How to Request a Trial Continuance in California

To request a trial continuance in California, you must file a motion or application showing “good cause” for the delay, supported by sworn declarations with specific facts, and you must file it as soon as you learn the problem exists. California courts treat continuances as disfavored, so the burden is on you to prove the postponement is necessary. The exact procedure depends on your case type: civil cases follow California Rules of Court Rule 3.1332, criminal cases operate under the stricter standard of Penal Code 1050, and small claims cases use a simplified written request.

What “Good Cause” Really Means

Every continuance request starts from the same premise: the judge does not want to grant it. Both the civil rules and Penal Code 1050 require an “affirmative showing of good cause” before a trial date moves.¹ Saying you need more time is not good cause. Saying you are not ready is not good cause. You have to present specific facts, under penalty of perjury, explaining why the delay is necessary and why you could not have prevented the problem.

Diligence is the center of the analysis. The court looks at whether you prepared your case with reasonable effort before the problem surfaced. If a witness is unavailable the week of trial and you knew about the conflict months ago, the judge will see poor planning, not an unforeseeable event. Even when every party stipulates to the postponement, the stipulation by itself does not satisfy good cause.¹ The judge still has to independently find the delay is justified.

Filing a Continuance in a Civil Case

Rule 3.1332 requires you to request a civil trial continuance through either a noticed motion or an ex parte application, supported by declarations.¹ The rule applies whether the request is contested, uncontested, or agreed to by everyone. File as soon as you discover the need. Delay in filing is itself grounds for denial, even when the underlying reason is legitimate.

Your motion package should include a notice of motion, supporting declarations, and a memorandum of points and authorities laying out the legal basis for the request. The declarations do the heavy lifting. They need specific facts, not conclusions. Instead of writing “the witness is unavailable,” name the witness, describe what testimony they would give, explain why no substitute exists, and state exactly what makes them unavailable. Attach documentation for medical issues. Include a proposed order with your requested new trial date, and make that date the shortest delay needed to fix the problem.

Grounds That Qualify as Good Cause

Rule 3.1332 identifies circumstances that may establish good cause for a civil trial continuance:¹

Unavailability of a key witness, party, or attorney because of death, illness, or other excusable circumstances.
Substitution of trial counsel, but only when the switch is required in the interests of justice rather than being a matter of preference.
Addition of a new party, where either side has not had a reasonable opportunity to conduct discovery and prepare.
Inability to obtain essential testimony, documents, or other material evidence despite diligent efforts.
A significant, unanticipated change in the status of the case that fundamentally alters readiness for trial.

Notice what is missing. Falling behind on discovery, general unpreparedness, and scheduling preferences are not on the list. Incomplete discovery only counts if you can show you pursued it diligently and the gap was not your fault.¹

What the Judge Weighs After Good Cause

Showing good cause gets you in the door. It does not win the motion. Rule 3.1332 requires the court to consider factors like how close the trial date is, whether you already received continuances, the length of the delay you want, whether a solution exists that does not require postponement, prejudice to other parties and witnesses, preferential trial settings (such as cases with elderly plaintiffs), the court’s calendar, and whether justice would be better served by proceeding, postponing, or imposing conditions.¹

The profile most likely to succeed is a first request filed well in advance, seeking a short delay, for a genuinely unforeseeable problem, with no serious prejudice to the other side. Each prior continuance makes the next one harder. Each week closer to trial makes any request harder.

Ex Parte Applications for Emergencies

When something unexpected hits with only days to spare, a regular noticed motion is not fast enough. You can file an ex parte application instead. Under Rule 3.1203, you must notify every other party no later than 10:00 a.m. the court day before your ex parte appearance.² If exceptional circumstances make even that impossible, you can argue for shorter notice, but expect the court to be skeptical.

Judges are naturally suspicious of last-minute requests, so ex parte applications face a higher practical bar than noticed motions. Your declarations have to explain both why you need the continuance and why you could not have brought the motion sooner through normal channels.

Criminal Continuances and the Speedy Trial Clock

Criminal continuances face a tougher standard. Penal Code 1050 declares that excessive continuances cause substantial hardship to victims and witnesses, increase pretrial custody time, and add to jail overcrowding and costs.³ The statute directs courts, judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to move criminal matters forward as quickly as justice allows. Rule 4.113 adds that criminal continuances “are disfavored and will be denied unless the moving party presents affirmative proof in open court that the ends of justice require a continuance.”⁴ Mutual agreement to delay does not satisfy that standard.

