The deadline registerCivil procedure · court of appeal
Appealing a civil judgment in France: the time limit, its starting point and the estimated deadline
Civil appeals normally allow one month in contentious matters or fifteen days for non-contentious or urgent interim decisions (CPC 538 and 490). Availability and starting point need checking in the judgment and notice; amount alone is insufficient. Distance extensions also depend on the court. A deadline on a weekend or public holiday moves to the next working day. Pre-trial orders, legal aid and special procedures need separate review.
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Give the court, the date of service and what you are challenging in the judgment.
Example questions
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Until what date can you appeal?
First check that the judgment can be appealed and identify the procedure. Then choose the decision, the date it was served and where you live: the register applies the calculation rules of the Code of Civil Procedure, public holidays included. The example: a judgment served on 1 October 2026, whose time limit would end on a Sunday, All Saints’ Day. The result is indicative: confirm the ordinary-case conditions; a special case or unknown decisive fact prevents calculation.
Fictional example · appeal time-limit register
Lodge the appeal by 2 November 2026 at the latest, the time limit having been extended to the next working day.
Days left: to be calculated
Judgment served or notified: the time limit starts the next day
Normal end of the time limit, on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday
Last day to lodge the appeal with the court of appeal’s office, until midnight
If the appeal is lodged that day: the appellant’s submissions within 3 months, in ordinary procedure
Before the court of appeal, a lawyer is in principle compulsory, and a €225 tax stamp is due from each party, except with legal aid, according to service-public.
A legal aid request filed within the time limit interrupts it: a new time limit runs from the decision on legal aid.
Judgment never notified: a party who appeared can no longer appeal 2 years after it was given.
From when does the appeal time limit run?
From notification of the judgment, in practice its service by a judicial officer (commissaire de justice) or its notification by the court office (Code of Civil Procedure, article 528). The document must state very visibly the appeal time limit and how to appeal (article 680).
The day of service does not count for a time limit in days; a time limit in months, explained in French ends on the same date of the following month (article 641). For a judgment deciding the whole merits or ending proceedings in the cases covered by article 528-1, a failure to notify it within 2 years can bar a main appeal by a party who appeared (article 528-1).
Do you need a lawyer to appeal a civil judgment in France?
In principle yes: before the court of appeal, the parties must be represented by a lawyer, unless a text provides otherwise (Code of Civil Procedure, article 899). In procedures without compulsory representation, the parties defend themselves and declare the appeal by registered letter to the court office (articles 931 and 932), for example with form Cerfa no. 15774 according to service-public.
For a judgment of the employment tribunal, the appeal time limit is also one month; the parties are represented by a lawyer or by a union defender (Labour Code, article R1461-1).
Sources: CPC 899 · Service-public F1384
Does an appeal suspend enforcement of the judgment?
No, in principle. First-instance decisions are provisionally enforceable as of right, unless the law or the judgment provides otherwise (Code of Civil Procedure, article 514). The judgment must therefore be complied with despite the appeal.
The first president of the court of appeal can stop enforcement if there is a serious ground for annulment or reversal and enforcement risks manifestly excessive consequences (article 514-3).
Source: CPC 514
What do articles 528 and 538 of the Code of Civil Procedure say?
The length of the appeal time limit and its starting point, unchanged since 1976.
Le délai à l’expiration duquel un recours ne peut plus être exercé court à compter de la notification du jugement, à moins que ce délai n’ait commencé à courir, en vertu de la loi, dès la date du jugement. Le délai court même à l’encontre de celui qui notifie.
Le délai de recours par une voie ordinaire est d’un mois en matière contentieuse ; il est de quinze jours en matière gracieuse.
In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): The time limit after which an appeal can no longer be brought runs from notification of the judgment, unless the law makes it run from the date of the judgment; it runs even against the party giving notice. The time limit for an ordinary appeal is one month in contentious matters and fifteen days in non-contentious matters. Article 642 extends to the next working day a time limit that would end on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday or non-working day.
