Appellate practice
60-Day Notice of Appeal When the United States Is a Party
When the United States, an agency or a federal officer is a party, any party has 60 days to appeal (FRAP 4(a)(1)(B)). Calculate the date from entry.
The working answer
The notice of appeal may be filed by any party within 60 days after entry of the judgment or order when one of the parties is the United States, a United States agency or a covered United States officer or employee (Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B); 28 U.S.C. § 2107(b)). The calculator below is loaded with 60 days; RuleX keeps the date in the case.
Deadline calculator: Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B) and 28 U.S.C. § 2107(b)
Loaded with the 60-day period from Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B) and 28 U.S.C. § 2107(b). Enter the date the judgment or order was entered; the period stays editable for an order or stipulation that sets a different one. Intermediate weekends count; the final day moves when required.
The statutory federal holidays are included. Standard observed closures apply when selected above. Confirm the district’s holiday and closure calendar and add relevant local dates. Review the triggering rule and any scheduling order alongside the result.
Read FRAP 4 — Cornell LII01 / PRACTICE NOTES
Sixty days belong to every party once a federal party is in the case.
Rule 4(a)(1)(B) provides that the notice of appeal may be filed by any party within 60 days after entry of the judgment or order appealed from 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, including all instances in which the United States represents that person when the judgment or order is entered or files the appeal for that person.
The statute says the same thing in 28 U.S.C. § 2107(b): the time as to all parties is 60 days from entry if one of the parties is in the listed group. A private plaintiff suing a federal agency and an agency defending a private party's claim therefore share one longer period.
The periods share a trigger and a counting method with the 30-day rule. Entry on the civil docket starts the period, and FRAP 26(a)(1) excludes the entry day, counts every calendar day and moves a last day that falls on a weekend or legal holiday to the next day that is none of those.
02 / PRACTICE NOTES
A worked count shows the gap between 30 and 60 days.
A judgment is entered on Tuesday, November 17, 2026. Thirty days ends Thursday, December 17, 2026. Sixty days ends Saturday, January 16, 2027, then Sunday, January 17, and Monday, January 18, 2027 is the day observed for Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, so the last day is the end of Tuesday, January 19, 2027. The calculator shows all three adjustments with their reasons.
That 33-day gap between the two dates is the reason the qualifying-party check belongs on the first page of the appeal task. Record who the parties are, who represents each federal party and whether the United States appears for an individual-capacity defendant, so the 60-day date has a documented basis.
A cautious calendar carries both dates. Where the status of a party is open to question, write the 30-day date as the working date and the 60-day date as the outer date, with a note naming the party that qualifies.
03 / PRACTICE NOTES
Identify the qualifying party from the caption and the representation.
Four categories qualify, and each is identified from a different part of the record. The United States and a United States agency appear in the caption. An officer or employee sued in an official capacity appears with the office named. An officer or employee sued in an individual capacity qualifies when the claim concerns an act or omission occurring in connection with duties performed on the United States' behalf, and Rule 4(a)(1)(B)(iv) adds the cases in which the United States represents that person when the judgment or order is entered or files the appeal for that person.
Read the complaint's capacity allegations, the appearance of counsel on the docket and the notice of appearance by the United States attorney or the Department of Justice. Save those documents with the task.
- List each party and its capacity from the caption and complaint.
- Check the docket for appearances by the United States attorney or the Department of Justice.
- Record which category of Rule 4(a)(1)(B) applies and why.
- Enter the entry date and 60 days in the calculator and add state holidays.
- Calendar the 14-day cross-appeal date after any first notice (Rule 4(a)(3)).
04 / PRACTICE NOTES
Tolling motions, extensions and reopening apply on the same terms.
The post-judgment motions listed in Rule 4(a)(4)(A) restart the period for all parties from the entry of the order disposing of the last remaining motion, and that restart applies to the 60-day period as it does to the 30-day one. The district court's extension power under Rule 4(a)(5) and its reopening power under Rule 4(a)(6) remain tied to Rule 4(a), and Rule 26(b) provides that the court may not extend the time to file a notice of appeal except as Rule 4 authorizes.
Because the time to appeal is set by statute, the Supreme Court treated the deadline in Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205 (2007), as jurisdictional. The date goes on the calendar with its statute and rule number beside it.
Criminal appeals and appeals from administrative agencies follow other rules; Rule 4(b) governs the criminal case and Rule 15 the review of an agency order.
05 / PRACTICE NOTES
RuleX keeps the 60-day appeal date in the case, next to its source.
Create the case in RuleX, add a task for the notice of appeal with the calculated due date, and attach the judgment, the docket entry and the appearance of the federal party. The case log records the rule, the trigger date and the holidays you applied, so every lawyer on the matter reads the same calculation and can reopen the source behind it.
Ask RuleX to read the judgment and the record and draft the notice of appeal in Word, with the party designations taken from the caption. Research, drafting and the calendar date live in one case file with the documents, and the 7-day free trial lets you set up your first matter today.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to appeal when the government is a party?
Any party has 60 days after entry of the judgment or order when one of the parties is the United States, a United States agency, or a covered United States officer or employee (Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B); 28 U.S.C. § 2107(b)).
Does the 60-day period apply to the private party too?
The notice of appeal may be filed by any party within 60 days, and 28 U.S.C. § 2107(b) states that the time as to all parties is 60 days from entry.
Which federal officers and employees qualify?
A United States officer or employee sued in an official capacity qualifies, as does a current or former officer or employee sued in an individual capacity for an act or omission in connection with duties performed on the United States' behalf, including when the United States represents that person.
Does a Rule 59 motion extend the 60 days?
A timely motion listed in Rule 4(a)(4)(A) restarts the time for all parties from the entry of the order disposing of the last remaining motion.
When does a cross-appeal have to be filed?
Another party may file within 14 days after the first notice of appeal was filed, or within the time otherwise prescribed by Rule 4(a), whichever ends later (Rule 4(a)(3)).
The authority behind the work
Primary and official sources
Sources reviewed for this edition. Open the authority alongside your matter.
- 01Fed. R. App. P. 4 — Appeal as of right: when taken (Cornell LII) ↗
- 0228 U.S.C. § 2107 — Time for appeal to court of appeals ↗
- 03Fed. R. App. P. 26 — Computing and extending time (Cornell LII) ↗
- 04Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205 (2007) (Cornell LII) ↗
- 05U.S. Courts — Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure ↗
Bring the file. Leave with the draft.
Connect the matter documents, research the governing law and draft the work product in one workspace. Start your 7-day trial with a U.S. account.