How to postpone jury duty
Last updated
When you can ask for a new date, how courts usually handle deferral requests, and how to write one that's easy to approve.
Postponing, also called deferring, moves your jury service to a later date. It's the most common request jurors make, and courts expect it. The trick is to ask the right way and in time.
Who can postpone
Almost anyone with a real conflict. Common reasons include prepaid travel, a scheduled surgery or medical treatment, final exams, a critical work deadline or busy season, a new baby, or caregiving you can't arrange cover for. Courts decide each request themselves. The U.S. Courts explain that federal courts may grant temporary deferrals for "undue hardship or extreme inconvenience," and that each federal district court sets its own procedures. State courts have similar rules set by state law.
How to ask
- Read your summons. It usually says exactly how to request a postponement. It might be an online juror portal, a phone line, or a form to return by mail. Use that method first.
- Ask early. Request the change as soon as you know about the conflict, and before your reporting date.
- Give one clear reason and specific dates. "I have a prepaid trip from March 2 to 9 (confirmation attached). I can serve any week in April or May" is easy for a clerk to approve.
- Attach proof if you have it.
- Keep a record of what you sent and when, and wait for confirmation.
If the court accepts written requests, or you want a paper trail, our postponement letter builder produces a ready-to-send letter.
How far can you push it?
That depends on the court. Colorado's judicial branch, for example, lets qualified jurors request a postponement of up to six months online. Indiana's judicial branch explains deferral procedures on its jury page, and jurors are told to contact their local court's jury administrator. Most courts limit how many times you can postpone, so pick a new date you can actually keep.
Postpone vs. excuse
An excuse releases you from this summons completely. Courts grant excuses less readily than postponements, usually for serious, ongoing hardship, or for people in groups the law or local plan allows to opt out on request. See who is exempt from jury duty. If your problem is the timing, ask to postpone.
Short-notice conflicts during a term
In some states you're summoned for a term of several weeks or months and report only on certain days. Virginia's official juror guide, for instance, notes that a term may last up to four months, and that if you have special conflicts on a particular day, the court may excuse you on those days. Ask the jury office about the specific dates.
If your request is denied
Report as instructed. If a genuine emergency comes up after that, such as sudden illness or a death in the family, call the jury office right away. Don't just stay home.