(a) If the last day for the performance of any act provided or required by law to be performed within a specified period of time is a holiday, then that period is hereby extended to and including the next day that is not a holiday. For purposes of this section, “holiday” means all day on Saturdays, all holidays specified in Section 135 and, to the extent provided in Section 12b, all days that by terms of Section 12b are required to be considered as holidays.
§ 12a.Computation of time where last day for performance of act is holiday
Preliminary Provisions · Last amended 2008 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 12a extends any statutory deadline to the next non-holiday day when the last day to act falls on a Saturday, a Section 135 holiday, or an office closure under Section 12b, and applies that rule to time limits anywhere in California law, not just this code.
Full Text of § 12a
(b) This section applies to Sections 659, 659a, and 921, and to all other provisions of law providing or requiring an act to be performed on a particular day or within a specified period of time, whether expressed in this or any other code or statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation.
Plain-English Summary
Section 12a answers the question Section 12 leaves open: what happens when the last day to act falls on a holiday? The deadline moves forward to the next day that isn’t one. For this purpose, “holiday” reaches beyond Section 10’s Sunday-plus-judicial-holidays definition — it also includes every Saturday and any day a public office is closed under Section 12b.
The rule isn’t limited to the Code of Civil Procedure. Subdivision (b) applies it to deadlines set anywhere in California law — any code, statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation that requires an act on a particular day or within a specified period. It specifically calls out Sections 659, 659a, and 921 as examples.
Official Comment
The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.
2007 Law Revision Commission Comment. Subdivision (b) of Section 12a is amended to correct the cross-reference to former Section 946, which was repealed by 1968 Cal. Stat. ch. 385, § 1. The relevant substance of former Section 946 is continued in Section 921. Subdivision (b) is further amended to delete the cross-references to former Sections 974 to 982. Those provisions have been repealed. See 1963 Cal. Stat. ch. 871, § 15. Justice and police courts no longer exist, so there are no corresponding new provisions. Section 12a is also amended to make grammatical corrections and delete surplus language.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when a deadline falls on a Saturday or a holiday?
Does Section 12a apply only to deadlines in the Code of Civil Procedure?
No. Subdivision (b) extends the rule to time limits set by any code, statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation in California.
Does “holiday” mean the same thing under Section 12a as it does under Section 10?
Amendment History
Added Stats 1933 ch 29 § 1. Amended Stats 1951 ch 492 § 2; Stats 1955 ch 59 § 1; Stats 1961 ch 1370 § 1; Stats 1982 ch 838 § 2, effective September 10, 1982; Stats 1994 ch 1011 § 2 (SB 1373); Stats 2001 ch 542 § 2 (SB 1112); Stats 2007 ch 263 § 3 (AB 310), effective January 1, 2008.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: deadline falls on holiday CaliforniaCCP section 12alast day is a Saturday California deadlineextend deadline to next business day California