Court-Martial Deadline Calculator
Enter the case dates you know. The calculator returns every deadline, waiting period, and effective-date rule those dates trigger under the Rules for Courts-Martial, the Military Rules of Evidence, and the UCMJ — in one chronological calendar, each linked to the governing provision. New to the sequence these dates sit in? Start with the court-martial process overview.
Verify every date before you rely on it
These dates are calendar arithmetic applied to the periods stated in the rules. They are a starting point for your own computation — not a determination of any deadline in your case. Before acting on any date here, check it against:
- the text of the rule or article itself — follow the citation link on each row and read it;
- the Military Judges’ Benchbook (EBB) instruction, where one applies;
- current case law — appellate decisions construe how these periods run, what tolls or excludes them, and how they are computed; and
- your service’s implementing regulations, which may impose shorter or additional deadlines.
The calculator does not account for excludable delay, tolling, weekends and holidays, service-specific rules, or any order of the military judge — each of which can move a real deadline. Not legal advice.
Every day- and hour-based time period (10)
| Period | Authority | Trigger & required action | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 days |
Art. 57(a)(1) — 10 U.S.C. § 857(a)(1) UCMJ
|
Runs
from sentence announced
Forfeiture of pay and allowances or reduction in grade takes effect (the earlier of this date or the other statutory trigger). GCM / SPCM
“takes effect on the earlier of … the date that is 14 days after the date on which the sentence is adjudged”
Mirrored by R.C.M. 1102(b)(1)(A)(i) and 1102(b)(6)(A)(i).
|
Effective-date rule |
| 14 days |
R.C.M. 1003(b)(2) (Discussion) R.C.M.
|
Runs
from sentence announced
Forfeitures of pay and allowances take effect 14 days after the sentence is adjudged (or on approval of a summary court-martial sentence, if earlier). Discussion
“Forfeitures of pay and allowances adjudged as part of a court-martial sentence … are effective 14 days after the sentence is adjudged”
Discussion; the binding rule is R.C.M. 1102(b)(1)(A)(i).
|
Effective-date rule |
| 14 days |
R.C.M. 1102(b)(1)(A)(i) R.C.M.
|
Runs
from sentence announced
The forfeiture portion of the sentence takes effect (the earlier of this date or approval of a summary court-martial sentence).
“that part of the sentence shall take effect on the earlier of — (i) 14 days after the sentence is announced under R.C.M. 1007”
|
Effective-date rule |
| 14 days |
R.C.M. 1102(b)(6)(A)(i) R.C.M.
|
Runs
from sentence announced
The reduction-in-grade portion of the sentence takes effect (the earlier of this date or approval of a summary court-martial sentence).
“that part of an adjudged sentence that includes reduction in enlisted grade shall take effect on the earlier of — (i) 14 days after the sentence is announced”
|
Effective-date rule |
| 10 days |
R.C.M. 1106(d)(1) R.C.M.
|
Runs
from sentence announced
The accused may submit matters to the convening authority. GCM / SPCM
“the accused may submit matters to the convening authority under this rule within ten days after the sentence is announced”
|
Clemency submission deadline |
| 7 days |
R.C.M. 1106(d)(2) R.C.M.
|
Runs
from sentence announced
The accused may submit matters to the convening authority (summary court-martial). SCM
“the accused may submit matters under this rule within seven days after the sentence is announced”
|
Clemency submission deadline |
| 10 + 20 days |
R.C.M. 1106(d)(4)(A) (extended) R.C.M.
|
Runs
from sentence announced
Outside limit if the convening authority extends the accused’s submission period by the maximum additional 20 days for good cause. If extended GCM / SPCM
“the convening authority may, for good cause, extend the period for not more than 20 days”
Only applies if an extension is actually granted.
|
Clemency submission deadline |
| 10 days |
R.C.M. 1106A(e)(1) R.C.M.
|
Runs
from sentence announced
A crime victim may submit matters to the convening authority. GCM / SPCM
“a crime victim may submit matters to the convening authority under this rule within ten days after the sentence is announced”
|
Victim clemency deadline |
| 7 days |
R.C.M. 1106A(e)(2) R.C.M.
|
Runs
from sentence announced
A crime victim may submit matters to the convening authority (summary court-martial). SCM
“a crime victim may submit matters under this rule within seven days after the sentence is announced”
|
Victim clemency deadline |
| 10 + 20 days |
R.C.M. 1106A(e)(3)(A) (extended) R.C.M.
|
Runs
from sentence announced
Outside limit if the convening authority extends the victim’s submission period by the maximum additional 20 days for good cause. If extended GCM / SPCM
“the convening authority may, for good cause, extend the period for not more than 20 days”
Only applies if an extension is actually granted.
|
Victim clemency deadline |
WHAT THIS COVERS
Every provision of the Rules for Courts-Martial, the Military Rules of Evidence, and the UCMJ (10 U.S.C. ch. 47) that ties a specific number of days — or, for pretrial confinement and interlocutory appeals, hours — to an event: a deadline to act, a minimum waiting period, an effective-date rule, a speedy-trial restart, a maximum punishment expressed in days, or an offense-severity threshold.
Only clock-driven entries are turned into dates. Maximum punishments, severity thresholds, and credit ratios (Article 15’s limits, the Article 86 absence table, the R.C.M. 305(l) confinement credit) are carried in the full reference chart but are never computed as deadlines — they are not dates.
Where a period appears only in a non-binding Discussion, the entry is badged as such. Where the same deadline appears in both the statute and the implementing rule — the Article 35 / R.C.M. 602 waiting period, the Article 57 / R.C.M. 1102 effective date, the Article 66/67/69 / R.C.M. 1201/1203 appeal deadlines — both are listed, because they are formally separate provisions.