California court deadline calculator

Pick a deadline and enter the trigger date. The result applies Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 12, 12a, 12b, 10; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10 (counting, weekends and court holidays), service-method extensions where the law allows them, and the rule for that deadline, with each step and citation shown. Scope: Santa Barbara County local rules are included below (marked with the court name), layered on these base rules. Small claims division of the California superior court under the Small Claims Act (CCP 116.110-116.950) and small claims appeal rules (CRC 8.950-8.966). Jurisdictional amount limits, fee schedules other than as quoted, and enforcement procedures under the Enforcement of Judgments Law (CCP 680.010 et seq.) are not modeled.. Rules current as of 2026-10-23.

County:Santa Barbara County local rules independently reviewed (effective 2025-01-01)

DeadlineDate of the clerk's order setting the hearing

Deadline

Monday, November 30, 2026

Trigger (Date of the clerk's order setting the hearing): Friday, November 6, 2026.
Exclude the trigger day and count 20 calendar days: Thursday, November 26, 2026.
That day is a Thanksgiving Day, so the deadline moves to the next court day: Monday, November 30, 2026 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 12, 12a, 12b, 10; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10).

Rules applied

Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.330(a)

When a claim is filed, the clerk shall schedule the case for hearing and shall issue an order directing the parties to appear at the time set for the hearing with witnesses and documents to prove their claim or defense. The case shall be scheduled for hearing no earlier than 20 days but not more than 70 days from the date of the order.

Official source

Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 12, 12a, 12b, 10; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10

CCP 12: "The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded." CCP 12a(a): "If the last day for the performance of any act provided or required by law to be performed within a specified period of time is a holiday, then that period is hereby extended to and including the next day that is not a holiday. For purposes of this section, “holiday” means all day on Saturdays, all holidays specified in Section 135 and, to the extent provided in Section 12b, all days that by terms of Section 12b are required to be considered as holidays." CCP 12b: "If any city, county, state, or public office, other than a branch office, is closed for the whole of any day, insofar as the business of that office is concerned, that day shall be considered as a holiday for the purposes of computing time under Sections 12 and 12a." CCP 10: "Holidays within the meaning of this code are every Sunday and any other days that are specified or provided for as judicial holidays in Section 135."

Official source

Court-facing. Useful to check whether a scheduled date complies.
If the clerk's office is closed or inaccessible on the last day (weather, emergency or local closure orders), the deadline may be extended. Check local orders.

Google Calendar

Track every deadline in this case, free →

This calculator applies the cited rules to the dates you enter. It is not legal advice. Court orders, local rules, and case-specific facts can change a deadline; verify before relying on it. Rule set pending attorney review.

Track a case. Save its key dates once, get every deadline in one calendar feed for Outlook, Google or Apple, and it updates itself when the trial is continued or a rule changes.

