A petition to confirm an award shall be served and filed not later than four years after the date of service of a signed copy of the award on the petitioner. A petition to vacate an award or to correct an award shall be served and filed not later than 100 days after the date of the service of a signed copy of the award on the petitioner.
§ 1288.Time For Serving and Filing Petitions
Title 9. Arbitration · Chapter 4. Enforcement of the Award · Article 2. Limitations of Time · Enacted 1961 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1288 sets the outer filing deadlines for arbitration-award petitions: four years to confirm an award, but only 100 days to vacate or correct one, both measured from service of a signed copy of the award on the petitioner.
Full Text of § 1288
Plain-English Summary
Arbitration runs on its own calendar, and this section is where that calendar gets strict. A party who only wants the court to confirm an award -- to turn it into an enforceable judgment -- has four years from the date a signed copy of the award was served to file and serve that petition. That's a generous window, reflecting how little controversy a confirmation petition usually stirs up.
A party who wants to undo or change the award faces a much tighter clock. A petition to vacate or to correct an award must be served and filed within 100 days of that same service date. Miss that window and the award stands, whatever its flaws. This mismatch between the two deadlines is deliberate: the law wants challenges to an award resolved quickly, while leaving the door open much longer for a winning party to cash in a result nobody is contesting.
Because the 100-day period runs from service of the award rather than from any court filing, a party who wants to challenge an award needs to start counting the moment a signed copy arrives, not after retaining counsel or evaluating the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a petition to confirm an arbitration award?
Four years after the date a signed copy of the award was served on the petitioner.
How long do I have to file a petition to vacate or correct an award?
Only 100 days after the date a signed copy of the award was served on the petitioner, a far shorter window than the deadline for confirming an award.
What happens if I miss the 100-day deadline to vacate an award?
The petition is untimely and the award generally stands, since Section 1288 fixes the deadline for challenging it and the surrounding sections don't extend it except in the narrow circumstances they describe.
Why is the deadline to confirm an award so much longer than the deadline to vacate one?
Confirming an award mainly converts an uncontested result into a judgment, while vacating or correcting one reopens the dispute, so the law pushes challenges toward quick resolution while giving the winning side ample time to enforce.
Amendment History
Repealed and added by Stats. 1961, Ch. 461.
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: deadline to vacate arbitration award californiahow long to confirm arbitration award