There is no set number of times you can ask for a continuance. Courts do not cap the requests; instead, each one is judged on its own merits, and the party asking has to show good cause for the delay. In practice, the first request tends to go through with little friction, and every request after that faces sharper scrutiny. At some point the judge will say no, and knowing where that point sits is more useful than counting.
Why There Is No Fixed Cap
Judges control their own calendars, and continuance decisions fall within that authority. No federal statute or rule sets a numerical limit. The governing standard in both federal and state courts is whether the requesting party can show good cause, and that standard is the same on your first request as on your fifth. What changes is the judge’s willingness to believe you.
A first continuance for a legitimate scheduling conflict is routine. A second for a hospitalized witness will usually be granted. A third that comes down to “we need more time” tells the judge something has gone wrong with how the case is being handled. The judge is not keeping a scorecard, but the pattern registers.
In federal civil cases, scheduling orders governing discovery, motions, and trial can only be modified for good cause with the judge’s consent.1LII / Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 16 – Pretrial Conferences; Scheduling; Management The further into a case you are, the harder that bar becomes to clear.
Reasons Judges Actually Grant
The strongest requests share a pattern: something genuinely changed, it was outside your control, and going forward on schedule would produce an unfair result. Reasons that regularly succeed include:
- Unavailable witnesses or evidence, such as a key witness who is hospitalized or deployed overseas, or newly discovered documents that neither side knew about when the trial date was set.
- Medical emergencies affecting a party, an attorney, or an essential witness. Courts expect documentation, so bring medical records or a doctor’s note.
- A change of attorney close to trial, where new counsel needs time to prepare.
- Genuine case complexity, including multiple defendants, technical evidence, or novel legal issues.
- Attorney scheduling conflicts, such as being in trial on another case. This is one of the most common grounds courts see.
The common thread is diligence. If you were actively working the case, meeting deadlines, and reviewing evidence up to the point the problem arose, the judge will credit that. If you sat on your hands for three months and now want more time, the judge will see it.
Does It Help If the Other Side Agrees
A request where both sides agree is called a stipulated continuance. One where the other side objects is contested. The distinction matters, but less than people assume.
Even when both parties agree, the judge still has to approve the delay. Stipulated continuances are routinely granted early in a case, but the judge is not a rubber stamp. If the case has already been delayed several times or the court’s calendar is packed, the judge can reject the stipulation and hold everyone to the original date. The court’s interest in managing its docket exists independently of what the parties want.
Contested requests carry a heavier burden. When one side objects, the requesting party has to show both a legitimate reason and real prejudice from proceeding on schedule. Objections carry particular weight when the opposing side has already lined up witnesses, taken time off work, or paid for services tied to the original date.
How to File the Request
In nearly all courts, a continuance is requested by written motion filed with the court and served on the opposing party. The motion should say exactly why the delay is needed, how long a continuance you want, and what you’ve done to avoid the delay. Supporting declarations or affidavits help, especially for medical emergencies or witness unavailability.
Federal rules require written motions and hearing notices to be served at least 14 days before the hearing.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers State courts set their own timelines, but the principle is the same everywhere: file as soon as you know you need the delay. Last-minute requests face an uphill battle because the court has already committed resources and the other side has prepared.
Oral motions are the exception. Some courts allow them when the reason surfaced immediately before the hearing, such as a sudden medical emergency or a death. Even then, expect the judge to want a follow-up written motion on record. Filing a motion does not pause the proceedings on its own. Until the judge rules, plan to appear as scheduled.
Fees vary. Some courts charge nothing beyond the standard motion fee; others charge a separate fee roughly between $10 and $60 depending on the court and case type.
Criminal Cases and the Speedy Trial Clock
Criminal cases run on tighter constraints. Under the federal Speedy Trial Act, the government must indict within 30 days of arrest, and trial must begin within 70 days of the indictment or the defendant’s first court appearance, whichever comes later.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3161 – Time Limits and Exclusions Most states have their own versions with different timelines.
