What Is My Response Deadline?
Pick the document you received and this tool shows the response deadline that generally applies, with the governing rule cited so you can verify it. Add the date you were served or notified and it computes the calendar deadline in your browser. One warning up front: deadline counting is where cases are lost. Service dates, holidays, and court-specific orders all move the real date, so treat this as orientation and verify against your own documents. Educational only, not legal advice.
Federal complaint, formally served: 21 days to answer
A defendant must serve an answer (or a Rule 12 motion) within 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(1)(A)(i). If the deadline lands on a weekend or legal holiday it rolls to the next business day under Rule 6(a). Courts can and do extend this by stipulation or order, and the United States and its agencies get 60 days.
Source: Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a) and Rule 6(a) (Cornell LII).
Service waived: 60 days from when the waiver request was sent
If you timely waived service under Rule 4(d), you must serve an answer within 60 days after the request for waiver was sent (90 days if it was sent to you outside any U.S. judicial district). Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(1)(A)(ii). Note the clock runs from the date the request was sent, not the date you signed it.
Source: Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(1)(A)(ii) and Rule 4(d) (Cornell LII).
TTAB opposition or cancellation: 60 days from the institution order
For Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings instituted on or after September 4, 2025, the answer is due 60 days from the date of the institution order (raised from the long-standing 40 days). The institution notice itself states your exact deadline; that document controls. Missing it risks default judgment.
Source: USPTO, Change in initial time set to file an answer in a TTAB trial case (2025); TBMP § 310.
UDRP complaint: 20 days from commencement
The response is due within 20 days of the date the administrative proceeding commenced (the date the provider, such as WIPO or the Forum, forwards the complaint). UDRP Rules, para. 5(a). A respondent may request an automatic 4-day extension under Rule 5(b); longer extensions need exceptional circumstances. If no response is filed, the panel decides on the complaint alone.
Source: ICANN, Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, para. 5.
DMCA counter-notice sent: restoration in 10 to 14 business days
After receiving a valid counter-notification, the service provider must restore the removed material not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days after receipt, unless its designated agent first receives notice that the copyright claimant has filed a court action seeking to restrain the activity. 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(2)(C). So the practical question is whether the claimant sues within that window.
Source: 17 U.S.C. § 512(g) (Cornell LII).
Trademark office action: 3 months, one paid 3-month extension
For applications filed under sections 1 and 44, you must respond within 3 months of the office action's issue date. You may buy a single 3-month extension (currently $125 filed through TEAS), but the extension request must be filed within the original 3-month window; with it, the final deadline is 6 months from the issue date. This regime took effect December 3, 2022. Madrid Protocol (section 66(a)) applications keep a flat 6-month deadline with no extension option. Miss the deadline and the application is abandoned with no fee refund.
Source: USPTO, Responding to office actions; USPTO, Response time period.
Patent office action: 3-month shortened period, extendable to 6
Most patent office actions set a 3-month shortened statutory period to reply. You can extend month by month with escalating extension fees under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a), but never beyond the 6-month statutory maximum in 35 U.S.C. § 133; after that the application is abandoned. Check your office action's first page: some actions set shorter periods (never less than 30 days).
Source: 35 U.S.C. § 133 (Cornell LII); USPTO, MPEP § 710: Period for Reply.
Cease-and-desist letter: no statutory deadline
A demand letter is not a court filing, so no statute sets a response deadline. The "respond within 10 days" date is chosen by the sender. That does not make the letter safe to ignore: it can start clocks that matter later (willfulness, actual notice) and may be a preview of a real filing. Use the sender's deadline as a planning target, and get the letter in front of an attorney well before it.
Related reading: what to do when you are accused of IP infringement.