CPR Deadline Calculator

Led by Diellza Nika Hyseni and Mentor Nika · Updated 20 October 2026

Work out a deadline under the Civil Procedure Rules in England and Wales: a clear days calculator for CPR 2.8, with the 5-day rule and court office closures, calendar months under CPR 2.10, and the latest days to email or post a document. Common time limits, from serving the claim form to detailed assessment, are built in. Free, from DMD Costs, law costs draftsmen.

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CPR 2.8 and 2.10
Bank holidays and court closures
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Pick the time limit, or enter your own period, then the date it runs from. The deadline appears with each step of the count and the rule behind it.

What is the deadline for?

Date of the event the period runs fromNot sure when a document was served? Our deemed service calculator works it out.

Your deadline

Nothing yet

Your deadline appears here, with the count step by step: clear days, the 5-day rule, calendar months and court closures.

Nothing you enter leaves your browser. Business days and court closures use the England and Wales bank holidays and Practice Direction 2A. It is a guide, not legal advice.

Costs to recover when the claim ends? We work for solicitor firms: our law costs draftsmen draw the bill and negotiate the costs to settlement. The fee is fixed and agreed before any work begins.

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The rules are those in CPR Parts 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 15, 23, 36, 47 and 52 and Practice Directions 2A, 5B, 6A and 44, checked against justice.gov.uk on 20 October 2026, with the England and Wales bank holidays from GOV.UK. It counts the general rule for each time limit; a court order, a practice direction or an agreement between the parties can change it. It is a guide, not legal advice.

Key points

A period of time expressed as a number of days is counted in clear days: the day on which the period begins is not counted and, where the period ends by reference to an event, neither is the day of the event (CPR 2.8(2) and (3)).
Where the period is 5 days or less, a Saturday, Sunday, bank holiday, Christmas Day or Good Friday within it does not count (CPR 2.8(4)).
A month is a calendar month (CPR 2.10), so a period of months ends on the corresponding date, or on the last day of the month where there is none.
Where the period for an act at the court office ends on a day the office is closed, the act is in time on the next day it is open (CPR 2.8(5)); Practice Direction 2A lists the closed days. That does not extend a deadline for serving a document.
A document other than a claim form is deemed served under CPR 6.26: by email before 4.30pm on a business day, that day; by first class post, the second day after posting if that is a business day, or else the next business day. So a document must be sent early enough to be deemed served by its deadline.

How to use the CPR deadline calculator

Choose the time limit. Pick a common CPR time limit, such as the defence, the acknowledgment of service or Points of Dispute, or enter a period of your own.
Enter the date it runs from. The date of service, the decision, the hearing or the other event the period is measured from.
Read the deadline. The last day (or, for a period that must pass first, the earliest day), with any court closure taken into account.
Check the count. Each step of the count is shown with its rule, and for a document to be served, the latest days to send it by email or post.
Copy it for the file. Copy the deadline and the count for the file or the diary.

How CPR 2.8 counts time

CPR 2.8 applies to any period of time for doing an act set by the rules, a practice direction or a judgment or order. Periods in days are clear days. Short periods, of 5 days or less, skip weekends and holidays. Months are calendar months (CPR 2.10). And where the period for an act at the court office ends on a day the office is closed, the act is in time on the next day it is open; the closed days are in Practice Direction 2A, including one further day over Christmas. The rule itself gives these worked examples, which the calculator reproduces:

At least 3 days before a hearing on Friday 20 October. The last day for service is Monday 16 October: Tuesday to Thursday are the 3 clear days, and neither the day of service nor the hearing day counts.
At least 3 days before a hearing on Monday 20 October. The last day is Tuesday 14 October: the weekend of 18 and 19 October does not count, because the period is 5 days or less.
At least 28 days after notice of a hearing given on 1 October. The earliest day for the hearing is 30 October: the day notice is given and the hearing day are both left out.
Particulars due within 14 days of service of a claim form served on 2 October. The last day for service of the particulars is 16 October.

Where a court sets a time limit, the last date for compliance must, wherever practicable, be a calendar date that includes the time of day (CPR 2.9). Where it does, that date governs. If you file by email, send it before 4pm: an email the court receives at or after 4pm is treated as filed on the next day the court office is open (PD 5B para 4.2).

