California trial deadlines run on parallel civil and criminal tracks, and each track begins well before you set foot in a courtroom. On the civil side, the clock starts with a statute of limitations, tightens through service and response rules, and ends at a five-year outer limit for reaching trial. On the criminal side, constitutional speedy-trial protections drive tight windows measured from arraignment. Missing any of these deadlines can cost you the case, your evidence, or a fundamental right.
Civil Filing Deadlines
Every civil claim carries a statute of limitations. File after it expires and the court will refuse to hear the case, no matter how strong the underlying facts. The most common civil deadlines in California are:
- Personal injury, including assault, battery, and negligence: two years from the date of injury.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1
- Oral contracts: two years from the breach.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 339
- Written contracts: four years from the breach.
- Property damage: three years from the date of damage.
- Medical malpractice: three years from the date of injury or one year from discovery, whichever comes first.
Claims against a government entity have a separate, earlier deadline. You must file a government tort claim within six months of the incident before you can sue a city, county, or state agency. Missing that pre-suit filing is one of the more common ways viable cases against public defendants get lost.
Service and Response
Filing the complaint only starts the process. You must serve every named defendant within 60 days of filing and file proof of service with the court.3Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 2026 Rule 3.110 – Time for Service of Complaint, Cross-Complaint, and Response Any defendant added by amendment must be served within 30 days of that amendment. Courts can dismiss cases for missing these deadlines without explanation.
After service, a defendant in a general civil case has 30 days to file an answer or a demurrer. If nothing is filed within that window, the plaintiff can request a default judgment and win without a trial.
The Five-Year Rule
Even a timely, well-managed civil case has an outer limit: the plaintiff must bring the action to trial within five years of filing the complaint.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 583.310 Courts dismiss actions that pass the five-year mark without trial, and parties cannot simply agree to extend the rule. Bankruptcy stays and other agreed stays may be excluded from the count, but the cap holds. Complex litigation, multiple defendants, and long settlement negotiations can eat through five years faster than expected. Treat the four-year mark as a warning line.
Discovery and Expert Disclosure Cutoffs
Civil fact discovery must be completed no later than 30 days before the initial trial date, and any motions on discovery disputes must be heard at least 15 days before trial.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2024.020 These cutoffs are tied to the original trial date. A continuance does not automatically reopen discovery. You need a stipulation or a court order based on good cause, and courts are skeptical of requests to reopen.
Expert disclosures run on their own track. Once any party serves a demand for expert witness exchange, the parties must simultaneously exchange designations on the later of 50 days before trial or 20 days after the demand was served.6California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2034.230 The exchange must include each expert’s name, qualifications, a summary of expected testimony, and any reports. Miss this deadline and the court can exclude the expert entirely. In cases that turn on expert opinion, such as medical malpractice, construction defect, or product liability, that exclusion often ends the case.
Civil Motion Timing
Most civil motions must be filed and served at least 16 court days before the hearing.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1005 Service by mail or electronic means adds time to that window. Opposition papers are due nine court days before the hearing, and reply papers five court days before.
Summary judgment runs on a longer clock. The motion must be heard no later than 30 days before trial, and the notice must be served 75 days before the hearing, plus any mailing extensions. In practical terms, a summary judgment motion needs to go out three months or more before trial.
Anti-SLAPP motions, which challenge lawsuits targeting free speech or petition activity, carry a 60-day filing deadline measured from service of the complaint. Courts have discretion to allow later filing, but 60 days is the default.
Jury Trial Fees
The California constitution guarantees a civil jury trial, but you can waive that right by missing a fee deadline. Each party requesting a jury must deposit advance jury fees of up to $150 at least 25 calendar days before the date initially set for trial.8Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure – Trial by Jury Unlawful detainer cases have a shorter five-day window. Failure to post fees on time is treated as a waiver, though courts have discretion to grant relief.
Criminal Arraignment and Speedy Trial
Criminal deadlines start immediately after arrest. The defendant must be brought before a judge for arraignment within 48 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 825 If those 48 hours expire while court is not in session, the deadline extends to the next court session.
After arraignment, the speedy trial clock begins. The limits depend on the charge and the defendant’s custody status:
- Misdemeanors, in custody: trial must begin within 30 days of arraignment.
- Misdemeanors, out of custody: trial must begin within 45 days of arraignment.
- Felonies: trial must begin within 60 days of arraignment on the information or indictment.10California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1382
If the prosecution isn’t ready when the clock runs out and no valid continuance has been granted, the defense can move to dismiss. Defendants can waive time, and many do, but the waiver surrenders significant leverage.
For felonies, after the defendant is held to answer at a preliminary hearing, the prosecution must file the information within 15 days, and arraignment on that information must happen promptly.11Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 4.110 – Time Limits for Criminal Proceedings on Information or Indictment
Criminal Motion and Discovery Deadlines
Both sides in a criminal case must exchange discovery at least 30 days before trial.12California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1054.7 California uses an automatic exchange model, so police reports, witness lists, and other materials move without formal requests. New evidence discovered inside that 30-day window must be disclosed immediately. Late disclosure can result in evidence being excluded.
Expert disclosures in criminal cases follow the same 30-day pre-trial deadline. A late-disclosed expert can be barred from testifying.
A motion to suppress evidence under Penal Code 1538.5 must be filed before trial and heard at least ten court days before jury selection. A motion to set aside the information under Penal Code 995 must be filed early in the proceedings after arraignment on the information. Late criminal motions rarely survive without a strong showing of surprise or newly discovered evidence.
Continuance motions in criminal cases must be in writing, supported by a declaration explaining the necessity, and served at least two court days before the hearing. Courts scrutinize continuance requests closely because of the speedy trial rights involved.
What a Continuance Does Not Extend
Moving the trial date in a civil case does not automatically extend the discovery cutoff, expert disclosure deadlines, or motion cutoff dates. Those deadlines were measured from the original trial date, and reopening them requires a separate court order. Parties who assume otherwise often find their discovery window closed before they realized it was ticking.
Post-Trial Motions and Appeals
Verdicts do not stop the clock. A motion for new trial must be filed within 15 days after the clerk mails or a party serves notice of entry of judgment, with an outer limit of 180 days after the judgment is entered if no notice goes out. These deadlines are jurisdictional. A court has no power to consider a late-filed motion.
In civil cases, a notice of appeal must be filed within 60 days after notice of entry of judgment is served or mailed, or within 180 days after entry of judgment if no notice is served.13Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 8.104 – Time to Appeal Timely post-trial motions can extend the appeal window, but only if those motions themselves were filed on time.
Criminal appeals follow a different rule. A defendant generally has 60 days after the judgment is rendered to file a notice of appeal, and the clock runs from the judgment itself rather than from any service of notice. Missing the appeal deadline in either track leaves the trial court’s decision in place.