Federal Removal Deadline Chart

Federal Removal Deadlines: 30-Day Rule, One-Year Limit, and Remand

Federal removal deadlines under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1446–1447 explained. Learn the 30-day removal rule from service, the separate 30-day window for later-served defendants, the one-year diversity bar, and the 30-day deadline for motions to remand. Understand when the removal clock starts, how “other paper” triggers apply, and the limited bad-faith exception to the one-year rule.

The 30-Day Removal Deadline Under §1446(b)(1)

When the removal clock starts (service vs. filing).
First-served defendant rule.

Initial Removal (28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(1))

Trigger	Deadline	Notes
Defendant served with initial pleading	30 days to file notice of removal	Clock starts on formal service, not informal receipt. Applies to first-served defendant.

Later-Served Defendants and Their Own 30-Day Window

How the clock resets for later-served parties.
Consent rules for earlier-served defendants.

Later-Served Defendants (28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(2)(B))

Trigger	Deadline	Notes
Later-served defendant receives initial pleading	30 days for that defendant to remove	Earlier-served defendants may consent even if their 30 days expired.

Removal Based on “Other Paper” (§1446(b)(3))

What counts as “other paper” (amended pleadings, dismissals, discovery).
How the 30-day window is triggered.

Other Paper Trigger (28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(3))

Trigger	Deadline	Notes
Case not initially removable, but becomes removable based on amended pleading, motion, order, or “other paper”	30 days after defendant receives the paper	Common with diversity cases when non-diverse defendant is dropped.

The One-Year Limit on Diversity Removal (§1446(c))

The hard one-year bar.
The “bad faith” exception.

One-Year Limit for Diversity Cases (28 U.S.C. § 1446(c)(1))

Trigger	Deadline	Notes
Diversity case removable more than 1 year after commencement	Removal barred	Unless plaintiff acted in bad faith to prevent removal.

Deadlines to Move for Remand (§1447(c))

30 days for procedural defects.
No time limit for subject-matter jurisdiction.

Remand Motion Deadline (28 U.S.C. § 1447(c))

Basis	Deadline	Notes
Procedural defect (e.g., unanimity, timeliness)	30 days after notice of removal	Must be raised promptly or waived.
Lack of subject-matter jurisdiction	No time limit	Court must remand anytime it discovers lack of jurisdiction.

Deadline Data Bites:

Removal clock runs from service of process, not filing of petition.
Each defendant gets its own 30-day removal window.
Diversity removal has a hard 1-year limit, unless plaintiff acted in bad faith.
Plaintiffs must move to remand within 30 days for procedural defects.