Rule 6.Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers

Group II: Commencement of Action; Service of Process, Pleadings, Motions, and Orders · Last amended March 1, 2018 · Last verified July 15, 2026

In one sentenceRule 6 sets the method for computing any deadline under the civil rules, a local rule, a court order, or a statute that does not specify its own method, and separately governs when a court can extend a deadline and how much extra time mailed service adds.

Full Text of Rule 6

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(a) Computing time. The following rules apply in computing any time period specified in these rules, or in any local rule, court order, or statute that does not specify a method of computing time.

(1) Period stated in days or a longer unit. When the period is stated in days or a longer unit of time:

(A) exclude the day of the event that triggers the period;

(B) count every day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays; and

(C) include the last day of the period, but if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

(2) Period stated in hours. When the period is stated in hours:

(A) begin counting immediately on the occurrence of the event that triggers the period;

(B) count every hour, including hours during intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays; and

(C) if the period would end on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period continues to run until the same time on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

(3) Inaccessibility of the clerk's office. Unless the court orders otherwise, if the clerk's office is inaccessible:

(A) on the last day for filing under Rule 6(a)(1), then the time for filing is extended to the first accessible day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday; or

(B) during the last hour for filing under Rule 6(a)(2), then the time for filing is extended to the same time on the first accessible day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

(4) "Last Day" defined. Unless a different time is set by a statute, local rule, or court order, the last day ends:

(A) for electronic filing, at midnight in the court's time zone; and

(B) for filing by other means, when the clerk's office is scheduled to close.

(5) "Next Day" defined. The "next day" is determined by continuing to count forward when the period is measured after an event and backward when measured before an event.

(6) "Legal Holiday" defined. As used in this rule, "legal holiday" means a day set aside as a holiday under N.D.C.C. §§ 1-03-01, 1-03-02 and 1-03-02.1.

(b) Extending time.

(1) In general. When an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time:

(A) with or without motion or notice if the court acts, or if a request is made, before the original time or its extension expires; or

(B) on motion made after the time has expired if the party failed to act because of excusable neglect.

(2) Exceptions. A court cannot extend the time to act under Rules 4(e)(7), 50(b) and (d), 52(b), 59(i) and (j), and 60(b).

(d) Motions and notices of hearing.

(1) In general. If an evidentiary hearing is requested, the written motion and notice of the motion must be served at least 21 days before the time specified for the hearing, with the following exceptions:

(A) when the motion may be heard ex parte;

(B) when these rules set a different period; or

(e) Additional time after service made, by mail or third-party commercial carrier.

(1) Whenever a party must or may act within a prescribed period after service and service is made by mail or third-party commercial carrier under Rule 5, three days are added after the prescribed period would otherwise expire under N.D.R.Civ.P. 6(a).

(2) If service is made by mail or third-party commercial carrier under Rule 4, the prescribed period begins running upon delivery.

Explanatory Note

Rule 6 was amended, effective 1971; March 1, 1990; on an emergency basis, March 1, 1992; January 1, 1995; March 1, 1997; March 1, 1999; March 1, 2001; March 1, 2004: March 1, 2007; March 1, 2009; March 1, 2011; March 1, 2014; March 1, 2016; March 1, 2018.

Rule 6 was amended, effective March 1, 2011, in response to the December 1, 2007, revision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.

Subdivision (a) was amended, effective March 1, 2011, to simplify and clarify the provisions that describe how deadlines are computed. Under the previous rule, intermediate weekends and holidays were omitted when computing short periods but included when computing longer periods. Under the amended rule, intermediate weekends and holidays are counted regardless of the length of the specified period.

Subdivision (a) was amended, effective March 1, 2018, to add a new paragraph (a)(6) defining "legal holiday".

Paragraph (b)(2) was amended, effective March 1, 2011, to clarify that there can be no extension of the times set by provisions in Rules 4(e)(7), 52(b), 59(i) and (j), and 60(b).

Paragraph (b)(2) was amended, effective March 1, 2014, to add a reference to Rule 50(b) and (d) and to delete a reference to Rule 50(c).

Subdivision (d) was amended, effective March 1, 1997, because Rule 3.2, N.D.R.Ct., governs when papers supporting or opposing a motion must be served. The March 1, 2001 amendment changed from 14 to 18 days when a motion must be served before it may be heard.

Paragraph (d)(1) was amended, effective March 1, 2011, to change from 18 to 21 days when a motion must be served before the time specified for the hearing.