Which appeal time limit, by decision and place of residence?
The most common time limits, from service or notification.
| Decision | Appeal time limit | Text |
|---|---|---|
| Judgment on the merits of the judicial court | 1 month | Article 538 |
| Summary order (référé) | 15 days | Article 490 |
| Non-contentious decision: adoption, change of matrimonial regime | 15 days | Article 538 |
| Enforcement-judge decision; pre-trial orders only in article 795 immediate-appeal cases | 15 days | Service-public |
| Receivership or judicial liquidation | 10 days | Service-public |
| Party living overseas, judgment given in mainland France | + 1 month | Article 643 |
| Party living abroad | + 2 months | Article 643 |
The €5,000 threshold concerns, in particular, ordinary personal or movable-property claims before the judicial court. Unquantified claims, special matters and certain employment claims follow different rules: check the judgment’s qualification and notice. The calculator concerns a mainland court (article 643). For a court in an overseas territory listed in article 644, the extension is 1 month for a person living outside that court’s territory or 2 months for a person living abroad; have that territorial rule checked separately.
Sources: CPC 538 · CPC 642 · Service-public F1384 · COJ R211-3-24
What has changed for civil appeals since 2020?
The appeal time limit has not changed; the procedure that follows has.
First-instance judgments become provisionally enforceable as of right, even on appeal (decree no. 2019-1333 of 11 December 2019, Code of Civil Procedure article 514).
Source: CPC 514
Appeal reform: the appellant files submissions within 3 months of the notice of appeal, or within 2 months of the scheduling notice when the case is heard on an expedited basis (decree no. 2023-1391 of 29 December 2023, articles 906-2 and 908).
Source: CPC 908
The appeal against a decision given under the new framework against "strategic lawsuits against public participation" is heard on an expedited basis (decree no. 2026-337 of 30 April 2026, Code of Civil Procedure article 906).
Source: CPC 906
What do litigants ask after a judgment?
Can you appeal a judgment on €4,000?
Not necessarily. An ordinary personal or movable-property claim before the judicial court can be decided in last resort up to €5,000; amount alone does not decide unquantified claims or special matters. Some employment claims remain appealable regardless of amount. Check the decision and the stated appeal route.
How much does a civil appeal cost in France?
According to service-public, each party pays a €225 tax stamp when a lawyer is compulsory, unless it receives legal aid, in addition to the lawyer’s fees and any expert or judicial officer costs.
Does legal aid extend the appeal time limit?
Apply during the appeal period. Legal-aid rules can provide a new period; have its starting point checked against the aid decision and any later lawyer appointment. This calculator does not recalculate that case.
Can you limit the appeal to part of the judgment?
Yes. According to service-public, the appeal can cover the whole decision or only some of its provisions, which the notice of appeal must then specify.
Which texts is this appeal deadline calculation based on?
- CPC 528: starting point on notificationLégifrance, in French
- CPC 795: immediately appealable pre-trial ordersLégifrance, in French
- CPC 644: courts in overseas territoriesLégifrance, in French
- CPC 528-1: scope of the two-year limitLégifrance, in French
- Code of Civil Procedure, articles 490, 528 and 538 (appeal time limit and starting point)Légifrance, in French
- Code of Civil Procedure, articles 906-2 and 908 (time limits for submissions)Légifrance, in French
- Code of Civil Procedure, articles 641, 642 and 643 (calculation, public holidays, distance)Légifrance, in French
- Code of Civil Procedure, articles 899, 931 and 932 (representation before the court of appeal)Légifrance, in French
- Code of Civil Procedure, articles 514 and 514-3 (provisional enforcement)Légifrance, in French
- Appealing a civil or criminal judgment (fiche F1384)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 21 October 2025
- Code of Judicial Organisation, article R211-3-24 (last resort)Légifrance, in French
- Code of Civil Procedure, article 906 (expedited appeal)Légifrance, in French
Texts cited last checked: 25 September 2026