you can even file suit against a city, county, or state agency. Skipping that pre-suit step is one of the most common ways people lose otherwise viable claims.
Serving the Complaint and Responding
Filing the complaint only starts things. California requires you to serve each named defendant within 60 days of filing and to file proof of service with the court.3Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 2026 Rule 3.110 – Time for Service of Complaint, Cross-Complaint, and Response If you amend to add a new defendant, service on that defendant must happen within 30 days of the amendment. Courts can dismiss for failure to serve on time.
Once served, a defendant in a general civil case has 30 days to file an answer or a demurrer challenging the complaint. Silence for 30 days opens the door to a default judgment, which can end the case without a trial.
The Five-Year Rule for Getting to Trial
Even a timely filed, properly served case can die of age. California requires that a civil action be brought to trial within five years of filing the complaint.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 583.310 Dismissal is mandatory if the five years pass without trial. Certain stays, such as bankruptcy or stipulated stays, may be excluded from the count, but the parties cannot simply agree to ignore the limit. Complex cases with heavy discovery, multiple defendants, or long settlement talks can burn through five years faster than expected. If your case is nearing year four without a trial date, treat that as urgent.
Criminal Timelines From Arrest Through Trial
Criminal cases move on constitutional timelines. After arrest, the defendant must be brought before a judge for arraignment within 48 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays, with the deadline extending to the next court session if the 48 hours expire when court is closed.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 825
After arraignment, the speedy trial clock runs based on charge and custody status:
- Misdemeanor, in custody: trial within 30 days of arraignment.
- Misdemeanor, out of custody: trial within 45 days of arraignment.
- Felony: trial within 60 days of arraignment on the information or indictment.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1382
If the prosecution is not ready and no valid continuance has been granted, the defense can move to dismiss. Defendants often waive time to allow their lawyer more preparation, but a waiver gives up one of the strongest procedural tools available.
On the felony track, after a defendant is held to answer at the preliminary hearing, the prosecution must file the information within 15 days, and arraignment on the information must follow promptly.7Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 4.110 – Time Limits for Criminal Proceedings on Information or Indictment
Pretrial Motion Deadlines
Civil Motions
Civil moving papers must be filed and served at least 16 court days before the hearing.8California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1005 Mailing adds five calendar days in state, ten days elsewhere in the country, and twenty days internationally. Electronic service adds two court days. Opposition is due nine court days before the hearing, and the reply five court days before.
Summary judgment runs on its own schedule. The motion must be heard no later than 30 days before trial, and the notice of motion must be served 75 days before the hearing, plus any mailing extension.9California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 437c In practice, that means filing roughly three months before trial.
Anti-SLAPP motions, which challenge suits aimed at protected speech or petitioning, have a default 60-day filing window from service of the complaint. The court may allow a later filing in its discretion.
Criminal Motions
A motion to continue a criminal trial must be in writing, supported by a declaration explaining why delay is necessary, and served at least two court days before the hearing. A motion to suppress evidence under Penal Code 1538.5 must be filed before trial and heard at least ten court days before jury selection. A motion to set aside the information under Penal Code 995, arguing that the prosecution failed to show probable cause at the preliminary hearing, must be filed early in the proceedings after arraignment on the information. Late motions rarely survive without a strong showing of surprise or newly discovered evidence.
Discovery Cutoffs
In civil cases, all fact discovery must be completed no later than 30 days before the initial trial date, and discovery motions must be heard at least 15 days before trial.10California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2024.020 These cutoffs are tied to the original trial date, not a continued one, unless the court specifically reopens discovery. A trial continuance does not automatically give you more time. Late discovery requires either a stipulation or a court order based on good cause, and courts are skeptical when the information could have been obtained earlier.
Criminal discovery runs on an automatic, mutual exchange: both prosecution and defense must disclose police reports, witness lists, and other relevant materials at least 30 days before trial.11California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1054.7 If new material surfaces inside the 30-day window, disclosure must happen immediately. Late disclosures can lead to exclusion of evidence or other sanctions.
Expert Witness Disclosure
Experts have their own clock. In civil cases, once any party serves a demand for an expert witness exchange, all parties must simultaneously exchange designations on the later of two dates: 50 days before trial or 20 days after the demand.12California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2034.230 The exchange includes each expert’s name, qualifications, a summary of expected testimony, and any reports. A missed deadline can lead to exclusion of the expert, which in cases built on expert opinion (medical malpractice, construction defect, product liability) can be fatal. Relief requires a showing of good cause and no prejudice to the other side, a hard standard.
Criminal expert disclosures are due at least 30 days before trial, binding on both sides. Courts sometimes allow late disclosure where the need for the expert was not foreseeable, but the party that missed the date bears the burden.
Preserving Your Jury Right
The right to a jury trial can be lost by missing a procedural deadline. In civil cases, each party requesting a jury must deposit advance jury fees of up to $150 at least 25 calendar days before the date initially set for trial.13Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure – Trial by Jury Unlawful detainer cases have a shorter window of five days before trial. Failure to post fees on time is treated as waiver, though a court has discretion to grant relief.
In criminal cases, felony defendants automatically get a jury and must affirmatively waive it in open court for a bench trial. Misdemeanor defendants must assert the jury right at arraignment or pretrial hearings; silence can leave them with a bench trial.
What a Continuance Does Not Do
Trial dates can move, but a continuance is narrower than most people assume. In civil cases, moving the trial date does not automatically extend the discovery cutoff, the expert disclosure deadline, or the motion cutoff. Each of those requires a separate court order to reopen. Parties who treat a continuance as general breathing room often find that their discovery closed under the original schedule.
In criminal cases, continuances are harder to come by. The written motion, the supporting declaration, and the two-court-day notice are all required, and the court weighs the request against the defendant’s speedy trial rights.
Post-Trial Motions and Appeals
The clock keeps running after verdict. A motion for a new trial must be filed within 15 days after the clerk mails or a party serves notice of entry of judgment, with an outer limit of 180 days after entry if no notice is served. These deadlines are jurisdictional, so a late motion cannot be heard at all.
For civil appeals, a notice of appeal is due within 60 days after service of notice of entry of judgment, or within 180 days after judgment is entered if no notice is served.14Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 8.104 – Time to Appeal A timely post-trial motion, such as a motion for new trial or motion to vacate judgment, can extend the appeal deadline, but only if the motion itself was timely filed.
Criminal appeals usually must be filed within 60 days after the judgment is rendered. The clock runs from the judgment itself, not from service of notice of entry. Missing the appeal deadline, in either a civil or criminal case, leaves the trial court’s decision in place regardless of any errors below.