Counting Days: How Contract Deadlines Really Work
A buyer called us on a Friday. Her inspection period had ended Thursday and she wanted to know whether she could still walk. She could not. Short call, bad news.
Both FAR/BAR forms count time the same way, and both say time is of the essence. Four rules cover almost everything:
- Day 1 is the day after the Effective Date. The Effective Date itself never counts.
- Calendar days, local to the property. Weekends and holidays count like any other day.
- Only the last day rolls. If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday, or national legal public holiday, it moves to the next day that is none of those. Interior weekend days are just days.
- The Effective Date is what the last party signed and delivered. Sign Thursday night, send it back Friday, and Friday is your Effective Date.
One deal, counted out
Effective Date: Friday, September 4, 2026. Closing Date: Monday, October 5, 2026.
|
Deadline |
Lands on |
Why |
|
Initial deposit — 3 days after Effective Date |
Tue, Sept 8 |
Sept 5 is Day 1. Day 3 lands on Labor Day, Mon Sept 7 — rolls to Tuesday. |
|
Inspection Period — 10 days after Effective Date |
Mon, Sept 14, 11:59 p.m. |
A cancellation notice has to be delivered before the period expires, not the next morning. |
|
Title Evidence — at least 15 days before closing |
Fri, Sept 18 |
Counting back lands on Sun, Sept 20. “At least” sets a floor, so it moves earlier, not later. |
|
Closing Date |
Mon, Oct 5 |
A weekday. No adjustment. |
Two things that trip people up
- The offer deadline does not roll. Standard F carves out the time for acceptance and the Effective Date. An offer that expires Saturday expires Saturday. Nobody gets until Monday.
- The words “at least” flip the direction. When a provision sets a floor (“at least 15 days prior to Closing Date”), a weekend landing pushes the date earlier. Where there is no floor, the ordinary roll-forward argument is live. When in doubt, calendar the earlier date.
The bottom line
Confirm the Effective Date the day the contract comes together, before deposits go out and inspectors get booked. It is a five-minute conversation on day one and a much longer one on day eleven.
If a date in one of your files is not sitting right, call us before it passes rather than after. We count these on every transaction and we are glad to count yours.
Proof Title | Your Trusted Title Partner on the Gulf Coast
General information about the standard contract forms, not legal advice for any particular transaction. Handwritten and typed provisions control over the printed form.