In most California civil cases, an opposition to a motion is due at least nine court days before the hearing. That rule comes from Code of Civil Procedure Section 1005(b) and governs when an opposition to a motion is due in California for the ordinary run of noticed motions.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1005 Summary judgment and ex parte applications run on separate clocks, and how the moving party served you on does not buy you extra time.
The Nine-Court-Day Rule
CCP Section 1005(b) requires that all papers opposing a noticed motion be filed with the court and served on every other party at least nine court days before the hearing. Court days are weekdays that are not court holidays, so weekends and holidays are skipped in the count, and the hearing date itself is not counted.
This deadline covers the long list of motions in CCP Section 1005(a): motions to quash summons, motions to set aside default, motions to expunge a lis pendens, and essentially any noticed motion that does not have its own statutory timeline. A court can shorten the schedule for good cause, but absent that order, nine court days is the floor.
How To Count Court Days Backward From the Hearing
Start with the day before the hearing and count backward, skipping weekends and court holidays. The ninth court day you land on is your deadline.
A worked example. The hearing is Friday, January 30, 2026. Counting back: January 29 (1), January 28 (2), January 27 (3), January 26 (4), January 23 (5), January 22 (6), January 21 (7), January 20 (8). The next weekday is January 19, 2026, but that is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a court holiday.2Judicial Branch of California. Court Holidays Skip it. January 16 (9). The opposition is due Friday, January 16.
Because court days exclude weekends by definition, you will never land on a Saturday or Sunday. Holidays are the trap. California courts observe more holidays than the federal system, including Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, the day after Thanksgiving, and Native American Day on the fourth Friday in September. In 2026, the courts also close on March 31 under CCP Section 135. Pull a current holiday calendar before you calculate any filing deadline.
Service by Mail Does Not Give You Extra Time
One of the most common mistakes in California motion practice is assuming the service extensions in CCP Section 1013 stretch your opposition deadline. They do not. CCP Section 1005(b) says so directly: “Section 1013, which extends the time within which a right may be exercised or an act may be done, does not apply to a notice of motion, papers opposing a motion, or reply papers governed by this section.”
If the moving party served the motion on you by mail, you do not get an extra five calendar days. The CCP 1013 mail extension applies to the moving party’s own notice obligation (the minimum lead time for filing and serving the motion), which affects how early the hearing can be set. Once the hearing date is on the calendar, your opposition is still due nine court days before it, no matter how the papers reached you.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1013
Electronic service under CCP Section 1010.6 carries its own two-court-day extension that is separate from Section 1013.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1010.6 Whether that two-day extension applies to opposition papers under CCP 1005 has produced inconsistent results in California courts, because the statutory carve-out names only Section 1013. The safest approach is to treat nine court days as firm and not rely on any service-based extension.
Summary Judgment: 20 Days Before the Hearing
Motions for summary judgment and summary adjudication follow an entirely separate timeline under CCP Section 437c, which was substantially amended effective January 1, 2025. Under the current law, an opposition to a summary judgment motion must be served and filed no less than 20 days before the hearing.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 437c The prior deadline was 14 days, so anyone working from older templates risks filing a week late.
The summary judgment clock uses calendar days, not court days. That is a meaningful difference when the deadline lands near a weekend or holiday. The moving party must file and serve the motion at least 81 calendar days before the hearing, which gives you a predictable, if demanding, response window.
A summary judgment opposition also requires more paperwork than a routine opposition. Along with the memorandum of points and authorities, you must file a separate statement responding to each material fact the moving party claims is undisputed. That separate statement follows a specific two-column format: the moving party’s claimed fact and supporting evidence on the left, your response on the right, with a clear indication of whether each fact is disputed or undisputed. Any additional material facts you contend exist go in the separate statement as well, with citations to your supporting evidence.6Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.1350 – Motion for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication
Ex Parte Applications
Ex parte applications move too fast for a traditional opposition schedule. The party seeking the order must notify all other parties no later than 10:00 a.m. the court day before the hearing.7Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.1203 – Time of Notice to Other Parties That leaves almost no time to prepare written opposition. In practice, opposing parties either present written opposition at the hearing itself or make their arguments orally. If you learn about an ex parte application the afternoon before the hearing, focus on getting the key points onto paper rather than drafting a polished brief.
What Happens If You File Late
Under California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1300(d), a court may refuse to consider any paper that is not filed on time. A late opposition is not automatically rejected, but the court is not obligated to look at it either. You are at the judge’s mercy.
If the court declines to consider your opposition, the motion is decided on the moving party’s papers alone. For a routine discovery motion, that might be an adverse order you could have defeated. For summary judgment, it could end your case.
If you realize you are going to miss the deadline, filing late is almost always better than not filing at all. Attach a declaration explaining the reason for the delay and ask the court to exercise its discretion to consider the papers. Calendar mistakes and attorney illness tend to get more sympathy than poor time management. This is damage control, not a plan.
What To Include and How To File
California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1113 caps the memorandum of points and authorities at 15 pages for most motions and 20 pages for summary judgment or summary adjudication. The cap applies to the memorandum, not to declarations, exhibits, or the separate statement. You can ask leave to exceed the limit on a showing of good cause, but judges are not generous with that.
A standard opposition package includes:
- A memorandum of points and authorities setting out your legal arguments against the motion.
- Declarations from parties or witnesses supporting your factual claims, with exhibits attached where relevant.
- A proof of service showing when and how the opposition was served on every other party.
For a summary judgment opposition, add the two-column separate statement and, where appropriate, evidentiary objections to the moving party’s evidence and any request for judicial notice.
Many California courts now require or strongly encourage electronic filing through an approved service provider, and the rules vary by court. Some mandate e-filing for represented parties while allowing self-represented litigants to file on paper. If you are e-filing near the deadline, confirm the court’s cutoff time for same-day filing.
Service must be completed by a method reasonably calculated to deliver the papers to the other parties by the close of the next business day after you file. CCP Section 1005(c) permits personal delivery, fax, express mail, electronic service, or any other method consistent with the code’s service provisions. Electronic service is the most common method in current practice, but it requires either a court order or the other party’s consent.
Keep your proof of service and file it with the court alongside your opposition. If the moving party later claims they never received the papers, it is the only thing standing between you and a ruling made without your input.