If you were convicted in federal court, you have 14 days from the entry of the written judgment to file a notice of appeal. State deadlines vary, but most fall between 10 and 90 days after judgment or sentencing. So the short answer to how long you have to appeal a conviction is: not long, and the deadline is jurisdictional, meaning the appellate court loses the power to hear your case once it passes.
The Federal 14-Day Deadline
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(b) sets the clock. A defendant must file a notice of appeal within 14 days after the court enters the judgment of conviction or the order being appealed.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right When Taken If the government appeals first, your 14 days run from the date of its filing, whichever is later.
The Department of Justice gives its prosecutors the same timeline for defendants and allows the government 30 days to file its own appeal.2United States Department of Justice. Justice Manual 2-4.000 – Time to Appeal or Petition for Review or Certiorari That asymmetry catches some defendants off guard. The 14-day rule is not a guideline. Courts treat it as absolute.
State Court Deadlines
Every state sets its own appeal deadline through its legislature or court rules. Most land somewhere between 10 and 90 days after entry of judgment or sentencing. Thirty days is among the more common windows. Some states allow 60 days or longer, and a few give as little as 10. The specific number in your state requires checking that state’s rules of appellate procedure or asking a local attorney. The principle holds everywhere: the deadline is jurisdictional, and missing it almost always means losing the right to a direct appeal.
When the Clock Actually Starts
The deadline does not begin when the jury returns its verdict or when the judge announces a sentence from the bench. It starts when the court enters the formal written judgment of conviction on the docket. That distinction matters more than most people realize.
A judgment isn’t entered until the judge signs a written order and the clerk files it into the record. Federal Rule 4(b)(1)(A) specifically ties the deadline to “the entry of either the judgment or the order being appealed.”1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right When Taken Days or even weeks can pass between an oral pronouncement of sentence and the formal entry of the written judgment. Count from the wrong date and you may file too late.
The safest practice is to monitor the court’s electronic docket for the formal entry. If you’re incarcerated and can’t check, your attorney should be tracking it. If you don’t have an attorney, the clerk’s office can tell you the exact date the judgment was entered.
Post-Trial Motions That Reset the Clock
Certain motions filed after trial reset the 14-day federal appeal deadline. If a defendant files any of the following under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the appeal clock doesn’t start until the court rules on the last pending motion:1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right When Taken
- A motion for judgment of acquittal under Rule 29, which asks the court to throw out the conviction for insufficient evidence.
- A motion for a new trial under Rule 33, which argues that errors at trial warrant starting over. A motion based on newly discovered evidence must itself be filed within 14 days of the judgment.
- A motion in arrest of judgment under Rule 34, which challenges the indictment or information as legally defective.
When any of these motions is pending, the 14-day appeal period runs from whichever is later: the entry of the order disposing of the last such motion, or the entry of the original judgment. This is a genuine reset, not a pause. If your attorney files one of these motions and it’s denied, count 14 days from the denial order, not from the original judgment.
The Prison Mailbox Rule
People who are incarcerated can’t walk into the clerk’s office and hand-file a document. Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(c)(1) addresses that with the prison mailbox rule. If you’re confined in an institution and deposit your notice of appeal in the prison’s internal mail system on or before the last day to file, the notice is treated as timely filed on the date you deposited it, not the date it reaches the courthouse.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right When Taken
To qualify, you need to include either a signed declaration under penalty of perjury stating the date of deposit and confirming that first-class postage was prepaid, or physical evidence like a postmark or date stamp showing when the notice entered the mail system. If your facility has a designated legal mail system, you must use it. Many states have adopted similar mailbox rules, though the specific requirements differ.
Asking for More Time
The 14-day federal deadline can be extended, but only in narrow circumstances. Under Rule 4(b)(4), a district court may extend the filing period by up to 30 days beyond the original deadline on a showing of “excusable neglect” or “good cause.”3U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. FRAP 4 – Appeal as of Right When Taken The court can act before or after the deadline passes, and technically can act with or without a formal motion.
Don’t count on that flexibility saving you. Courts take the excusable neglect standard seriously. The Supreme Court has identified several factors for evaluating whether neglect qualifies: the danger of prejudice to the other side, the length of the delay and its impact on the proceedings, and whether the person acted in good faith. The Court has also held that a client can be held accountable for their attorney’s mistakes, so “my lawyer forgot” is not automatically excusable. Being unaware of the deadline, being too busy, or needing more time to prepare are almost never enough. The extension exists for situations truly beyond your control.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
Missing the appeal deadline, even by a day, means losing the right to a direct appeal. The appellate court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case once the window closes. No argument on the merits can overcome a late filing. There is no substantial-compliance exception and no “close enough” doctrine.
A direct appeal is not the only form of post-conviction relief. Federal prisoners can file a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate, set aside, or correct their sentence. State prisoners can file a petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Both carry a one-year filing deadline that generally runs from the date the conviction becomes final.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2255 – Federal Custody Remedies on Motion Attacking Sentence5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2244 – Finality of Determination For someone who never filed a direct appeal, the conviction typically becomes final when the 14-day appeal window expires, and the one-year habeas clock begins then.
These collateral remedies are far more limited than a direct appeal. A direct appeal can challenge evidentiary rulings, jury instruction errors, sentencing mistakes, and other issues that appear in the trial record. Habeas relief is generally reserved for fundamental constitutional violations such as ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct concealed from the defense, or newly discovered evidence of actual innocence.6Legal Information Institute. Habeas Corpus The standard for winning is much higher, and the success rate is dramatically lower. Habeas corpus is a safety valve for serious injustice, not a substitute for a timely appeal. If you have any basis to appeal, filing the notice on time is the single most important step in protecting your rights after a conviction.