Filing Requirements

A written notice must be filed and served on all parties at least two court days before the hearing you want continued. The notice must include declarations or affidavits with specific facts showing why a continuance is necessary.³ “Served” means the other party actually received the documents, not just that you mailed them. The filing party must also notify its own witnesses of the motion, the hearing date, and the witnesses’ right to be heard.

You can file without meeting the two-day notice rule, but you then carry the extra burden of showing good cause for not complying with the notice requirements. That procedural failure alone can end the motion.

After the hearing, the judge must make a finding on the record about good cause. If granted, the court must state the specific facts justifying both the continuance and its length, and the continuance can last only as long as the evidence shows is necessary.³ The court must also consider the convenience and prior commitments of every witness, including law enforcement officers.

How Speedy Trial Rights Interact With Continuances

Penal Code 1382 sets hard deadlines. A felony defendant must be brought to trial within 60 days of arraignment on the information or indictment. For misdemeanors and infractions, the deadline is 30 days after arraignment if the defendant is in custody, 45 days if not.⁵ If the prosecution misses that window, the court must dismiss unless good cause is shown for the delay.

A defendant can waive the speedy trial right generally or by consenting to a specific trial date beyond the deadline. A general waiver lets the court reschedule without the dismissal threat. A consent to a specific date beyond 60 days, without a general waiver, means the trial must happen on that date or within 10 days after it.⁵ Think carefully before waiving speedy trial rights to accommodate a continuance. That waiver gives up a powerful enforcement tool.

Small Claims Court Postponements

Small claims uses a much simpler process. No formal motion, no memorandum of points and authorities. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 116.570, any party can submit a written request to postpone a hearing date for good cause, either by letter or on a Judicial Council form.⁶

File at least 10 days before the hearing unless you can show good cause for filing later. On the day you file, mail or hand-deliver a copy to every other party. If the court finds postponement serves the interests of justice, it will reschedule and notify everyone by mail of the new date, time, and place. The filing fee for a postponement request is $10.⁶

If the Judge Denies Your Request

Denial means the trial goes forward on the scheduled date. There is no pretrial appeal of the denial itself. In a civil case, you present whatever you have ready, which may mean losing or going without evidence you did not have time to develop. If you believe the denial was an abuse of discretion, you can raise it on appeal after final judgment.

In a criminal case the stakes run both directions. A defendant pushed to trial unprepared may have grounds for appeal if the denial was truly unreasonable. For the prosecution, denial combined with an expired speedy trial deadline can mean outright dismissal of the charges under Penal Code 1382.⁵ Filing early and building a strong record of good cause matters most here, because there is often no second chance.

Practical Tips for a Stronger Request

The biggest mistake is treating continuance motions as routine paperwork. They are not. The denied ones usually share the same problems: vague declarations, late filing, and no evidence that the problem was unforeseeable. What actually works:

File immediately. The moment you learn about the problem, start drafting. Every day between discovery and filing works against you.
Be specific in your declarations. Name the witness, describe the testimony, explain why no substitute exists, and attach documentation for medical or scheduling issues. Courts distrust generalities.
Request the shortest possible delay. Two weeks is more palatable than two months. Tie the length to the time needed to resolve the specific problem.
Show your work. If discovery is incomplete, detail every effort you made and identify what went wrong despite those efforts. Judges want to see diligence, not excuses.
Address prejudice to the other side. If the delay will not harm them, say so affirmatively. If it will cause some prejudice, acknowledge it and explain why your need outweighs it.
Propose conditions. Offering to complete specific tasks by specific dates before the new trial date shows good faith and gives the judge something concrete to order.

California courts view continuances as a necessary evil, not a convenience. Whether civil, criminal, or small claims, getting one granted comes down to proving something genuinely unexpected happened, that you acted quickly, and that a short delay is the only way to ensure a fair outcome.

1
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.1332 – Motion or Application for Continuance of Trial
2
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.1203 – Time of Notice to Other Parties
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1050
4
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 4.113 – Motions and Grounds for Continuance of Criminal Case Set for Trial
5
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1382
6
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 116.570