If the award is vacated, the court may order a rehearing before new arbitrators. If the award is vacated on the grounds set forth in paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 1286.2, the court with the consent of the parties to the court proceeding may order a rehearing before the original arbitrators. If the arbitration agreement requires that the award be made within a specified period of time, the rehearing may nevertheless be held and the award made within an equal period of time beginning with the date of the order for rehearing but only if the court determines that the purpose of the time limit agreed upon by the parties to the arbitration agreement will not be frustrated by the application of this provision.
§ 1287.Rehearing If Award Vacated
Title 9. Arbitration · Chapter 4. Enforcement of the Award · Article 1. Confirmation, Correction or Vacation of the Award · Last amended 2013 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1287 lets the court order a rehearing before new arbitrators after vacating an award, allows a rehearing before the original arbitrators instead when the award was vacated for exceeding powers or certain prejudicial misconduct and the parties consent, and preserves an equivalent period for making the new award.
Full Text of § 1287
Plain-English Summary
Vacating an award is often not the end of the dispute -- it just means the arbitration has to happen again. This section lets the court order a rehearing before new arbitrators once it vacates an award. That is the default, reflecting the idea that a fresh panel is usually the safer path after a vacated award.
There is a narrower exception. If the award was vacated on the grounds that the arbitrators exceeded their powers, or that they refused to postpone the hearing, refused to hear material evidence, or otherwise engaged in conduct contrary to this title, the court can send the case back to the same original arbitrators instead -- but only with the consent of the parties to the court proceeding.
The section also fixes a timing problem that vacating an award can create. If the arbitration agreement required the award to be made within a specified period, the rehearing can still go forward, and a new award can still be made, within an equal period beginning with the date of the rehearing order -- but only if the court determines that applying this extension will not frustrate the purpose the parties had in agreeing to the original time limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens after a court vacates an arbitration award?
The court may order a rehearing before new arbitrators.
Can the case go back to the same arbitrators who made the vacated award?
Only if the award was vacated because the arbitrators exceeded their powers or engaged in the kind of misconduct described in Section 1286.2(a)(5), and the parties consent.
Does vacating the award reset the deadline for making a new one?
The rehearing may proceed within an equal period from the date of the rehearing order, but only if the court finds this will not frustrate the purpose of the parties' original time limit.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2012 ch 162 (SB 1171),s 15, eff. 1/1/2013.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: rehearing after vacated arbitration awardnew arbitrators after vacated award california