Computing procedural deadlines under the Belgian Judicial Code

The rule in brief

• Starting point. Service by a bailiff (signification / betekening, art. 57), presentation of a judicial letter (pli judiciaire / gerechtsbrief, art. 53bis, § 1, 1°), or the third working day after a letter is handed to the post (art. 53bis, § 1, 2°).
• Counting. Day 1 is the day after the act, and every day counts (art. 52). Months run from a date to the day before the same date (art. 54).
• Party abroad. 15, 30 or 80 extra days, only where a statute provides for it (art. 55).
• Judicial vacation (vacances judiciaires / gerechtelijke vakantie). Appeal and opposition deadlines that start and end between 1 July and 31 August run to 15 September (art. 50, al. 2).
• Day off at the end. A last day on a Saturday, Sunday or legal public holiday (jour férié légal / wettelijke feestdag) moves to the next working day (art. 53).
• Last day. Through e-Deposit until 23:59; on paper, during the opening hours of the registry (greffe / griffie).

The procedural deadline calculator applies these rules in this order and shows the article behind each step.

What starts the time limit

Service by a bailiff (art. 57)

Unless the law provides otherwise, the time limit for opposition, appeal and cassation runs from service to the person or at the domicile. For a party with no domicile, residence or elected domicile in Belgium who is not served in person, it runs from the handing of the copy to the post or to the public prosecutor. For an appeal, it also runs against the party that had the judgment served (art. 1051, al. 2). Since 31 December 2016, electronic service also starts the period.

Notification by the registry (arts. 53bis and 792)

A notification by the registrar starts a time limit only where the law says so. Art. 1051 makes the appeal period run from service or from notification under art. 792, al. 2 and 3: in the labour and social security matters of art. 704, § 2, in adoption and in the other cases the law names, the registrar sends the judgment and the information sheet by judicial letter within 8 days.

• Judicial letter or registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt: day 1 is the first day after the letter was presented at the address (art. 53bis, § 1, 1°).
• Electronic notification to the judicial electronic address (since 1 January 2025, law of 28 March 2024): day 1 is the day after the notice or notification is received (art. 53bis, § 2). It takes place only if the addressee opens it within 5 days of sending (art. 32bis).

Ordinary or registered letter (art. 53bis, § 1, 2°)

The time limit runs from the third working day (jour ouvrable / werkdag) after the letter was handed to the post, unless the addressee proves otherwise. That third working day is day 1. Saturday is not a working day: the Court of Cassation held so on 30 January 2009, and Civil Code art. 1.7, § 3 has said the same since 1 January 2023.

The information sheet (art. 47bis, al. 2)

Since 1 January 2023, the time limit does not start if the service or notification is void, if the information sheet (fiche informative / informatiefiche, art. 780/1) is missing, or if it is wrong or incomplete in a way that could mislead a party acting in good faith. A void service does not start the appeal period, even if the addressee later learned of the judgment (Cass., 27 March 2026).

Counting the days

Day 1 and months (arts. 52 and 54)

A time limit runs from midnight to midnight. The day of the act is not counted; every later day is.

Time limits in months or years run "de quantième à veille de quantième". The quantième is the first day of the period (day 1); the term ends on the day before the same date in the last month. Service on 30 September gives day 1 on 1 October, so a one-month term ends on 31 October, not 30 October. If the matching day does not exist (a 31st, or late February), the term ends on the last day of that month (Cass., 4 September 1995).

A day off at the end (art. 53)

The last day is included, and moves to the next working day if it is a Saturday, Sunday or legal public holiday. The Judicial Code has no list of holidays: the calculator uses the ten days of the law of 4 January 1974 (1 January, Easter Monday, 1 May, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, 21 July, 15 August, 1 November, 11 November, 25 December).

11 July, 27 September, 15 November, 2 November and 26 December are not legal public holidays and do not move a deadline. Some registries may be closed on those days: file through e-Deposit or have the act served.

Extensions and waiting periods

Party abroad (art. 55)

Where a statute provides for it, a party with no domicile, residence or elected domicile in Belgium gets 15 days (neighbouring country or United Kingdom), 30 days (other European country) or 80 days (rest of the world). This applies to appeal (art. 1051), opposition (art. 1048), the appearance period of a summons (arts. 709 and 1035) and, for the applicant, cassation (art. 1073). The calculator adds the days to the end of the term, then applies art. 53 once. The Council of State has its own rule: see the Council of State annulment preset.

Judicial vacation (art. 50, al. 2)

Only appeal and opposition deadlines (arts. 1048, 1051 and 1253quater, c) and d)) that start and end between 1 July and 31 August are extended to 15 September: see the judicial vacation guide.

Appearance period

A summons (citation / dagvaarding) must leave 8 days before the hearing (art. 707), 2 days in summary proceedings (référé / kort geding, art. 1035). This waiting period must have fully elapsed before the hearing day. Following the bar's training course, the calculator applies art. 53 to its last day and gives the earliest hearing day: see the appearance period preset.

Filing on the last day

An electronic act is not tied to the registry's opening hours (art. 52, al. 2, since 1 January 2016): through e-Deposit, you can file until midnight, and the timestamp counts. On paper, only during public opening hours. If the Justice IT system fails, the act may be done on the first working day after the last day (art. 52, al. 3 and 4).

Worked examples

Computed with the engine:

A letter. A one-month time limit runs from an ordinary letter posted on Thursday 1 October 2026. The working days after posting are Friday 2, Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 October: day 1 is Tuesday 6 October, and the last day Thursday 5 November 2026.

A summons. Served on Friday 6 March 2026, the 8-day period ends on Saturday 14 March, moved to Monday 16 March. The earliest hearing day is Tuesday 17 March 2026.

Enter your dates in the procedural deadline calculator, or start from a preset: civil appeal, opposition, civil cassation. The judicial calendar lists the holidays of each year.

Common mistakes and open questions

• Counting from the day of service, or counting a month as 30 days.
• Moving a deadline for a day that is not a legal public holiday, such as 2 November or 26 December.
• Counting Saturday as a working day after a letter.
• Open question: the order of art. 55 and art. 50, al. 2. The calculator adds the art. 55 days first, which gives the earliest date, and warns.

The calculator does not check the service or which remedy is open. It does not cover special statutes (insolvency, collective debt settlement, expropriation), an extension by the judge (art. 51), a party's death (art. 56) or an IT failure. Limitation periods follow other rules: see the limitation periods guide.

The calculator assists the lawyer, who remains responsible for the calculation and for checking the applicable rule.

Sources

• Judicial Code, arts. 32bis, 47bis, 50 to 57, 707, 709, 780/1, 792, 1035, 1048, 1051 and 1073: text on Justel. Verified on 5 October 2026.
• Law of 28 March 2024 (arts. 32bis, 53bis and 792, in force on 1 January 2025): Chamber document 55-3728/008. Verified on 5 October 2026.
• Law of 4 January 1974 on public holidays and Royal Decree of 18 April 1974: text on Justel. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Law of 18 December 2015 (art. 52), law of 26 December 2022 (arts. 47bis and 780/1), Civil Code art. 1.7 (law of 28 April 2022). Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Constitutional Court, judgments 168/2019 and 169/2025 (art. 55). Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Court of Cassation, 27 March 2026, C.25.0245.F (verified on 4 October 2026); 30 January 2009, D.08.0007.N, and 4 September 1995, Pas. 1995, I, 766, each as reported by two sources (verified on 5 October 2026).
• EU e-Justice portal, Belgium: time limits on procedures. Verified on 4 October 2026.