Federal Court Limitation Period Calculator
Calculate the filing deadline for a Federal Court case in Canada. Enter the case type and start date to get the expiry date and days remaining to file.
Federal Court Limitation Period Calculator
About Limitation Periods
Enter when you received the decision (not the decision date), or when the incident occurred
Limitation Period Results
Documentation
Federal Court Limitation Period Calculator
The Federal Court limitation period calculator finds the deadline for filing a case with the Federal Court of Canada. It takes a case type and a start date, then returns the expiry date, the number of days left, and whether the deadline has already passed.
A limitation period is a legal deadline for starting a court case. Once it passes, a court will normally refuse to hear the case at all, no matter how strong the evidence is. Federal Court limitation periods are short. Some are as brief as 10 or 15 days.
Federal Court limitation periods by case type
| Case type | Limitation period | Governing law |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Court Act matters | 30 days | Federal Courts Act (no single section; check the provision that applies) |
| Judicial review applications | 30 days after the decision is first communicated | Federal Courts Act s. 18.1(2) |
| Immigration matters arising in Canada | 15 days | Immigration and Refugee Protection Act s. 72(2)(b) |
| Immigration matters arising outside Canada | 60 days | Immigration and Refugee Protection Act s. 72(2)(b) |
| Federal Court of Appeal, final judgment | 30 days, excluding July and August | Federal Courts Act s. 27(2)(b) |
| Federal Court of Appeal, interlocutory judgment | 10 days | Federal Courts Act s. 27(2)(a) |
| General limitation period, cause arising outside a province | 6 years | Federal Courts Act s. 39(2) |
These are the standard periods. An interlocutory judgment is a ruling made partway through a case. The six-year period in s. 39(2) applies only to a cause of action that arose outside any province. For one that arose inside a province, that province's limitation law applies instead (s. 39(1)), and the period may be shorter. The calculator shows a note saying so when the general limitation period is chosen.
Some statutes set other deadlines for specific situations. Check the statute that applies to a case, or ask a lawyer, before relying on the figures above.
How to calculate a Federal Court limitation period
Standard periods (10, 15, 30 or 60 days)
For immigration matters, judicial reviews, Federal Court Act matters, and appeals from interlocutory judgments, the calculator adds the limitation period directly to the start date, counting every calendar day:
Expiry date = Start date + number of days in the limitation period
Every day counts, including weekends and statutory holidays. There is no rule in this calculator that pushes a deadline landing on a weekend to the next business day. Under general federal law (the Interpretation Act, s. 26), an act due on a holiday can be done on the next day that is not a holiday, but this calculator does not apply that adjustment automatically. Confirm any deadline that lands on a weekend or holiday with the Federal Court Registry or a lawyer.
Federal Court of Appeal, final judgment (30 days, excluding summer)
The Federal Courts Act sets the appeal period for a final judgment at 30 days, not including any days in July and August. The calculator counts forward from the judgment date one day at a time, skipping any day that falls in July or August, until 30 countable days have passed. The appeal deadline never lands in July or August. The 10-day period for an interlocutory judgment has no summer exclusion, so the calculator counts it like any other standard period.
General limitation period (6 years)
The six-year general limitation period is calculated as six calendar years from the start date, not as a fixed number of days. The expiry date falls on the same month and day, six years later. If the start date is February 29 in a leap year, the expiry date becomes February 28 in the sixth year, since not every sixth year is a leap year. Because leap years fall unevenly across a six-year span, this is not the same as adding 6 × 365 = 2,190 days.
Days remaining and expiry status
Days remaining = Expiry date − Current date, counted in whole days.
- A positive number, or zero, means the case can still be filed. The deadline day itself still counts as timely: a filing made on the exact expiry date is on time.
- A negative result means the limitation period has expired. The calculator then shows the status "Expired" and no longer shows a days-remaining figure.
The calculator also shows the percentage of the period that remains, calculated as days remaining divided by the total length of the period, multiplied by 100. This drives the colour-coded progress bar: green above 30 days remaining, yellow from 8 to 30 days, and red at 7 days or fewer, or once expired.
Worked examples
Example 1: Immigration matter. A person receives a negative decision on June 5, 2023. The immigration limitation period is 15 days, so:
Expiry date = June 5, 2023 + 15 days = June 20, 2023
If today is June 20, the days remaining is 0 and the status still shows "Active," because filing on the deadline day itself is on time. If today is June 21, the result is one day past the deadline, so the status shows "Expired."
Example 2: Federal Court of Appeal. A Federal Court judgment is issued on July 10, 2023. Because July and August are excluded from the count:
- July 11 to July 31 (21 days) and all of August (31 days) do not count toward the 30 days.
- Counting starts again on September 1. The 30th countable day is September 30, 2023.
So the appeal deadline is September 30, 2023, not August 9 (the date a plain 30-calendar-day count would give).
Example 3: General limitation period. A cause of action arises on January 1, 2020. Six calendar years later is January 1, 2026. That span covers the leap years 2020 and 2024, so it is 2,192 days long, two days more than a flat 2,190-day (6 × 365) count would give.
How to use the calculator
- Choose the case type from the dropdown: Federal Court Act matter, judicial review, immigration matter in Canada, immigration matter arising outside Canada, Federal Court of Appeal (final or interlocutory judgment), or general limitation period.
- Enter the start date. This is normally the date the decision was received, or the date the event or judgment giving rise to the case occurred, not the date printed on a decision letter if it was received later.
- Read the results: the expiry date, days remaining, and whether the period is active or expired.
- Use "Copy Results" to save a record of the calculation, for example to share with a lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a limitation period? A limitation period is a legal deadline for starting a court case. Once it passes, the court will normally dismiss the case without looking at the evidence.
Do weekends and holidays count toward a Federal Court limitation period? Yes. Every calendar day counts, including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. This calculator does not extend a deadline that falls on a non-business day; it always counts calendar days directly. Under the Interpretation Act, a deadline that falls on a holiday moves to the next day that is not a holiday, so confirm an exact date near a weekend or holiday with the Federal Court Registry or a lawyer.
Am I still on time if I file exactly on the expiry date? Yes. The limitation period is not expired on the deadline day itself. It is only expired once the current date is after the expiry date.
Can a Federal Court limitation period be extended? Sometimes. For judicial review and appeals, the Federal Courts Act lets a judge allow further time, before or after the deadline. For immigration matters, a judge may extend the time "for special reasons". An extension is never automatic, and the calculator does not account for one.
Why does the Federal Court of Appeal period skip July and August? Section 27(2)(b) of the Federal Courts Act excludes those two months from the 30-day period for appealing a final judgment. The calculator follows this rule, so a final-judgment appeal deadline can never fall within July or August. The 10-day period for an interlocutory judgment does not skip them.
Is this calculator legal advice? No. It estimates standard limitation periods using the general rules above. It does not account for every statutory exception or unusual fact pattern. Confirm any deadline with a lawyer or the Federal Court Registry, especially when the calculation shows little time remaining.
References
- Department of Justice Canada. Federal Courts Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. F-7). Federal Courts Act, full text — 30 days for judicial review (s. 18.1(2)); 10 or 30 days for appeals, not counting July and August (s. 27(2)); six years outside a province, provincial law inside one (s. 39); judges may allow further time.
- Department of Justice Canada. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (S.C. 2001, c. 27). Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, full text — 15 days for a matter arising in Canada, 60 days outside Canada, extendable for special reasons (s. 72(2)).
- Department of Justice Canada. Interpretation Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I-21). Interpretation Act, full text — a deadline falling on a holiday moves to the next day that is not a holiday (s. 26).