Judgment is entered, and the losing side has one short window to ask the trial judge to fix it. In federal court that window is 28 days, set by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59, and it is one of the few deadlines in civil practice that the court has no power to extend. Miss it by a day and the Rule 59 door closes for good.
Rule 59 covers two different asks. A motion for a new trial asks the judge to throw out the result and try the case again, in whole or in part. A motion to alter or amend the judgment asks the judge to change the judgment itself without a second trial. Both run on the same 28-day clock, but they do different work, and confusing them is how parties file the wrong motion. Settlement pressure can also arrive before judgment is ever entered: our federal offer of judgment deadline guide explains the 14-day rule under FRCP 68, the acceptance window, and the cost-shifting consequence of refusing an offer and then doing worse at trial.
The 28-day rule
Rule 59(b) states that a motion for a new trial must be filed no later than 28 days after the entry of judgment. Rule 59(e) uses identical language for a motion to alter or amend a judgment: no later than 28 days after the entry of the judgment. The clock starts when judgment is entered on the docket, not when you read the order, not when your client calls you about it, and not when a copy arrives in the mail.
Rule 58 adds one wrinkle worth knowing. A judgment is ordinarily entered when it is set out in a separate document and docketed. If the court never issues a separate document, Rule 58(c)(2)(B) treats the judgment as entered 150 days after the civil docket entry. That is a rare trap, but when the docket shows no separate judgment document, the 150-day rule decides when the 28 days start.
Counting follows Rule 6(a). Exclude the day judgment is entered, then count every calendar day after that, weekends and holidays included. If the 28th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, Rule 6(a)(3) pushes the deadline to the next business day. The worked examples below show both the straight count and the rollover. The 28-day clock is only one entry on a longer list, and our FRCP deadline guide sets it next to the 21-day answer, the 14-day disclosures, and the 30-day appeal deadline, so you can calendar the whole case at once.
What each motion actually does
A new-trial motion under Rule 59(a) asks for a do-over. After a jury trial, the court may grant a new trial on some or all of the issues for any reason that has traditionally justified one in an action at law. The classic grounds are a verdict against the weight of the evidence, jury misconduct, and errors in admitting or excluding evidence that likely affected the outcome. After a nonjury trial, Rule 59(a)(2) gives the court a wider set of tools: it may open the judgment, take additional testimony, amend its findings of fact and conclusions of law, and direct the entry of a new judgment, all without a fresh trial.
A motion to alter or amend under Rule 59(e) is narrower. It does not ask for a new trial at all. It asks the same judge to correct the judgment that was just entered. Most courts grant Rule 59(e) relief only for a clear error of law or fact, newly discovered evidence that could not have been found before judgment with reasonable diligence, or an intervening change in controlling law. It is not a second chance to make arguments that were available the first time around, and courts routinely deny Rule 59(e) motions that simply rehash the losing brief.
There is also a third route that surprises many litigants: the court can act on its own. Under Rule 59(d), no later than 28 days after the entry of judgment, the court may order a new trial for any reason that would justify granting one on a party’s motion, after giving the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard. The court must specify its reasons in the order. Do not count on this. It is a safety valve the judge controls, not a deadline you can rely on.
The deadline cannot be extended
This is the part that catches even experienced lawyers. Rule 6(b)(2) provides that a court may not extend the time to act under Rule 59(b), (d), or (e), among others. A stipulation with opposing counsel does not extend it. A court order purporting to extend it does not extend it. The Supreme Court has described the Rule 59(e) period as allowing no possibility of an extension, and courts have denied motions filed one day late even where the delay came from a trial court’s own mistaken extension order. Not every federal deadline is locked down this way — our federal extension of time deadline guide explains which deadlines a court can extend under Rule 6(b), the good-cause and excusable-neglect standards, and why Rule 59 sits on the short list that can never be extended.
Two practical consequences follow. First, calendar the deadline the day judgment is entered, not the day you get around to it. Second, remember that filing controls, not service. The motion must be filed with the clerk within 28 days. Mailing it on day 28, or serving it on opposing counsel on day 28, is not filing. A deadline calculator takes the entry date and returns the 28th day with the Rule 6(a)(3) rollover already applied, so the date on your calendar is the date the court will enforce.
Worked date examples
Example 1: straightforward count. Judgment is entered on Friday, October 30, 2026. Exclude October 30, then count 28 calendar days. Day 28 lands on Friday, November 27, 2026, a business day, so the Rule 59 motion must be filed by November 27, 2026.
Example 2: a second judgment, same method. Judgment is entered on Friday, November 13, 2026. Exclude November 13 and count 28 days forward. The deadline is Friday, December 11, 2026. If a new-trial motion in this case is supported by affidavits, those affidavits go in with the motion, and under Rule 59(c) the opposing party then has 14 days after being served to file opposing affidavits. A motion served on November 13, 2026 puts opposing affidavits due on Friday, November 27, 2026.
