Rule 6.Computing and extending time.

Last amended January 1, 2018 · Last verified July 1, 2026

In one sentenceRule 6 gives Arizona courts one method for counting any deadline set by a rule, court order, or statute, and lays out the standards a court applies when a party asks to extend a deadline before or after it has expired.

Full Text of Rule 6

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d)

(a) Computing time. The following rules apply in computing any time period specified in these rules or in any local rule, court order, or statute:

(1) Day of the event excluded. Exclude the day of the act, event, or default that begins the period.

(2) Exclusions if the deadline is less than 11 days. Exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays if the period is less than 11 days.

(3) Last day. Include the last day of the period unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. When the last day is excluded, the period runs until the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

(4) Next day. The “next day” is determined by continuing to count forward when the period is measured after an event and backward when measured before an event.

(b) Extending time.

(1) Generally. When an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time:

(A) with or without motion or notice if the court acts, or the request is made, before the original time or its extension expires; or

(B) on motion made after the time has expired if the party failed to act because of excusable neglect.

(2) Exceptions. A court may extend the time to act under Rules 50(b), 52(b), 59(b)(1), (c) and (d), and 60(c) as those rules allow, or alternatively, may also extend the time to act under those rules for 10 days after the entry of the order extending the time, if:

(A) the moving party files the motion within 30 days after the specified time to act expires under these rules or within 7 days after the party received notice of the entry of the judgment or order triggering the time to act under these rules, whichever is earlier;

(B) the court finds that the moving party was entitled to notice of the entry of judgment or the order, but did not receive notice from the clerk or any party within 21 days after its entry; and

(c) Additional time after service under rule 5(c)(2)(C), (D), or (E). When a party may or must act within a specified time after service and service is made under Rule 5(c)(2)(C), (D), or (E), 5 calendar days are added after the specified period would otherwise expire under Rule 6(a). This rule does not apply to the clerk’s distribution of notices—including notice of entry of judgment under Rule 58(c)—minute entries, or other court-generated documents.

(d) Minute entries, orders and other court-generated documents. Notices, minute entries, orders, and other court-generated documents are entered on the date they are filed by the clerk. Unless the court orders otherwise, if an order or other court-generated document states that an act may or must be done within a specified time after the document is entered, the date the document is filed is “the day of the act, event or default” under Rule 6(a)(1).

End

Amendment History

Promulgated by R-16-0010, effective January 1, 2017; amended by R-17-0009, effective January 1, 2018.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 6(a) supplies the default counting method for any deadline: exclude the day of the triggering event, count forward or backward depending on whether the deadline runs after or before that event, and, for periods shorter than 11 days, skip weekends and legal holidays altogether. If the last day of a period falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline rolls to the next day that is not.

Subdivision (b) lets a court extend a deadline for good cause, either before it expires (with or without a motion) or after it expires if the party shows excusable neglect. A narrower exception applies to certain post-trial motions — for a new trial, to alter or amend a judgment, or for relief from judgment, among others — where a court may extend the time to act for ten days after entering an order that grants the extension, but only if the moving party asks within 30 days after the original deadline (or seven days after learning of the judgment, whichever is earlier), the court finds the party did not get timely notice of the judgment, and no other party would be prejudiced.

Subdivision (c) adds five calendar days to a deadline that runs after service by mail or certain other non-personal methods, recognizing that those methods take longer to reach the recipient than personal delivery. That extra time does not apply to the clerk's own notices, minute entries, or other court-generated documents, which subdivision (d) treats as delivered on the date the clerk files them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you count a deadline that runs less than 11 days?

Exclude the day of the triggering event and skip weekends and legal holidays in between; the last day still must land on a day that is not a weekend or holiday.

Can a court extend a deadline that has already passed?

Yes, on motion, if the party shows the missed deadline was the result of excusable neglect.

Does mailing a document add extra time to respond?

Yes, five calendar days are added when service is made by mail or certain other non-personal methods.

When is a court-generated document like a minute entry treated as delivered?

On the date the clerk files it, regardless of when a party receives it in hand.

Source & verification. The rule text and History are reproduced verbatim from the official Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure (Ariz. R. Civ. P. 6). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Arizona (Ariz. Const. art. 6, § 5). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 1, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: computing timeextending timeexcusable neglectfive-day mailing rule