Common CPR time limits

Time limit	The rule	Rule
Serving the claim form	Take the step required to serve the claim form (posting, delivering, leaving it or sending the email) before midnight on the calendar day 4 months after the date of issue.	CPR 7.5(1)
Particulars of claim served after the claim form	Where they did not come with the claim form, serve the particulars of claim within 14 days after service of the claim form.	CPR 7.4(1)(b)
Acknowledgment of service	File the acknowledgment of service 14 days after service of the claim form or, where the particulars of claim were to follow, 14 days after service of the particulars.	CPR 10.3(1)
Defence, with no acknowledgment filed	File the defence 14 days after service of the particulars of claim.	CPR 15.4(1)(a)
Defence, after an acknowledgment of service	Where the defendant has filed an acknowledgment of service, file the defence 28 days after service of the particulars of claim.	CPR 15.4(1)(b)
Serving an application notice	Serve the application notice as soon as practicable after it is filed and, unless a rule, practice direction or court order sets a different time, at least 3 days before the court is to deal with the application.	CPR 23.7(1)(b)
Statement of costs for a fast track trial	File and serve the statement of costs (Form N260) not less than 2 days before a fast track trial.	PD 44 para 9.5(4)(a)
Appellant’s notice	File the appellant’s notice at the appeal court within 21 days after the date of the decision, unless the lower court directs a different period.	CPR 52.12(2)(b)
End of a 21-day Part 36 relevant period	A Part 36 offer is made when it is served, and must give a relevant period of not less than 21 days.	CPR 36.5(1)(c), 36.7
Notice of commencement (N252)	Start detailed assessment by serving the notice of commencement and the bill within 3 months of the judgment, order or other event giving the right to detailed assessment.	CPR 47.7
Points of Dispute	The period for serving Points of Dispute is 21 days after the date of service of the notice of commencement.	CPR 47.9(2)
Replies to Points of Dispute	The receiving party may serve Replies within 21 days after being served with the Points of Dispute.	CPR 47.13(2)
Request for a detailed assessment hearing (N258)	Where Points of Dispute have been served, file the request for a detailed assessment hearing within 3 months after the end of the period for starting detailed assessment.	CPR 47.14(1)
Appeal from an authorised court officer	File the appeal notice within 21 days after the date of the decision being appealed.	CPR 47.23(1)

For the dates that follow service of a claim form, from deemed service to default judgment, use the deemed service calculator. For the whole detailed assessment timetable from a costs order, use the detailed assessment deadline calculator, and for a Part 36 offer’s consequences, the Part 36 calculator.

Serving a document in time

A deadline for service is met only if the document is deemed served by the last day. Under CPR 6.26, a document sent by email, fax, delivery or personal service before 4.30pm on a business day is deemed served that day, and otherwise on the next business day. One sent by first class post or document exchange is deemed served on the second day after posting, if that is a business day, or else on the next business day. The calculator gives the latest day for each, choosing a business day for posting. A deadline for service that falls on a weekend or bank holiday cannot be met on that day, because nothing is deemed served on a non-business day, so the calculator gives the last business day before it. Email is good service only if the party to be served, or its solicitor, has already said in writing that it accepts service by email and given the address; an email address on a statement of case, or on the solicitor’s notepaper stated to be for service, is enough (PD 6A para 4.1). Ask first about any limits, such as the size of attachments (para 4.2).

What the calculator does not do

Limitation periods, which run under the Limitation Act 1980 and are not counted under CPR 2.8.
Periods measured in hours, such as a statement of costs due not less than 24 hours before a hearing.
Dates fixed by a court order, which govern where the order gives a calendar date (CPR 2.9).
Service out of England and Wales, on the Crown, or by an alternative method ordered by the court.
The Damages Claims Portal, which has its own 4pm deadlines under Practice Direction 51ZB.

Sources

Civil Procedure Rules Part 2 (rules 2.8 to 2.11), Part 3 (rules 3.1 and 3.8), Part 6 (rule 6.26), Part 7 (rules 7.4 and 7.5), Part 10 (rule 10.3), Part 15 (rules 15.4 and 15.5), Part 23 (rule 23.7), Part 36 (rules 36.5 and 36.7), Part 47 (rules 47.7, 47.9, 47.13, 47.14 and 47.23) and Part 52 (rules 52.12 and 52.15)
Practice Direction 2A, Practice Direction 5B (para 4.2), Practice Direction 6A (paras 4.1 and 4.2) and Practice Direction 44 (para 9.5)
GOV.UK: bank holidays in England and Wales

Frequently asked questions

A period expressed as a number of days is counted in clear days: the day on which the period begins is not included and, if the end of the period is defined by reference to an event, the day on which that event occurs is not included either (CPR 2.8(2) and (3)). So 14 days after service on 2 October ends on 16 October.

No. Clear days are calendar days: the count leaves out only the day the period begins and, where it ends with an event, the day of the event (CPR 2.8(3)). Weekends and bank holidays count, except in a period of 5 days or less, where they do not (CPR 2.8(4)).

Only periods of 5 days or less leave them out: a Saturday, Sunday, bank holiday, Christmas Day or Good Friday in such a period does not count (CPR 2.8(4)). Longer periods count every day, but a filing at court whose period ends on a day the court office is closed is in time on the next day it is open (CPR 2.8(5)).

For an act at the court office, such as filing a defence, the act is in time on the next day the office is open (CPR 2.8(5)); Practice Direction 2A lists the closed days, including one further day over Christmas. That does not help with service: a document must be deemed served under CPR 6.26 by the last day, and the calculator gives the latest days to email or post it.

A month means a calendar month (CPR 2.10). A period of months ends on the corresponding date in the later month, or on its last day where there is no corresponding date, so 3 months after 30 November ends on 28 February (or 29 February in a leap year).

Often, yes: unless the rules, a practice direction or the court provide otherwise, a time limit can be varied by the parties’ written agreement (CPR 2.11). Where a rule, practice direction or order sets a time limit and states the consequence of missing it, the parties can extend it only by written agreement made before it expires, by up to 28 days, and only if no hearing date is put at risk, unless the court orders otherwise (CPR 3.8(3) and (4)). The time for an appellant’s notice cannot be extended by agreement at all (CPR 52.15). Otherwise the court can extend time (CPR 3.1(2)(a)).

It is free, with no sign-up. It runs in your browser, and what you enter is kept only in that browser so you can come back to it; the Clear button removes it. It is a guide to the rules, not legal advice.

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