Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers

(a) Computing Time. The following rules apply in computing any time period specified in these rules, in a court order, or in any statute that does not specify a method of computing time: (1) Day of the Act, Event, or Default Excluded. Exclude the day of the act, event, or default that begins the period. (2) Exclusion intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays when the period is less than 11 days. from Brief Periods. Exclude (3) Last Day. Include the last day of the period unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, or -- if the act to be done is filing a paper in court -- a day on which weather or other conditions make the clerk's office inaccessible. (4) "Legal Holiday" Defined. As used in this rule and Rule 77(c), "legal holiday" includes: (A) the day set aside by statute for observing New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, President's Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day; or (B) any other day declared a holiday by the President or Congress or as prescribed by § 1-3-8, Ala. Code 1975. (b) Extending Time. (1) In General. When an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time: (A) with or without motion or notice if the court acts, or if a request is made, before the original time or its extension expires; or (B) on motion made after the time has expired if the movant failed to act because of excusable neglect. (2) Exceptions. A court may not extend the time to act under Rules 50(b) and (c)(2), 52(b), 59(b), (d), and (e), and 60(b), except as those rules allow. (c) Motions, Notices of Hearing, and Affidavits. (1) In General. A written motion and notice of hearing must be served at least 5 days before the time specified for the hearing, with the following exceptions: (A) when the motion may be heard ex parte; (B) when these rules set a different time; or (C) when a court order -- which a party may, for good cause, apply for ex parte -- sets a different time. (2) Supporting Affidavit. Any affidavit supporting a motion must be served with the motion. Except as Rule 59(c) provides otherwise, any opposing affidavit must be served at least 1 day before the hearing, unless the court permits service at another time. (d) Additional Time After Certain Kinds of Service. When a party may or must act within a specified time after being served and service is made under Rule 5(b)(2)(C) (by mail) or (E) (through the court's electronic- filing system), 3 days are added after the period would otherwise expire under Rule 6(a). (dc) District Court Rule. Rule 6 applies in the district courts, except that Rule 6(a)(2) does not apply to any periods prescribed or allowed by statute or these rules in unlawful-detainer or eviction actions. [Amended eff. 10-1-95; Amended eff.8-1-2004; Amended eff. 10-24-2008; Amended eff, 11-28-2012; Amended 3-26-2026, effective 4-9-2026.] Committee Comments on 1973 Adoption This rule is virtually identical to Federal Rule 6. The net effect is the inclusion of all holidays whether state or federal within the definition of a legal holiday. Under § 1-1-4, Code of Alabama, Saturdays are not treated as holidays. This Rule will include Saturdays and hence § 1-1-4, Code of Alabama, will not be applicable in that respect. This rule also excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from the computation of time when the time allowed is less than seven days. In an emergency, this provision could be appropriately adjusted under Rule 6(d) or Rule 65(b). Section 1-3-8, Code of Alabama, lists state holidays and provides for holidays by gubernatorial declaration. Confusion can arise when a federal holiday is not observed by the state. See Underwood v. Brantley, 280 Ala. 215, 191 So.2d 870 (1966), wherein the transcript of the evidence was due on National Memorial Day and filed one day thereafter. The evidence was stricken because, Memorial Day not being a legal holiday in Alabama, the extra day afforded when the last day falls on a legal holiday was not available. By including all holidays, state or federal, a possible trap for the unwary is eliminated. Rule 6(a) on computation of time is expressly applicable to time periods fixed, among other things, “by any applicable statute.” Rule 6(b), on enlargement of time, does not mention time periods fixed by statute. Thus statutory time periods are not subject to enlargement under Rule 6(b). Rule 6(b) gives the court a very broad discretion to enlarge time periods, but such enlargement is to be only for cause shown. If the application for extra time is made before the period has expired, the request for an extension may be made ex parte. If, however, the application for extra time comes after the period has run, notice of the motion must be given to the other parties, and the only cause for which extra time can be allowed is “excusable neglect.” As to the meaning of “excusable neglect,” see 4 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, Civil, § 1165 (1969). By express provision of Rule 6(b), there can be no enlargement of the time for motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, Rule 50(b), motions for amended findings, Rule 52(b), motions for a new trial, Rule 59(b) and (d), motions to alter or amend the judgment, Rule 59(e), or motions to set aside the judgment, Rule 60(b), except to the extent that the rules authorizing these procedures provide for enlargement of the time. Federal Rule 6(c) has been rescinded. When terms of court for United States District Courts were abolished (Tit. 28, § 138, United States Code), the provisions of Federal Rule 6(c) relating to expiration of terms were rescinded. Alabama courts have no “terms” in this context, § 12-11-4, Code of Alabama, and it is appropriate to omit Rule 6(c). Subdivisions (c), (d) and (e) of Rule 6 are identical with the corresponding federal rule. Committee Comments to October 1, 1995, Amendment to Rule 6 Subdivision (a) was amended to conform the rule to the comparable federal rule. Additional time is available when weather or other conditions make the courthouse inaccessible. The short periods during which days not a part of the work week are excluded is now eleven (11) days instead of seven (7) days. The birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Columbus Day are added to the list of expressly referenced holidays and the reference to local rules in this subdivision was deleted. Other technical amendments were made; no substantive change is intended by those amendments. Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 6(a) Effective August 1, 2004 The amendment updates the list of expressly referenced holidays to substitute “Presidents’ Day” for “Washington’s Birthday.” Committee Comments to Amendments to Rule 6 Effective October 24, 2008 All the provisions of this rule, including Rule 6(e), are applicable to electronic filing. This is in accord with the corresponding Federal Rule of Civil Procedure. Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 6(dc) Effective November 28, 2012 Issues have been raised regarding the applicability in the district court of certain rules of procedure to possessory actions for eviction under the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Ala. Code 1975, § 35-9A-101 et seq., as amended, and to possessory actions for unlawful detainer under Ala. Code 1975, § 6-6-310(2). This amendment addresses those issues. With regard to computation of time in eviction and unlawful-detainer actions, the amendment makes it clear that the exclusion in Rule 6(a) of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays in the computation of periods of less than 11 days has no application to the computation of any time periods in the district court in possessory actions for eviction or unlawful detainer and that "day" means "calendar day" in those computations. The amendment makes the rule consistent with the amendment to § 35-9A-141(3) of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act effective June 14, 2011, defining "day" to mean "calendar day, notwithstanding Rule 6 of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure." See Act No. 2011-700. Committee Comments to the Amendment of Rule 6 Effective April 9, 2026 Former Rule 6(b) stated that courts "may not extend the time for taking any action under Rules 50(b), 52(b), 59(b), (d), and (e), and 60(b)." The former rule did not include Rule 50(c)(2) -- which sets the deadline for filing a motion for a new trial by a party against whom a judgment as a matter of law has been entered -- in the list of rules setting deadlines that may not be extended. Amended Rule 6(b)(2) adds Rule 50(c)(2) to this list of exceptions. Logically, Rule 50(c)(2) belongs in this list, and its absence from the former Rule 6(b) appears to have been an oversight. As amended, the list of exceptions in Rule 6(b)(2) corresponds to the list in Federal Rule 6(b)(2). The federal rule includes Rule 50(d) in the list of exceptions, and Federal Rule 50(d) corresponds to Alabama Rule 50(c)(2). Otherwise, the changes are intended to be stylistic only. Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending Rules 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 6(a), 7(b)(2), 17(a), 22(c), and 26(b), Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, effective August 1, 2004, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from 867 So.2d. Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending effective October 24, 2008, Rule 3, Rule 4, Rule 5, Rule 6, Rule 11, Rule 55, Rule 58, Rule 59.1, Rule 77, and Rule 79, and adopting effective October 24, 2008, the Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 3(b) Effective October 24, 2008; Committee Comments to Amendments to Rule 4 Effective October 24, 2008; Committee Comments to Amendments to Rule 5 Effective October 24, 2008; Committee Comments to Amendments to Rule 6 Effective October 24, 2008; Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 11 Effective October 24, 2008; Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 55(a) Effective October 24, 2008; Committee Comments to Amendments to Rule 58 Effective October 24, 2008; Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 59.1 Effective October 24, 2008; Committee Comments to Amendments to Rule 77(d) Effective October 24, 2008; and the Committee Comments to Addition of Rule 79(e) Effective October 24, 2008, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from 994 So. 2d. Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending, effective November 28, 2012, Rule 6(dc), Rule 12(dc), Rule 52(dc), Rule 55(dc), Rule 59(dc), and Rule 62(dc), and adopting the Committee Comments to the Amendment to Rule 6(dc) Effective November 28, 2012, the Committee Comments to the Amendment to Rule 12(dc) Effective November 28, 2012, the Committee Comments to the Amendment to Rule 52(dc) Effective November 28, 2012, the Committee Comments to the Amendment to Rule 55(dc) Effective November 28, 2012, the Committee Comments to the Amendment to Rule 59(dc) Effective November 28, 2012, and the Committee Comments to the Amendment to Rule 62(dc) Effective November 28, 2012, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from ___ So. 3d. Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending Rule 6 and Rule 59(a), Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, and adopting the Committee Comments thereto, effective April 9, 2026, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from __ So. 3d.