Explain
When a letter counts as sent, served or received
Different time limits count from different days: when a letter was sent, when it was served, or when a request was received. Where the law allows a document to be served by post, it is treated as served when it would arrive in the ordinary course of post. That is unless it is shown to have arrived at another time. The date printed on a letter is not always the day it was sent. The appeal time limit counts from when the decision letter was sent.
- Type of rule
- Law (Act or Regulations)
- Rule id
served_and_received- Rules version
- england-2026.10
- Law as at
- 30 September 2026
Sources
- Interpretation Act 1978, s 7Law (Act or Regulations)
- Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (HESC Chamber) Rules 2008, r 20(1)(c)Law (Act or Regulations)
- SEND Regulations 2014, reg 13(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
- SEND Regulations 2014, reg 5(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
Related
- The 15-day period to comment on a draft plan
- The time limit to appeal
- Time limits for assessments and plans (6, 16 and 20 weeks)
In an assistant, the ehcp_calculate_deadlines tool helps with this: EHCP deadlines.
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