How long after a hearing you get a decision depends almost entirely on what kind of case you have and which court or agency is handling it. A judge ruling on an emergency restraining order may act within hours. A federal summary judgment motion typically takes three to six months. A Social Security disability decision now averages roughly 268 days, or about nine months, from the hearing request. Family court rulings and post-trial opinions usually land somewhere in between. The ranges below will tell you what is normal for your situation so you can plan the wait instead of guessing at it.
Typical Waits by Case Type
Federal Summary Judgment Motions
A summary judgment motion asks the court to decide the case without a trial because the key facts are not genuinely in dispute. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 sets the standard but imposes no deadline on the judge to rule.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC App Fed R Civ P Rule 56 – Summary Judgment In practice, judges commonly take three to six months. The stakes are high — granting the motion ends the case or a major piece of it — so judges tend to be deliberate. Complex disputes with technical subject matter or voluminous records can push past six months, which is when the motion lands on the public six-month list federal law requires each court to publish.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 476 – Enhancement of the Ability of Judges to Manage Their Dockets
Bench Trials and Post-Trial Opinions
When a federal case is tried before a judge rather than a jury, the judge must issue specific findings of fact and conclusions of law, either on the record at the close of evidence or in a written opinion filed later.3Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 52 – Findings and Conclusions by the Court A written opinion often takes 60 to 120 days to finalize, especially when the judge allows post-trial briefing. The judge has to weigh the trial testimony against those final briefs before signing off, and thoroughness matters because a weak opinion invites an appeal.
Social Security Disability Hearings
If you are waiting on a Social Security disability decision, brace yourself for one of the longest waits in the system. The SSA’s own performance data shows that the average processing time from hearing request to ALJ decision was roughly 268 days as of early 2026.4Social Security Administration. Social Security Performance That is about nine months, not the 30 to 90 days some sources suggest. The agency has broad authority to set its own procedures and evidentiary requirements under 42 U.S.C. § 405, and the sheer volume of claims keeps the queue long.5Social Security Administration. 42 USC 405 – Evidence, Procedure, and Certification for Payment
The delay is partly structural. ALJs must review extensive medical records, consider vocational expert testimony, and apply a multi-step evaluation framework before issuing a written decision. The final document goes through internal review for technical and legal compliance before it is mailed. Only then does your 60-day clock to request Appeals Council review start running.6Social Security Administration. Request Review of Hearing Decision
Federal Criminal Sentencing
In federal criminal cases, the big post-hearing wait is between conviction and sentencing. After a guilty plea or trial verdict, sentencing typically follows about 75 days later if the defendant is in custody, or about 90 days later if the defendant is free on bail. The gap allows time for a presentence investigation report, which the judge relies on when deciding the sentence.
Family Court Decisions
Divorce timelines are heavily driven by mandatory waiting periods that vary dramatically by state. Some states have no waiting period at all, while others require as long as six months between filing and the final decree. The most common waiting periods fall in the 30-to-90-day range. Even after the waiting period expires, the judge still needs time to review the settlement agreement or, in a contested case, weigh testimony about property, custody, and support. Contested custody can add months beyond the statutory minimum.
Custody and child support modifications follow a similar pattern. When both parties agree, a judge may sign off within weeks. When the modification is contested and requires a full evidentiary hearing, the decision can take 60 to 90 days or more after the hearing closes, depending on the court’s docket and the complexity of the evidence.
What Makes the Wait Longer or Shorter
The biggest factor is usually the judge’s caseload. When hundreds of open matters sit on a docket, each case competes for limited time. Judges with fewer pending cases turn decisions around faster. Federal courts are required to publish a semiannual report identifying every motion unresolved for more than six months, which gives you a rough sense of how backlogged a particular judge is.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 476 – Enhancement of the Ability of Judges to Manage Their Dockets
Case complexity matters just as much. A dispute over a single unpaid invoice with one witness per side requires far less analysis than a case involving thousands of pages of evidence, expert testimony, or an unsettled legal question the judge needs to research from scratch. Competing expert opinions and conflicting lines of case law stretch the timeline.
