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 15 days.

Federal Court limitation periods by case type

Case type	Limitation period	Governing law
Federal Court Act matters	30 days	Federal Courts Act
Judicial review applications	30 days	Federal Courts Act
Immigration matters	15 days	Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
Federal Court of Appeal	30 days, excluding July and August	Federal Courts Act s. 27(2)(b)
General limitation period	6 years	Various statutes, s. 39(2)

These are the standard periods. Some statutes set different deadlines for specific situations, such as certain customs or Crown liability claims. Check the statute that applies to a case, or ask a lawyer, before relying on the standard figures above.

How to calculate a Federal Court limitation period

Standard periods (15 or 30 days)

For immigration matters, judicial reviews, Federal Court Act matters, and most other 30-day deadlines, 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 normally be done on the next non-holiday day, 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 (30 days, excluding summer)

The Federal Courts Act excludes July and August from the 30-day appeal period. 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.

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 number means the limitation period has expired.

The calculator also shows the percentage of the period that has passed, 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 7 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 days remaining is −1 and 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, Federal Court of Appeal, 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. General federal law allows some deadlines to move to the next business day, 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, but rarely. A judge can extend certain limitation periods, but only where there are special circumstances beyond a person's control and evidence of a genuine effort to meet the deadline. Being busy, or not knowing about the deadline, is not normally enough.

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 appeal period. The calculator follows this rule, so an appeal deadline can never fall within July or August.

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

Federal Courts Act, RSC 1985, c F-7. laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/f-7
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27. laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-2.5
Federal Courts Rules, SOR/98-106. laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-98-106
Interpretation Act, RSC 1985, c I-21, s. 26. laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-21
Federal Court of Canada, "Court Process." fct-cf.gc.ca/en/pages/court-process

Federal Court Limitation Period Calculator