Practical guide
How to Calculate Italian Procedural Deadlines (with Calculator)
3 min read · Updated September 2026 · Editorial oversight: Avv. Federico Papa
Miscounting a procedural deadline is one of the most expensive mistakes in practice: forfeitures, inadmissibility, applications for relief to justify. The rules are few but combine treacherously: the first day does not count, the last does, holidays extend forward but move backward terms earlier, and the August suspension freezes the count for the terms it covers. This guide lines up the rules of Art. 155 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Law 742/1969, with a calculator that applies them all at once.
Calculator: procedural deadline
Art. 155 Code of Civil Procedure · August suspension, Law 742/1969
The trigger day is excluded; national holidays and Easter Monday included. Always check the special terms of the procedure. Indicative tool.
In brief
In computing procedural deadlines the trigger day is excluded and the final day included (Art. 155). If the deadline falls on a Saturday or holiday, it moves to the first following non-holiday; in backward terms the shift operates backwards. From 1 to 31 August the running of ordinary terms is suspended (Law 742/1969): August days do not count. Example: a 30-day term from service on 15 July 2026 expires on Monday 14 September 2026.
The steps
- 1.
Fix the trigger day and exclude it
The term runs from the triggering event (service, notice, publication of the order), but the first day is not counted: dies a quo non computatur (Art. 155(1)). The count starts the following day. The final day counts in full: the act can be performed until that day's electronic-filing cut-off.
- 2.
Apply the August suspension where it covers the term
From 1 to 31 August the running of ordinary procedural terms is suspended (Art. 1, Law 742/1969): August days do not count and, if the term starts during the suspension, it runs from 1 September. The suspension does not apply to the matters excluded by Art. 3 (including maintenance, interim measures, evictions, labour): for those the count runs through August too.
- 3.
Shift holidays in the right direction
If the deadline falls on a holiday or Saturday, it is extended by law to the first following non-holiday (Art. 155(4)-(5)). In backward terms, counted backwards from a hearing, the logic reverses: a deadline landing on a Saturday or holiday must be moved to the preceding working day, otherwise the term would be shortened to the other party's detriment.
- 4.
Check the worked example
Service on 15 July 2026, 30-day term subject to the August suspension. The count starts on 16 July and reaches the end of July with 16 days accrued; the whole of August does not count; the remaining 14 days run from 1 September and land on Monday 14 September 2026, a working day: the deadline stays there. The calculator on this page replicates exactly this count and also handles backward terms.
- 5.
Know the terms that escape the general rules
Terms in months or years follow the common calendar (Art. 155(2)): they expire on the corresponding day of the final month, without counting days. Beware finally of 'clear days' terms, where full days must elapse between the two ends, and of procedures with their own rules: checking the text of the provision setting the term is never wasted.
Legal basis: Art. 155 c.p.c.L. 742/1969Art. 153 c.p.c.
Mistakes to avoid
- Counting the service day: the trigger day is excluded
- Forgetting that the Saturday extension applies to out-of-hearing acts, and that in backward terms it operates backwards
- Applying the August suspension to excluded matters (interim, labour, maintenance, evictions)
- Computing month-based terms by counting days instead of using the common calendar
- Ignoring that a term started before August resumes on 1 September for the remaining days
Frequently asked questions
Does the August suspension apply to all terms?
No: Art. 3 of Law 742/1969 excludes, among others, maintenance cases, interim proceedings, evictions and labour disputes. For those matters terms run through August as well.
What if the deadline falls on a Saturday?
For out-of-hearing acts the deadline is extended by law to the first following non-holiday, hence normally Monday (Art. 155(4)-(5)). In backward terms it moves to Friday instead.
How are month-based terms computed?
By the common calendar: the term expires on the day of the final month corresponding to the starting day, without counting the days in between (Art. 155(2)). The August suspension, where applicable, adds 31 days to the count.
What edit.legal automates
- —In chat and while drafting, the assistant computes deadlines from the case data you point it to, spelling out trigger day, holidays and the August suspension
- —Querying uploaded documents, it identifies service dates and the terms they trigger
- —The in-editor reference check verifies cited provisions against the updated legislative database
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