(a) Computation. – In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of court, or by any applicable statute, including rules, orders or statutes respecting publication of notices, the day of the act, event, default or publication after which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included. The last day of the period so computed is to be included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday when the courthouse is closed for transactions, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday when the courthouse is closed for transactions. When the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than seven days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays shall be excluded in the computation. A half holiday shall be considered as other days and not as a holiday.
Rule 6.Time.
Last amended 2003 · Last verified July 3, 2026
In one sentenceRule 6 sets how deadlines are counted under the rules — excluding the triggering day but including the last day unless it falls on a weekend or holiday — and lets a court extend a deadline for cause before it expires or for excusable neglect after, subject to a 30-day cap on party stipulations and to firmer limits on a short list of post-trial motions.
Full Text of Rule 6
(b) Enlargement. – When by these rules or by a notice given thereunder or by order of court an act is required or allowed to be done at or within a specified time, the court for cause shown may at any time in its discretion with or without motion or notice order the period enlarged if request therefor is made before the expiration of the period originally prescribed or as extended by a previous order. Upon motion made after the expiration of the specified period, the judge may permit the act to be done where the failure to act was the result of excusable neglect. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this rule, the parties may enter into binding stipulations without approval of the court enlarging the time, not to exceed in the aggregate 30 days, within which an act is required or allowed to be done under these rules, provided, however, that neither the court nor the parties may extend the time for taking any action under Rules 50(b), 52, 59(b), (d), (e), 60(b), except to the extent and under the conditions stated in them.
(c) Unaffected by expiration of session. – The period of time provided for the doing of any act or the taking of any proceeding is not affected or limited by the continued existence or expiration of a session of court. The continued existence or expiration of a session of court in no way affects the power of a court to do any act or take any proceeding, but no issue of fact shall be submitted to a jury out of session.
(d) For motions, affidavits. – A written motion, other than one which may be heard ex parte, and notice of the hearing thereof shall be served not later than five days before the time specified for the hearing, unless a different period is fixed by these rules or by order of the court. Such an order may for cause shown be made on ex parte application. When a motion is supported by affidavit, the affidavit shall be served with the motion; and except as otherwise provided in Rule
59(c), opposing affidavits shall be served at least two days before the hearing. If the opposing affidavit is not served on the other parties at least two days before the hearing on the motion, the court may continue the matter for a reasonable period to allow the responding party to prepare a response, proceed with the matter without considering the untimely served affidavit, or take such other action as the ends of justice require. For the purpose of this two-day requirement only, service shall mean personal delivery, facsimile transmission, or other means such that the party actually receives the affidavit within the required time.
(e) Additional time after service by mail. – Whenever a party has the right to do some act or take some proceedings within a prescribed period after the service of a notice or other paper upon him and the notice or paper is served upon him by mail, three days shall be added to the prescribed period.
(f) Additional time for Address Confidentiality Program participants. – Whenever a person participating in the Address Confidentiality Program established by Chapter 15C of the General Statutes has a legal right to act within a prescribed period of 10 days or less after the service of a notice or other paper upon the program participant, and the notice or paper is served upon the program participant by mail, five days shall be added to the prescribed period.
Amendment History
(1967, c. 954, s. 1; 2000-127, s. 5; 2002-171, s. 2; 2003-337, s. 2.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 6(a) fixes the basic method of counting time under the rules, a court order, or any applicable statute: skip the day of the triggering act or event, then count forward, including the last day of the period unless it falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, in which case the period runs to the end of the next day that isn’t. When a prescribed period is shorter than seven days, intervening weekends and holidays are excluded from the count entirely rather than just adjusting the final day.
Rule 6(b) lets the court enlarge a deadline for cause shown, with or without a motion or notice, as long as the request comes before the original period — or a previous extension — expires. Once a deadline has already passed, a court may still permit the act if the failure to act was the result of excusable neglect. Parties may also stipulate to their own extensions without court approval, up to 30 days in the aggregate, but neither the court nor the parties may extend the deadlines Rules 50(b), 52, 59(b), (d), (e), or 60(b) set for certain post-trial motions, except as those rules themselves allow.
The remaining sections round out the scheme: a deadline is not affected by whether a session of court has ended or is still underway, though no issue of fact may go to a jury outside of a session; written motions other than ex parte ones, and their supporting affidavits, must be served on a fixed schedule ahead of the hearing; and three extra days are added to a deadline that runs from service by mail, extended to five days for a participant in the state’s Address Confidentiality Program.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a deadline falls on a Saturday, when is it due?
The period runs until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. The day of the triggering event itself is never counted.
Can the parties agree between themselves to extend a deadline without asking the court?
Yes, but only up to 30 days total, and not for the post-trial deadlines Rules 50(b), 52, 59, and 60(b) set, which only the court can extend and only within the limits those rules allow.
What happens if I miss a filing deadline entirely?
The court may still permit the act if the failure was the result of excusable neglect, but that request must be made by motion after the deadline has passed, and the outcome is discretionary.
Source & verification. The rule text and history citation are reproduced verbatim from the
official North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 1A (N.C. R. Civ. P. 6). Enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly (S.L. 1967, c. 954, codified at N.C.G.S. § 1A-1). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 3, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: computation of timehow to count deadlinesweekends and holidays deadlineenlargement of timemotion to extend a deadlineexcusable neglectstipulated extension of time30-day stipulation limitthree-day mail ruleadditional time after service by mailaddress confidentiality program mail time