Create a matter

Santa Barbara County: other local timing requirements

Civil tentative rulings made available by 3:00 p.m. the court day before the hearing (phone and optionally website); notice of intent to appear by 4:00 p.m. per CRC 3.1308. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1301
Civil case settling before trial: party who demanded jury must notify the Jury Commissioner by 3:00 p.m. the court day before trial or forfeit jury deposit and pay juror costs. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 802
Family ex parte: moving papers (with proposed order) served and filed by 1:00 p.m. the court day preceding the hearing. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1408
Family ex parte hearing date/time obtained by telephone request to the department the court day before the hearing. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1406(1)
Family stipulated continuance: written stipulation and FL-307 presented no later than the scheduled start of the hearing. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1413(4)
Court calendar: clerk posts weekly assignments and next-day calendar by 4:00 p.m. each court day. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 901
Remote appearances (all divisions): join at least five minutes before the hearing time. Proposed amended Rule 1005 effective January 1, 2027 is out for comment (through November 16, 2026); not reviewed. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1005
Motion to close or open a court proceeding: written notice of motion filed at least 2 court days before the hearing; motion heard at least one day before the hearing (shorter notice in court's discretion). For civil cases this is a motion rule likely within CRC 3.20; listed as a requirement only. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 604
Family financial document exchange on motions: movant's Exchange Date is the date of service of a support or fee motion; responder's is the earlier of service of or due date for the opposition. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1419(e)(2)-(3)
Probate examination notes may post 5 or more court days before hearing; supplements or corrections processed within 2 court days before the hearing are not reflected and the filer must appear. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1721(c)
Probate proposed orders: noon cut-off on the 5-court-day deadline. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1724(b)
Conservatorship/guardianship first accounting: court sets a compliance date at appointment, typically no later than 90 days after the first anniversary of appointment; subsequent accountings typically every two years. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1772(a)
Conservatorship: court orders a meet and confer of all counsel within 48 hours of appointment of counsel for the conservatee. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1773(a)
Criminal in-custody arraignment complaints: filed by 12:00 p.m. on the last day the arraignment must be heard. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1900(A)
Mental health (W&I 5333/5334, 5250): capacity petitions and appeals filed by 4:45 p.m. each court day; capacity hearings on a fixed weekday schedule and in no event beyond 72 hours of filing; appeals heard within 72 hours excluding weekends and holidays; certification review postponement up to 48 hours on patient request. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1601(a)-(c), 1603(a), 1605(e)
Traffic: clerk may grant an initial 30-day extension to pay or prove completion of community service, traffic school, or correction, and a discretionary second 30-day extension; judicial review orders communicated within 30 days of receipt of request. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 2108(2), 2109
Civil remote-hearing exhibits delivered by carrier must arrive between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on a court day; do not use the drop box. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule Countywide Exhibit Protocol (rev. Aug. 2026)
[civil case management] Court-set or administrative timing (not a party deadline): Civil: initial case management conference set 120 days after complaint filed (after 120 calendar days from Filing of the complaint (general civil)). Court-set date (notice sent to plaintiff); use to project the CMC and the CRC 3.724/3.725 dates that run from it. Court may set otherwise; the noticed date controls. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1309(b)
[civil case management] Court-set or administrative timing (not a party deadline): Civil: CMC after transfer from another county or division (after 90 calendar days from Receipt of the transferred file by the clerk of the transferee court). Outer limit for the court-scheduled CMC; the noticed date controls. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1309(b)
[unlawful detainer case management] Court-set or administrative timing (not a party deadline): Unlawful detainer: case not resolved or set for trial may be set for CMC (after 45 calendar days from Filing of the unlawful detainer complaint). Discretionary court action ('may be set'); calendar as a status checkpoint, not a party deadline. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1309(b)
[family case management] Court-set or administrative timing (not a party deadline): Family: first case management conference set by court (after 180 calendar days from Initial filing of dissolution, legal separation, nullity, or parentage case). Outer limit for court-set date; the noticed date controls. Subsequent CMCs within 180 days after each CMC (court may discontinue per CRC 5.83). Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 1421(a)
[traffic] Court-set or administrative timing (not a party deadline): Traffic infraction: earliest arraignment date on promise to appear (after 21 calendar days from Issuance of the notice to appear (infraction, released on promise to appear)). Window for the appearance date set on the citation; see the 45-day item. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 2103
[traffic] Court-set or administrative timing (not a party deadline): Traffic infraction: latest arraignment date on promise to appear (after 45 calendar days from Issuance of the notice to appear (infraction, released on promise to appear)). Upper end of the 21-45 day window. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 2103
[traffic] Court-set or administrative timing (not a party deadline): Traffic infraction: clerk extension of first appearance date (each extension) (after 30 calendar days from Date noted on the citation for the first scheduled appearance). Maximum length of a clerk-granted extension; second 30-day extension discretionary. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 2102
[traffic criminal] Court-set or administrative timing (not a party deadline): Misdemeanor traffic: appearance after release on bail (after 30 calendar days from Acceptance of bail by law enforcement). Outer limit for the appearance date. Santa Barbara Super. Ct. Local Rule 2103.2

Under Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.20, county rules cannot change statewide deadlines for pleadings, motions, discovery or ex parte applications; local rules that tried to were excluded from the calculator.

Official local rules

California small claims deadlines covered

Deadline	Period	Rule
Hearing date set by clerk: earliest	20 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.330(a)
Hearing date set by clerk: latest	70 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.330(a)
Serve plaintiff's claim and order: defendant resides in the county	15 days before	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.340(b), (d)
Serve plaintiff's claim and order: defendant resides outside the county	20 days before	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.340(b), (d)
File proof of service of claim	5 days before	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.340(c)
Serve defendant's claim on plaintiff (defendant served more than 10 days before hearing)	5 days before	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.360(c)
Serve defendant's claim on plaintiff (defendant served 10 days or less before hearing)	1 days before	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.360(c)
Written request to postpone hearing	10 days before	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.570(a)(2), (3)
Plaintiff who did not appear: motion to vacate judgment	30 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.720(a)
Hearing on plaintiff's motion to vacate: earliest date	10 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.720(b)
Motion to correct clerical error or vacate for incorrect legal basis	30 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.725(a)(2), (b)
Defendant who did not appear: motion to vacate judgment	30 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.730(a)
Notice of appeal from denial of defendant's motion to vacate	10 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.730(e); 116.740(d)
Defendant not properly served: motion to vacate judgment	180 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.740(a)
Notice of appeal (new hearing in superior court)	30 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.750(b); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.954
Notice of appeal after modified judgment (new 30-day period)	30 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.750(c)
Clerk transmits file to court hearing the appeal	5 days after	Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.957
Superior court mails notice of appeal hearing	14 days before	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.770(e)
Appeal may be dismissed if not heard within one year of notice of appeal	12 months after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.795(a)
Judgment debtor's statement of assets delivered to creditor	30 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.830(b)
Statement of assets after motion to vacate or appeal concludes	30 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.830(c)
Judgment creditor files acknowledgment of satisfaction after full payment and written demand	14 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.850(a), (b)
Payment to court by check or other non-guaranteed method: satisfaction entered after delay	30 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.860(d)
Motor vehicle judgment $1,000 or less unpaid: earliest date to request DMV license suspension	90 days after	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 116.880(a)

Rules changelog · For developers: /api/deadlines?state=CA-SC and the calculate_deadline tool in the 1Court MCP server.