How procedural deadlines are computed
This tool estimates the expiry date of a procedural deadline from the notification date, its length and its unit. It applies article 133 of the Civil Procedure Act (LEC), which applies on a supplementary basis to criminal proceedings: the deadline starts running from the day after the notification and, for deadlines set in days, non-working days are excluded; if the last day is a non-working day, the deadline is extended to the next working day. Deadlines set in months or years are counted from date to date (art. 133 LEC and art. 5 of the Civil Code).
Under article 182 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary (LOPJ), non-working days for procedural purposes are Saturdays and Sundays, national holidays and regional or local holidays. Article 183 LOPJ makes the whole month of August non-working, except urgent acts; and, following the LO 14/2022 reform (arts. 182-183 LOPJ and art. 130.2 LEC, in force since 23 December 2022), the period from 24 December to 6 January inclusive is also non-working.
A key criminal exception applies: under article 201 LECrim, all days and hours of the year are working days for the instruction of criminal cases, with no special authorisation needed. When the "criminal instruction" mode is enabled, the calculator therefore does not skip holidays, weekends or August.
The result is indicative. The holiday calendar used is for 2026 and does not include the two local holidays of each municipality, which are also non-working. Certain procedures and certain offences are subject to special deadlines or limits. Always check the exact deadline set in the court decision and the calendar of the competent court.