Federal Petition for Rehearing Deadline: 14 Days Under FRAP 40 (2026)

Losing in a federal court of appeals is not always the end of the case. A party that believes the panel got something wrong can ask the same court to take another look, through a petition for panel rehearing or a petition for rehearing en banc. The window is short: 14 days from the entry of judgment under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 40. Miss it, and the mandate issues and the judgment becomes final. This guide covers the 14-day rule, the 45-day rule when the United States is a party, what each petition must say, and worked dates for your calendar.

One housekeeping note first. Effective December 1, 2024, the rules were reorganized: the old FRAP 35, which governed rehearing en banc, was folded into an expanded FRAP 40, which now covers both panel rehearing and en banc determination in one place. Older briefs and guides that cite FRAP 35 for en banc rehearing are describing the same law under its old address.

The 14-Day Rule: FRAP 40(d)(1)

Unless the time is shortened or extended by order or local rule, any petition for panel rehearing or rehearing en banc must be filed within 14 days after judgment is entered. If the panel later amends its decision, on rehearing or otherwise, a fresh 14-day window opens from the entry of the amended decision. The clock starts when the judgment is entered on the docket, not when you receive the opinion in the mail or read it online, so the first job after an adverse decision is to confirm the entry date on the docket.

Counting follows FRAP 26(a)(1): exclude the day of the event that triggers the period, count every day after that, including Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, and if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next day that is not one of those days. Filing means filing with the clerk of the court of appeals, and electronic filing through the court’s CM/ECF system counts as filing when it is completed, so do not plan to mail a petition on day 14 and hope for the best.

The rehearing petition is the last step inside the court of appeals before the case moves on. The federal appeal deadline guide covers the 30-day FRAP 4 clock that brought the case to the court of appeals in the first place, and the two clocks interact: a timely rehearing petition pauses the mandate and resets the Supreme Court clock, as explained below.

The 45-Day Rule When the United States Is a Party

In a civil case, the petition may be filed by any party within 45 days after entry of judgment, or of an amended decision, if one of the parties is the United States, a United States agency, a United States officer or employee sued in an official capacity, or a current or former United States officer or employee sued in an individual capacity for an act or omission occurring in connection with duties performed on the United States’ behalf. That last category includes every instance in which the United States represents the person when the court of appeals’ judgment is entered, or files that person’s petition.

Two points catch people out. First, it applies to any party’s petition, not only the government’s: if the United States is a party to a civil case, the private party on the other side gets 45 days too. Second, it is a civil-case rule only; in a criminal case the 14-day deadline applies even when the United States is the appellee. A court order can also shorten or extend the 45-day period in a specific case, so check the judgment and any local rule before relying on it.

Panel Rehearing vs. Rehearing En Banc: Two Different Asks

FRAP 40(a) gives a party three options: a petition for panel rehearing, a petition for rehearing en banc, or both. Unless a local rule provides otherwise, a party seeking both forms must file them as a single document, and the same 14-day (or 45-day) deadline governs the combined filing.

Panel rehearing is the ordinary route. The petition goes back to the same three judges who decided the case, and it must state with particularity each point of law or fact that the petitioner believes the court has overlooked or misapprehended, and argue in support of the petition, FRAP 40(b)(1). A petition that simply re-argues the appeal is not a panel rehearing petition; it has to identify something specific the panel missed or got wrong, such as a controlling statute the opinion never addressed or a fact the opinion misstated.

Rehearing en banc asks the full court to reconsider the panel’s decision, and the rule says plainly that it is not favored. The petition must begin with a statement that one of four grounds is met, FRAP 40(b)(2): the panel decision conflicts with a decision of the same court, so full-court consideration is necessary to secure or maintain uniformity; it conflicts with a decision of the Supreme Court; it conflicts with an authoritative decision of another United States court of appeals; or the proceeding involves one or more questions of exceptional importance, each concisely stated. A majority of the circuit judges in regular active service who are not disqualified may order a case reheard en banc, FRAP 40(c), and unless a judge calls for a vote, no vote need be taken at all.

Form and Length Limits

The petition must comply in form with FRAP 32, and copies must be served and filed as FRAP 31 prescribes. Unless the court or a local rule allows otherwise, the petition, or a single document containing both petitions, must not exceed 3,900 words if produced using a computer, or 15 pages if handwritten or typewritten, FRAP 40(d)(3), and a computer-produced petition needs a certificate of compliance with the type-volume limit. Two limits surprise first-time filers: no response may be filed unless the court requests one, FRAP 40(d)(4), and oral argument on whether to grant rehearing is not permitted unless the court orders it, FRAP 40(d)(5). The court decides on the papers.

There is one more contrast worth keeping straight. A motion to alter or amend a judgment in the district court runs on a different clock: the federal post-judgment motion deadline guide covers the 28-day FRCP 59 period in the trial court. FRAP 40 is the appellate counterpart, and it is half as long.

Worked Date Examples

Every date below counts under FRAP 26(a)(1): the day judgment is entered is day zero, and every day after that counts, including weekends and holidays, with a rollover only when the last day lands on a weekend or a legal holiday.

