In California, you add two court days to a deadline when the document that triggers it was served electronically. That rule comes from Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6, and it answers the core question of how many days to add for electronic service in California. The catch is in the unit: court days, not calendar days, so weekends and judicial holidays are skipped when you count.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1010.6
What Counts as a Court Day
A court day is any day the court is open for business: Monday through Friday, excluding official judicial holidays. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays are skipped entirely. That is why a “two-day” extension can push a deadline out by nearly a full calendar week during holiday-heavy stretches like late November and December. Use the Judicial Council’s judicial holiday calendar rather than assuming only federal holidays close the courts.
When Electronic Service Is Effective
You cannot count forward until you know the service date. Under section 1010.6, a document served electronically anytime between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day is deemed served on that day.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1010.6 Service at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday is still Tuesday service.
A document served on a weekend or court holiday is deemed served on the next court day.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1010.6 Something sent at 8 p.m. Saturday is treated as served the following Monday, assuming Monday is not a holiday.
How to Calculate the New Deadline
Work in two steps. First, figure out what the deadline would be if the document had been personally delivered. Then add two court days, skipping weekends and holidays. A few concrete examples:
- Original deadline lands on a Monday. The two court days added are Tuesday and Wednesday. New deadline: Wednesday.
- Original deadline lands on a Thursday. The two court days added are Friday and the following Monday, because the weekend is skipped. New deadline: Monday.
- Original deadline lands on a Friday before a Monday court holiday. The first court day added is Tuesday, the second is Wednesday. New deadline: Wednesday.
- Original deadline lands on a Wednesday, and both Thursday and Friday are court holidays. The first court day added is the following Monday, the second is Tuesday. That pushes the deadline out nearly a full week from where it started.
Stacked holidays are where the arithmetic goes wrong most often. Check every intervening day against the judicial calendar before you commit to a date.
When the Two Court Days Do Not Apply
Section 1010.6 only extends deadlines that are triggered by service of a document. Deadlines that run from a different event, such as entry of judgment, are unaffected. Two specific carve-outs also matter in day-to-day practice.
Motion Hearings Under Section 1005
Code of Civil Procedure section 1005 sets the notice period for most law-and-motion hearings and builds its own adjustments into that period for different service methods, including fax and overnight delivery. Section 1005 also specifies that the general service extensions in section 1013 do not apply to its motion deadlines.2Justia. California Code of Civil Procedure 1003-1008 – Section 1005 When the notice statute already accounts for the service method, do not stack another extension on top.
Summary Judgment Motions Under Section 437c
Summary judgment has its own clock. The moving party must serve notice and supporting papers at least 81 days before the hearing. For service by fax or overnight delivery, that 81-day period increases by two court days. Section 437c expressly states that the general extensions in sections 1005 and 1013 do not apply to its timeline.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 437C Treat the section 437c deadlines as self-contained.
How This Compares to Mail Service
The electronic service extension is the shortest of the service-method extensions in California, and the units are different from mail. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 1013, documents served by mail within California add five calendar days to a deadline. If either the mailing address or the destination is outside California but within the United States, the extension is ten calendar days. Addresses outside the country add twenty calendar days.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1013
Mail extensions are calendar days. The electronic service extension is court days. Two court days will always be at least two calendar days, and often more once a weekend or holiday falls in the window. If a case involves parties served by different methods, calculate each party’s deadline separately in the correct unit before comparing them.
A Practical Check Before You Rely on the Date
Three questions cover most calculation errors. Was the document served on a court day, or does the service date roll forward to the next one? Are the two days you are counting actual court days, with weekends and judicial holidays removed? And is the underlying deadline one that section 1010.6 actually extends, rather than a section 1005 motion, a section 437c summary judgment schedule, or a deadline that runs from something other than service? Answer those three, and the extension is straightforward.