You can change your court date by filing a motion for continuance, but a judge has to grant it before the original hearing is off your calendar. Courts require “good cause,” which means a serious, documented reason you cannot attend, not a preference or a minor conflict. File early, serve the other side, attach evidence, and keep showing up until you have a signed order in hand.
What Counts as Good Cause
Courts use a standard called good cause to evaluate continuance requests, and the bar sits higher than most people expect.1Legal Information Institute. Continuance A dentist appointment or a wish to delay will not work. Judges look for circumstances that are sudden, serious, and outside your control.
Reasons courts routinely accept include:
- A medical emergency affecting you, a close family member, or a key witness, backed by a doctor’s note or hospital records.
- Attorney unavailability, whether because your lawyer has a conflicting court appearance or because you recently lost counsel and need time to hire a new one.
- A witness essential to your case who cannot attend due to illness, travel, or other circumstances beyond their control.
- Inadequate preparation time, often because the case is unusually complex or evidence was disclosed late.
- Pre-existing, non-refundable travel booked before the court date was set, documented with confirmations and receipts.
The common thread is fairness. A continuance is granted when holding the hearing as scheduled would prevent one side from genuinely participating. A vague “I’m not ready” almost never qualifies.
How to Write the Motion
The document is called a Motion for Continuance. Most courts have their own forms or formatting rules, so check the court’s website or clerk’s office before drafting from scratch. At minimum, your motion needs to include:
- The full case name and case number.
- The current hearing date you want rescheduled.
- A clear explanation of your good cause, with specific facts rather than generalities.
- Whether you have contacted the opposing party and whether they agree or object.
- Proposed alternative dates, if you can offer them.
Attach every piece of supporting evidence you have. A doctor’s letter, an employer’s statement on company letterhead, a flight itinerary, or a signed statement from an unavailable witness all strengthen your request. Judges see continuance motions constantly, and the ones backed by documentation get granted far more often than bare assertions.
One detail people routinely skip: stating whether the other side consents. If you and the opposing party agree to the new date, judges are far more likely to grant the motion without a separate hearing. A quick call or email to opposing counsel before you file can make the difference.
Filing, Serving, and Timing
File the motion and its attachments with the clerk of court where your case is pending. Depending on the jurisdiction, you can file in person, by mail, or through an electronic portal. Some courts charge a small motion fee; some do not. Call the clerk’s office to confirm.
Timing matters more than most people realize. Under federal rules, a written motion and hearing notice must be served on the other party at least 14 days before the hearing date.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers State courts set their own deadlines, and many require less lead time, but filing as early as possible is always safer. A motion filed the day before your hearing signals to the judge that you didn’t take the obligation seriously.
After filing, deliver a copy of the motion and all attachments to the opposing party or their attorney. This step, called service, isn’t optional. If the other side doesn’t receive your motion, the court can deny it on that basis alone, no matter how strong your reason. Most courts accept service by mail, email, or hand delivery, depending on local rules.
Emergency and Same-Day Requests
Sometimes a crisis hits the day before or the morning of your hearing. A car accident, a sudden hospitalization, or a family emergency doesn’t wait for a 14-day filing window. In these situations, you may be able to make an oral request in the courtroom or call the court clerk’s office to explain what happened.
Set your expectations. Emergency continuances are granted, but judges are understandably skeptical of last-minute requests. You’ll need to explain exactly what happened and why you couldn’t have anticipated it. If someone else can appear on your behalf to make the request, that is usually better than a no-show followed by a phone call. Bring documentation to the rescheduled hearing even if you couldn’t produce it on the day of the emergency.
If you are physically unable to get to court and can’t reach anyone, contact the clerk’s office as soon as you possibly can. The longer the gap between the missed hearing and your call, the worse your position becomes.
How Judges Decide
Filing a motion does not change your court date. It’s a request until a judge signs an order granting it. Some judges rule on the written motion alone. Others schedule a brief hearing where both sides weigh in. Check your court’s procedures so you’re not caught off guard.
Beyond the strength of your stated reason, judges weigh several practical factors: how long the case has been pending, whether the other side would be harmed by the delay, whether you’ve requested continuances before, and how close trial is. A first-time request early in the case with a documented medical emergency is about as strong as it gets. A third request close to trial for a vague scheduling conflict is almost certain to be denied.
No hard statutory cap governs how many continuances you can request, but judges notice patterns. After two or three granted continuances, the court’s patience wears thin quickly. Each new request draws heavier scrutiny, and the judge will want to know why this keeps happening.
Criminal Cases and Speedy Trial Rights
If your case is criminal, a continuance carries a wrinkle that does not exist in civil litigation: it can affect the speedy trial clock. Under the federal Speedy Trial Act, most criminal trials must begin within 70 days of indictment or the defendant’s first court appearance. Time spent on a granted continuance is excluded from that countdown, as long as the judge finds that the delay serves “the ends of justice.”3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3161 – Time Limits for Disposing of Criminal Cases
Every continuance you request pushes the government’s deadline further out. That is not automatically bad, especially if your lawyer genuinely needs more time to prepare a defense, but it is a trade-off you should understand before agreeing to it. The Speedy Trial Act also limits what counts as a valid reason for delay. A judge cannot grant a continuance simply because the court’s calendar is congested or because the prosecution wasn’t diligent in gathering evidence.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3161 – Time Limits for Disposing of Criminal Cases State speedy trial rules vary, but most follow a similar framework.
What Happens If You Miss Your Court Date
If your motion is denied, the original court date stands and you must appear. The consequences of not showing up depend on whether the case is civil or criminal, and they are severe either way.
Civil Cases
In a civil case, the other side can ask the court to enter a default judgment against you. A default judgment means you lose without the court ever hearing your side, and the plaintiff can be awarded the full amount they asked for, including damages and costs.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment That judgment is enforceable like any other court order, meaning wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens are all on the table.
A default judgment can be set aside, but only if you show good cause or meet the grounds for relief from a final judgment, and courts do not reverse these lightly.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment The longer you wait to act, the harder it gets.
Criminal Cases
Missing a criminal court date is far more dangerous. The judge will almost certainly issue a bench warrant for your arrest, which means law enforcement can pick you up at a traffic stop, a routine background check, or your front door.
Failure to appear is also a separate federal offense under 18 U.S.C. § 3146, with penalties that scale based on the seriousness of the underlying charge. If the original charge was a felony punishable by 15 or more years, the failure-to-appear offense alone carries up to 10 years in prison. For other felonies, the exposure is up to two or five years depending on the maximum sentence for the underlying crime. Even for misdemeanors, a failure to appear adds up to one year of imprisonment, and that sentence runs consecutive to any sentence for the underlying offense.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3146 – Penalty for Failure to Appear State laws impose similar penalties, and many treat failure to appear as a standalone criminal charge.
If your continuance motion is still pending and you have not received a ruling, do not assume it was granted. Call the clerk’s office and check the status. If you cannot confirm that the motion was granted, show up. The worst outcome of appearing unnecessarily is a few wasted hours. The worst outcome of skipping a hearing that was not actually continued is a warrant, a new criminal charge, or a judgment you will spend months trying to undo.