Paragraph (d)(1) was amended, effective March 1, 2016, to clarify that, if an evidentiary hearing is requested, the written motion and notice of motion must be served 21 days before the time specified for the hearing.

Subdivision (e) was amended, effective March 1, 1999, to make the three-day extension for service by mail applicable when service is via third-party commercial carrier. The proof of service must contain the date of mailing or deposit with the third-party commercial carrier.

Subdivision (e) was amended, effective March 1, 2004, to restrict applicability of the three-day extension for service by mail or third-party commercial carrier to items served under Rule 5. The time of service for an item served by mail or third-party commercial carrier under Rule 4 is the time the item is delivered to or refused by the recipient.

Subdivision (e) was amended, effective March 1, 2007, to clarify how to count the three-day extension for service by mail or third-party commercial carrier. Under the amendment, a party that is required or permitted to act within a prescribed period should first calculate that period, without reference to the 3-day extension, but applying the other time computation provisions of these rules. After the party has identified the date on which the prescribed period would expire but for the operation of subdivision (e), the party should add 3 calendar days. The party must act by the third day of the extension, unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, in which case the party must act by the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

Subdivision (e) was amended, effective March 1, 2018, to remove service by electronic means from the modes of service that allow three added days to act after being served. Electronic service after business hours, or just before or during a weekend or holiday, may result in a practical reduction in the time available to respond. Extensions of time may be warranted to prevent prejudice.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 6(a) supplies a single counting method for deadlines measured in days or a longer unit: skip the day of the triggering event, then count every day after that — including Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays — through the last day. If that last day lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period runs instead through the end of the next day that is not one of those. Deadlines measured in hours follow the same weekend-and-holiday extension, and if the clerk's office is inaccessible on the last day (or during the last hour, for an hours-based deadline), the deadline moves to the next accessible day. “Legal holiday” for this purpose means whatever North Dakota Century Code sections 1-03-01, 1-03-02, and 1-03-02.1 designate as one.

This counting method is a deliberate change from how North Dakota used to compute time. The official explanatory note explains that before the 2011 rewrite, short periods excluded intermediate weekends and holidays while longer periods counted them; the current rule counts every day regardless of the period's length, matching the approach the federal rules adopted in 2009.

Rule 6(b) lets a court extend a deadline for good cause — freely, with or without a motion, if the request comes before the original deadline expires, but only on a showing of excusable neglect if the party asks after the deadline has already passed. A short list of deadlines is off-limits to any extension: the times set in Rules 4(e)(7), 50(b) and (d), 52(b), 59(i) and (j), and 60(b). Rule 6(d) requires a written motion and notice for an evidentiary hearing to be served at least 21 days before the hearing date, apart from ex parte motions or motions where another rule or a good-cause court order sets a different period.

Rule 6(e) adds three days to a deadline that starts running after service by mail or commercial carrier under Rule 5 — but not after service under Rule 4, where the clock instead starts on delivery. That three-day cushion no longer applies to electronic service; a 2018 amendment removed it, on the reasoning that after-hours or weekend electronic service can already shrink a party's practical response time, a problem better handled case by case through an extension request than through an automatic add-on.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I count a deadline that is measured in days under North Dakota's rules?

Rule 6(a)(1) says to exclude the day of the triggering event, count every day after that including weekends and holidays, and include the last day of the period unless it lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

What happens if a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday?

The period runs until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. The same extension applies to hour-based deadlines and to deadlines that fall while the clerk's office is inaccessible.

Can a judge extend a filing deadline that has already passed?

Yes, but only on a motion showing excusable neglect for missing the original deadline. Rule 6(b)(2) also lists several deadlines — including those under Rules 50(b) and (d), 52(b), 59(i) and (j), and 60(b) — that cannot be extended at all.

Do I get extra time to respond if I was served by mail?

Rule 6(e) adds three days to a deadline that starts running after service by mail or commercial carrier under Rule 5. That extension does not apply to service made under Rule 4, and it no longer applies to electronic service since the 2018 amendment.

Where does North Dakota's list of legal holidays come from for computing deadlines?

Rule 6(a)(6) defines “legal holiday” by reference to North Dakota Century Code sections 1-03-01, 1-03-02, and 1-03-02.1.

Source & verification. Rule text and the Explanatory Note are reproduced verbatim from the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the Supreme Court of North Dakota. Last verified July 15, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: north dakota computing deadlines rulend legal holiday statute deadlineexcusable neglect extension nd civil rulesthree day mail extension ndcounting weekends holidays nd civil procedure