Does “Within 10 Days” Include the 10th Day? Weekends and Cutoffs

Yes. When a court order, contract, statute, or policy says something must happen “within 10 days,” the 10th day is included. Under the standard counting rule used in federal courts and most state courts, the day of the triggering event is Day 0, the next day is Day 1, and you have until the end of Day 10 to act. The window is inclusive on the back end, not cut off before it.

How the Count Actually Works

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(a) sets the method that most courts and drafters follow: exclude the day of the event that starts the clock, then include the last day of the period.¹ The Tenth Circuit applied that same anniversary method in United States v. Hurst, confirming that the triggering day is excluded and the deadline day is included.

Say you are served with a notice on March 3 and the notice gives you 10 days to respond. March 3 is Day 0. March 4 is Day 1. Count forward, and March 13 is Day 10. You have all of March 13 to comply.

The word “within” carries the same meaning. “Within 10 days” describes the whole window up to and including the final day, not a point before it. If a drafter wanted you to act by the ninth day, the document would say so. This default applies whether the phrase appears in a court order, a lease, an insurance policy, or a business contract, unless the document defines its own counting rule.

Calendar Days or Business Days?

Whether the 10th day lands where you think it does depends on what kind of day is being counted. Ten calendar days is 10 consecutive days on the calendar, weekends included. Ten business days runs closer to two full weeks, because Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays drop out.

When a document just says “10 days” without more, the default is calendar days. At common law, every day is a day unless the language specifically uses “business days.” Contract drafters who want weekends excluded have to say so.

Federal courts under the current Rule 6 count every calendar day for periods stated in days, no matter how short.¹ That wasn’t always true. Before 2009, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays were excluded from periods shorter than 11 days under the federal civil, criminal, and appellate rules. Some practitioners still miscalculate short deadlines out of habit.

Some consumer rules cut the other way. The FTC’s cooling-off rule for door-to-door sales runs on three business days, not calendar days.² The Truth in Lending Act’s right of rescission also uses business days, but TILA defines a “business day” to include Saturdays and to exclude only Sundays and federal holidays. Read the source document. If it defines its terms, those definitions control.

When Day 10 Falls on a Weekend or Holiday

If the last day of your window lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline rolls forward to the next day that isn’t one of those.¹ The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure use the same rule, and most state procedural systems do too.³

Federal holidays are the ones recognized under federal law. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is treated as the holiday for federal purposes; when it falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is the observed date.⁴ State and local courts sometimes recognize holidays that aren’t on the federal list, so a deadline that clears the federal calendar can still land on a closed courthouse. Check the calendar of the specific court or agency involved.

The rollover works only on the last day. Weekends and holidays that fall in the middle of the 10-day window still count as days.

Watch for the Three-Day Mail Extension

How you were served changes what “within 10 days” actually means. Under Rule 6(d), when a party is served with a document by U.S. mail, by leaving it with the clerk, or by another non-electronic method the recipient consented to, three additional calendar days are added to whatever response period the rules provide.¹ A 10-day response deadline triggered by mail service effectively becomes 13 days.

Electronic service does not get the extra days. The federal appellate rules were amended in 2016 to remove electronic service from the list of methods that trigger the three-day extension.⁵ Mail takes transit time; email doesn’t. If you were served by email and count on three bonus days, your filing will be late.

What Time on Day 10 Is the Cutoff?

The 10th day counts, but not all of it, depending on how you are filing. For electronic filings in federal court, Rule 6(a)(4) sets the “last day” as ending at midnight in the court’s local time zone, not yours.¹ A filing sent at 11:30 PM Pacific Time is 2:30 AM Eastern Time. If the court sits in New York, that filing is one day late. Federal appellate courts apply the same midnight rule keyed to the time zone of the circuit clerk’s principal office.³

Paper filings are different. The deadline is the scheduled close of the clerk’s office on Day 10, not midnight. And if the clerk’s office is inaccessible on the last day, whether from weather, a power outage, or a system failure, the deadline extends to the first accessible day that isn’t a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.¹

Outside of court, cutoffs vary. Insurance policies, agency deadlines, and contracts may specify a time of day. Where they don’t, the safe assumption is end of business on Day 10, not midnight.

Where “Within 10 Days” Shows Up

The counting method matters because these windows appear across everyday legal and consumer situations, not just in litigation:

Responding to a federal lawsuit: 21 days after service of the summons and complaint, extended to 60 days if the defendant waived formal service (90 days if served outside the United States).⁶
Cancelling a door-to-door sale under the FTC cooling-off rule: three business days.²
Landlord return of a security deposit: state laws typically set a window between 14 and 60 days after move-out, with 30 days being common. Whether those are calendar or business days depends on the state.
Rent grace periods: many states give tenants a short window, commonly five days, before a late fee can be charged. Where the state is silent, a landlord can charge the fee the day after rent is due.
Insurance claim reporting: policies routinely require notice of a loss “within” a specific number of days, and the last day of that window is included.

In every one of these, the same rule applies. The triggering event is Day 0. Count forward. The last numbered day is still inside the window, adjusted for weekends, holidays, and mail service where those apply.

What Happens If You Get It Wrong

Miscounting a deadline has real consequences. In federal litigation, a defendant who fails to respond within the required time can be held in default under Rule 55. The clerk enters the default, and the plaintiff can then seek a default judgment, which resolves the case in the plaintiff’s favor without further input from the defendant.⁷ Courts can set aside a default for “good cause,” but that decision is discretionary.

Late filings can sometimes be forgiven under the “excusable neglect” standard. The Supreme Court’s decision in Pioneer Investment Services v. Brunswick Associates set out the factors: prejudice to the other side, length of the delay, reason for the delay (including whether it was within the filer’s control), and good faith.⁸ It is a high bar. Miscounting days or misreading a deadline rarely qualifies.

Outside court, the stakes look different but hit just as hard. A late insurance claim can forfeit coverage. Missing a cancellation window locks in a purchase. Filing something one day past the mark, because you thought the 10th day didn’t count, will not save the filing. It does count. Plan around that.

1
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers
2
Federal Trade Commission. Cooling-off Period for Sales Made at Home or Other Locations
3
United States Courts. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure – Rule 26 Computing and Extending Time
4
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Federal Holidays
5
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 26 – Computing and Extending Time
6
United States Courts. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 12 Defenses and Objections
7
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment
8
Legal Information Institute. Pioneer Investment Services Co. v. Brunswick Associates Ltd. Partnership, 507 U.S. 380 (1993)