A continuance does not automatically blow up that clock. When a judge grants one, the delay is excluded from the speedy trial calculation only if the judge makes a specific finding on the record that the interests of justice outweigh the defendant’s right to a speedy trial.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3161 – Time Limits and Exclusions Those reasons must be stated orally or in writing. Without that finding, the clock keeps running.
The statute also narrows what qualifies. A judge cannot grant a continuance simply because the court’s calendar is crowded or because the prosecutor failed to prepare or locate available witnesses.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3161 – Time Limits and Exclusions Valid reasons include case complexity, reasonable preparation time, and situations where proceeding on schedule would produce a miscarriage of justice.
When a defendant asks for a continuance, they are effectively pausing their own speedy trial clock. Some courts require the defendant to acknowledge this in writing. If the deadline passes without a valid exclusion, the defendant can move to dismiss the charges, and the court decides whether that dismissal is with or without prejudice based on the seriousness of the offense, what caused the delay, and the effect of allowing reprosecution. A defendant who fails to raise the issue before trial or before pleading guilty waives it.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3162 – Sanctions
What Happens If the Judge Denies It
If the judge denies your request, you proceed on the original schedule. There is no pretrial appeal, and asking the judge to reconsider rarely helps unless you have genuinely new information. Practically, you go to trial or hearing with the preparation you have.
A wrongful denial can be raised after trial, but appellate courts review these decisions for abuse of discretion. That means showing not just that the judge was wrong but that the decision was unreasonable and that it actually prejudiced your case. Reversals happen only in clear cases.
This is the real cost of leaning on continuances as a strategy. Spend your credibility on soft requests early, and the judge may deny the one continuance you genuinely need later.
What Overuse Costs You
Judges have tools to address parties who use continuances to stall, and those tools have real teeth.
Sanctions and Fee-Shifting
In civil cases, a court can sanction a party who files motions for improper purposes, including causing unnecessary delay. Sanctions include monetary penalties paid to the court, orders to pay the other side’s attorney fees and expenses caused by the delay, and nonmonetary measures such as striking filings or issuing formal reprimands.5Cornell University Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions
In federal criminal cases, attorneys who file frivolous continuance motions or make false statements to obtain a delay face their own penalties. Appointed counsel can have their compensation reduced by up to 25 percent, retained counsel can be fined up to 25 percent of their fee, and government attorneys face fines as well.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3162 – Sanctions
Dismissal
The harshest civil consequence is involuntary dismissal. If a plaintiff’s repeated delays amount to a failure to prosecute, the defendant can move to dismiss. Unless the judge specifies otherwise, that dismissal operates as a decision on the merits, so the plaintiff cannot refile.6LII / Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 41 – Dismissal of Actions Courts do not reach for this lightly, but a pattern of unjustified delays combined with missed deadlines gets you there.
Credibility and Case Quality
Beyond formal sanctions, excessive continuances erode your standing with the judge. Judges remember who has wasted their time, and that memory colors how future motions and objections are received. In criminal cases, delay also degrades your own evidence as witness memories fade and physical evidence deteriorates. The continuance that buys time today may cost a winnable case six months from now.
A Trial Continuance Does Not Move Your Other Deadlines
One of the most common mistakes after getting a trial date pushed back is assuming every other deadline shifts with it. In most jurisdictions it does not. A continuance of the trial date does not automatically extend discovery cutoffs, expert disclosure deadlines, or motion filing deadlines. If you need those extended too, you have to ask the court separately to modify the scheduling order, and the court can refuse.
People get caught by this constantly. Trial moves 60 days, they assume they have 60 more days to take a deposition, and then find out the discovery window closed weeks earlier. When requesting a continuance, address every related deadline in the same motion. Asking the court to modify the schedule as a whole works better than filing piecemeal requests after the fact.