The November 13 example deserves a note. The 14th day after Friday, November 13 is Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day itself is a federal holiday, but the day after it is not, so there is no rollover and the petition is due on the 27th. The December example shows the opposite: the 14th day after Friday, December 11 is Friday, December 25, Christmas Day, a federal holiday, so the deadline rolls to Monday, December 28. To double-check your own dates, the federal court deadlines calculator runs the same FRAP 26(a) arithmetic.

The rehearing deadline also sets the mandate. Under FRAP 41(b), the court’s mandate must issue 7 days after the time to file a petition for rehearing expires, or 7 days after entry of an order denying a timely petition, whichever is later. Take the first row of the table: with a rehearing deadline of Monday, November 16, 2026 and no petition filed, the mandate issues Monday, November 23, 2026. A timely petition stays the mandate until the court disposes of it, FRAP 41(d)(1). If the court denies the petition by an order entered Friday, December 4, 2026, the mandate then issues Friday, December 11, 2026, seven days after the denial.

What a Timely Petition Does to the Supreme Court Clock

A petition for a writ of certiorari must be filed within 90 days after entry of the court of appeals’ judgment, 28 U.S.C. 2101(c); Supreme Court Rule 13.1. But if a timely petition for rehearing is filed, the 90 days run from the date of the denial of rehearing, or the entry of a subsequent judgment on rehearing, Supreme Court Rule 13.3. That is the practical reason many losing parties file a rehearing petition even when they expect it to be denied: it preserves the certiorari option and keeps the mandate from issuing while the Supreme Court decision is made.

Work the numbers. Judgment entered Monday, November 2, 2026, and no rehearing petition filed: the 90th day is Sunday, January 31, 2027, which rolls to Monday, February 1, 2027. If a timely rehearing petition is filed and denied on, say, Friday, December 4, 2026, the 90 days run from that denial instead. A party that also wants the mandate stayed while it prepares the certiorari petition must move for a stay under FRAP 41(d)(2), showing that the petition would present a substantial question and that there is good cause for a stay, and the stay must not exceed 90 days unless extended for good cause or a certiorari petition is filed within the period.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Courts enforce the FRAP 40 deadline strictly. A late petition will be rejected as untimely, and an extension is available only if a court order or a local rule provides for it. Some circuits spell out how narrow that door is: the Fourth Circuit’s Local Rule 40(c), for example, allows an extension only on the death or serious illness of counsel or a member of counsel’s immediate family, or an extraordinary circumstance wholly beyond the control of counsel or the party. Do not assume your circuit will be more forgiving.

Missing the deadline has two knock-on effects. First, the mandate issues 7 days after the rehearing window expires, FRAP 41(b), and once the mandate issues the case goes back to the district court. Second, the certiorari clock runs from the original judgment, with no restart, so a late rehearing petition cannot rescue a Supreme Court filing that is already time-barred. The missed court deadline guide covers the limited options that remain once an appellate deadline has passed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days do I have to file a petition for rehearing in federal court?

Fourteen days after the court of appeals enters its judgment, under FRAP 40(d)(1). If the panel later amends its decision, a new 14-day period runs from the entry of the amended decision. In a civil case where the United States, a federal agency, or a federal officer or employee is a party, any party has 45 days instead.

Does the 45-day deadline apply in criminal cases?

No. The 45-day period applies only in civil cases. The advisory committee made that explicit when the longer period was added in 1994: it has no effect on the time for filing in criminal cases. In a criminal appeal, the deadline is 14 days even when the United States is a party.

Can I file a petition for panel rehearing and a petition for rehearing en banc as separate documents?

Not unless a local rule provides otherwise. FRAP 40(a) says a party seeking both forms of rehearing must file them as a single document, still capped at 3,900 words if computer-produced, or 15 pages if handwritten or typewritten. Check the circuit’s local rules before filing, because some circuits add their own format requirements.

Does filing a petition for rehearing stop the mandate from issuing?

Yes. The timely filing of a petition for panel rehearing, a petition for rehearing en banc, or a motion to stay the mandate stays the mandate until the court disposes of the petition or motion, unless the court orders otherwise, FRAP 41(d)(1). If the petition is denied, the mandate issues 7 days after entry of the order denying it, FRAP 41(b).

Can the court extend the 14-day deadline?

Only by order or local rule. FRAP 40(d)(1) sets the 14-day period “[u]nless the time is shortened or extended by order or local rule,” and courts enforce it strictly. Some circuits grant extensions only for death or serious illness of counsel or an extraordinary circumstance beyond counsel’s control, so a heavy workload is not a reliable ground.

How does a rehearing petition affect my deadline to petition the Supreme Court?

If a timely petition for rehearing is filed, the 90-day period to petition for a writ of certiorari runs from the date rehearing is denied, or from the entry of a subsequent judgment on rehearing, Supreme Court Rule 13.3. Without a rehearing petition, the 90 days run from the entry of the court of appeals’ judgment under 28 U.S.C. 2101(c) and Supreme Court Rule 13.1.

This article is general information about federal appellate procedure, not legal advice. Appellate deadlines are jurisdictional in effect and strictly enforced, and local circuit rules can change the default periods in FRAP 40. Confirm the judgment entry date on the docket, check the circuit’s local rules, and consult an appellate attorney before relying on any deadline stated here.