Example 3: the holiday rollover. Judgment is entered on Friday, December 4, 2026. Counting 28 days forward lands on Friday, January 1, 2027, which is New Year’s Day, a federal holiday. Under Rule 6(a)(3) the period rolls forward past the holiday and the weekend that follows, so the motion is due on Monday, January 4, 2027. Do not assume the rollover without checking: it applies only when the last day itself is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, and only to the next day that is none of those things.
How a timely Rule 59 motion affects the appeal clock
Filing a timely Rule 59 motion pauses the time to appeal. Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(4)(A)(iv), the appeal period does not start running again until the district court disposes of the motion. That is why the sequence matters: file the Rule 59 motion first, within its 28 days, and the appeal deadline waits. File it late, and it tolls nothing, because an untimely motion is not a timely motion for tolling purposes. Our federal notice of appeal deadline guide walks through the 30-day appeal period that restarts once the Rule 59 motion is decided. A Rule 52(b) motion to amend findings is on the same tolling list and runs on the same 28-day, non-extendable clock — our federal motion to amend findings deadline guide explains the bench-trial standard and the tolling effect. Rule 59 is only one of six motions that can pause the appeal clock, and each has its own timing trap — our federal appeal deadline tolling guide walks through the full FRAP 4(a)(4) list, including the Rule 60 28-day cutoff and what happens to a premature notice of appeal.
The same tolling logic is a reason to check the rest of the post-judgment calendar before filing. A Rule 59 motion sits between judgment and appeal, and it interacts with amendment practice too: if the judgment is altered or amended, the amended judgment can restart clocks of its own. Our federal amended pleading deadline guide explains the separate 21-day amendment window under Rule 15, which is a pleading rule, not a post-judgment rule, and should not be confused wi th Rule 59. A related post-trial motion deserves a place on the same calendar: our federal judgment as a matter of law deadline guide explains the 28-day window under FRCP 50(b) for a renewed motion after judgment, the pre-verdict Rule 50(a) prerequisite, and why the deadline, like Rule 59’s, cannot be extended. And if the judgment came out of a bankruptcy court, the appeal clock is different again: our federal bankruptcy appeal deadline guide explains the 14-day rule under Bankruptcy Rule 8002 and FRAP 6, the four tolling motions that pause it, and the narrow 21-day extension window.
What happens if the 28 days pass
Once the window closes, Rule 59 is gone. The remaining path is Rule 60(b), relief from a judgment or order, which has its own grounds and its own timing: a motion under Rule 60(b) must be made within a reasonable time, and for mistake, newly discovered evidence, or fraud, no more than one year after entry of judgment. Rule 60(b) is harder to win than Rule 59 and it does not reopen the same arguments on the same terms, which is exactly why the 28-day deadline deserves first priority on the calendar. If a deadline has already slipped, our missed court deadline guide explains the options for salvaging the situation. And when the judgment itself is already entered and the 28 days are gone, our federal relief from judgment deadline guide explains the six grounds under FRCP 60(b), the reasonable-time standard, and the one-year outer limit that applies to mistake, newly discovered evidence, and fraud.
Before filing, check the district’s local rules as well. Many districts add their own briefing schedules, page limits, and meet-and-confer requirements for post-judgment motions, and a motion that satisfies Rule 59 can still draw an objection for ignoring a local rule. Use our free legal deadline calculator to double-check the count, then confirm the result against the docket entry date yourself, because the docket date, not your memory of the hearing, controls.
Frequently asked questions
Is a motion for reconsideration the same as a Rule 59 motion?
The federal rules do not have a standalone motion for reconsideration. A paper labeled reconsideration is treated as a Rule 59(e) motion if it is filed within 28 days of judgment, and as a Rule 60(b) motion if it comes later. The label on the caption does not control; the timing and the relief requested do.
Can the parties agree to extend the Rule 59 deadline?
No. Rule 6(b)(2) bars the court from extending the time to act under Rule 59(b), (d), or (e), and a stipulation between the parties cannot override that bar. If both sides want more time, the only safe course is to file within the 28 days and ask the court to set a briefing schedule after that.
Does the 28-day clock run from the verdict or from the judgment?
From the entry of judgment. A jury verdict alone does not start the clock. The clock starts when judgment is entered under Rule 58, which is ordinarily when the separate judgment document is docketed.
What if the 28th day is a weekend or holiday?
Under Rule 6(a)(3), if the last day of the period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period continues to the next day that is not one of those days. A deadline landing on Friday, January 1, 2027, for example, rolls to Monday, January 4, 2027.
Does filing a Rule 59 motion extend the time to appeal?
A timely Rule 59 motion tolls the appeal period under FRAP 4(a)(4)(A)(iv). The time to file a notice of appeal does not run while the motion is pending, and it restarts when the district court enters its order disposing of the motion. An untimely Rule 59 motion does not toll anything.
Can I raise a brand-new argument in a Rule 59(e) motion?
Generally no. Courts use Rule 59(e) to correct manifest errors, account for newly discovered evidence, or apply an intervening change in law. Arguments that could have been raised before judgment, and new evidence that was available with reasonable diligence, are routinely rejected.
This article is general information about federal procedure, not legal advice for any specific case. Deadlines turn on the docket entry date and the district’s local rules, so confirm every date against the record before relying on it.