Emergency requests jump the line. When someone files for a temporary restraining order, the court can act without even notifying the other side if the applicant shows that waiting would cause harm money cannot fix.7Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 65 – Injunctions and Restraining Orders These filings take priority over everything else on the docket except older emergencies of the same kind. If your case is a standard civil matter, every emergency that arrives pushes your decision back a little.
What the Judge Is Actually Doing
When a judge says the matter is “taken under advisement,” a largely invisible process begins. The judge or their law clerks review the hearing transcript, verify key testimony, and research whether the applicable legal standards have shifted. This research phase is where most of the time goes. A straightforward legal question might take a few days; an unusual one with limited precedent can consume weeks.
Law clerks typically prepare an initial draft, which the judge then edits through multiple rounds. Each revision aims to make the reasoning hard to attack because a sloppy opinion is an easy target on appeal. In a complex case, the opinion might go through half a dozen revisions before the judge signs it. This is the part you will never see and cannot speed up, but it is where the quality of your eventual ruling is decided.
How to Check Whether a Decision Has Been Entered
For federal cases, the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system, known as PACER, lets you look up your case docket and see whether any new orders have been filed. The system charges $0.10 per page with a cap of $3.00 per document, and if you spend $30 or less in a quarter, the fees are waived entirely.8PACER: Federal Court Records. PACER Pricing: How Fees Work About 75 percent of users fall under that waiver threshold in any given quarter.9PACER: Federal Court Records. Pricing Frequently Asked Questions
Attorneys who file electronically through CM/ECF receive automatic email notifications the moment a judge enters a new order. Some federal courts also allow self-represented litigants to register for CM/ECF access, though you usually need to request permission from the individual court.10United States Courts. Electronic Filing (CM/ECF) If your court offers this and you are representing yourself, signing up eliminates the need to check PACER by hand.
Calling or visiting the Clerk of Court’s office is also fine. The clerk maintains the official case record and can confirm whether the matter is still with the judge. They will not share what a decision says before it is officially filed, but they can tell you whether one exists yet. Keep these inquiries brief and polite. If you have an attorney, they are usually your best source. Experienced lawyers develop a sense for how long a particular judge’s decisions typically take and can tell you whether your wait is normal or whether a respectful status inquiry is appropriate.
Deadlines That Start the Moment the Decision Lands
Several hard deadlines start running the day a decision is entered, and missing them can permanently forfeit your right to challenge the outcome.
- Federal civil appeal: you must file a notice of appeal within 30 days of the judgment being entered on the docket. If the federal government is a party, the window extends to 60 days.11Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right, When Taken
- Post-trial motions: a motion for a new trial or to alter the judgment must be filed within 28 days of the judgment entry.3Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 52 – Findings and Conclusions by the Court
- SSA Appeals Council review: you have 60 days from receiving an unfavorable ALJ decision to request review.6Social Security Administration. Request Review of Hearing Decision
These deadlines are strict. Courts rarely grant extensions, and when they do, you need a genuinely compelling reason. If you are unsure whether to appeal, talk to an attorney well before the deadline expires rather than waiting to see how you feel about the decision.
When the Wait Becomes Unreasonable
Most delays are normal even when they feel otherwise. But excessive delays do happen, and the system has mechanisms to address them. In federal court, the semiannual report required by 28 U.S.C. § 476 publicly identifies every motion pending before a specific judge for more than six months and every civil case open more than three years.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 476 – Enhancement of the Ability of Judges to Manage Their Dockets The list creates institutional pressure to resolve old matters. You can access these reports through the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.12United States Courts. Civil Justice Reform Act Report
If a delay becomes truly extreme, a party can petition the appellate court for a writ of mandamus, which asks the higher court to order the trial judge to act. The petition must explain the relief sought, the relevant facts, and why the writ should issue.13Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 21 – Writs of Mandamus and Prohibition Appellate courts grant these sparingly. Mandamus is a last resort, not a tool for ordinary impatience, and filing one against the judge who still has your case takes careful judgment about whether it will actually help. In most situations, a polite status inquiry through your attorney or the clerk’s office is the better first step.