ERISA appeal deadline calculator
Enter the date on your denial letter to see the earliest date your internal appeal could be due. Federal regulation requires your plan to give you at least 180 days following your receipt of the notice, so this calculator uses your letter date to produce the earliest, safest estimate.
This tool counts 180 calendar days from the date you enter, exactly, with no weekend or holiday adjustment and no rounding. It is a general estimate based on the federal regulatory floor under 29 CFR 2560.503-1(h)(4), not a review of your specific plan or your actual date of receipt. This is not legal advice.
Write this date down before you do anything else
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How this calculator works, and what it does not do
The calculator performs one calculation: it takes the date you enter and adds exactly 180 calendar days to it, using ordinary calendar-day counting (day 1 is the day after the letter date). It does not consult your specific plan document, does not know your actual date of receipt, and does not adjust for a deadline that lands on a weekend or a federal holiday. Read the 180-day appeal deadline explained for the full regulatory basis and why 180 days is a floor, not a guaranteed answer.
Because federal regulation runs the clock from your receipt of the letter, and receipt is never earlier than the letter's date, the date this tool computes is the earliest your deadline could be. Your actual deadline is on or after that date. If you know your real receipt date, or your plan document allows longer than 180 days, your true deadline is later than what this tool shows, never earlier.
Worked examples
These examples show the exact calendar-day arithmetic the calculator performs, so you can check its logic against your own dates:
| Letter date | +180 calendar days | What this shows |
|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | June 30, 2026 | Standard case, non-leap year |
| January 1, 2024 | June 29, 2024 | Leap year: one day earlier than 2026, because of February 29 |
| August 15, 2026 | February 11, 2027 | Deadline crosses into the next calendar year |
| March 31, 2026 | September 27, 2026 | Letter dated the last day of a month |
If your deadline is close, or has passed
If your calculated date is soon, do not wait. Start with what to do first after a denial. If you believe you already missed your appeal deadline, talk to an attorney quickly rather than assuming either that the claim is over or that it can be saved. One thing that will not help: deemed exhaustion, which comes up elsewhere on this site, turns on the plan failing to follow the procedures the regulation requires. It is not a remedy for a deadline you missed yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How is the appeal deadline calculated?
This calculator adds 180 calendar days to the date on your denial letter. Federal regulation (29 CFR 2560.503-1(h)(4), incorporating (h)(3)(i)) requires the plan to give you at least 180 days following your receipt of the denial notice, not from the letter's date. Because receipt is never earlier than the letter date, this calculation gives the earliest date your true deadline could fall.
Is 180 days always the real deadline?
180 days is a floor set by federal regulation, not a fixed answer. Your plan document can allow more than 180 days, and your actual deadline runs from when you received the letter, which may be several days after its printed date. Treat the calculator's result as the earliest possible deadline, not a confirmed one.
Does this calculator account for weekends or holidays?
No. It counts 180 calendar days exactly, with no adjustment if day 180 falls on a weekend or a federal holiday. No source reviewed for this site establishes a weekend or holiday extension for this specific regulatory deadline, so the calculator does not assume one. If your calculated date falls on a non-business day, do not wait until that day to act.
Is the deadline calculator's result legal advice?
No. This is a general estimate based on the federal regulatory floor, not a review of your specific plan document or your actual date of receipt. Confirm your real deadline against your plan document and your dated proof of receipt, and if a deadline is close, treat this as urgent.
Source
- 29 CFR 2560.503-1(h)(4), incorporating (h)(3)(i), eCFR current text. Checked 2026-09-16.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your actual deadline against your plan document and your dated proof of receipt.