Class action settlement deadlines, date by date

A settlement notice gives a separate deadline for each thing you can do, and each one has a kind: postmarked by, received by, filed with the court, or submitted online by. The kind decides whether mailing on the last day still counts, and the opt-out and objection deadlines can fall weeks before the claim deadline.

How to read the result

The planner sorts the dates you typed, whatever order your notice prints them in, and counts the days from today's date on your device. It doesn't know your settlement: if a date it shows differs from your notice, the notice is right.

• The next deadline is the earliest date that has not passed. It's often not the claim deadline.
• The kind under each date repeats the wording you chose. "The notice doesn't say" means the wording still has to be found in the long-form notice or on the claim form.
• A caution appears when an exclusion or objection date falls after the claim deadline or after the hearing. That can be correct, but the notice is worth a second look.

The kinds of deadline

• Postmarked by. A mailed form counts if its postmark is dated on or before the deadline, even if it arrives later.
• Received by. The form must have arrived by the deadline. Mailing it that day is too late.
• Filed with the court. Used for objections: the paper has to reach the court, often with a copy to the administrator or the lawyers.
• Submitted online by. The settlement website must have the claim by the date.
• Combinations, such as "online or postmarked" and "online or received".

One notice can use several kinds on the same day. The Visa and Mastercard ATM fee notice asks for an exclusion letter mailed so that it is "received no later than" December 11, 2026 U.S. District Court, D.D.C.checked October 1, 2026, while an objection must be "postmarked by" December 11, 2026. Same date, two different tests. The page on that settlement has its current status.

What a postmark is, in the Postal Service's words

Many people take the postmark to be the day they dropped the envelope in a mailbox. Section 608.11 of the Domestic Mail Manual is narrower:

The same section adds three points that matter for a "postmarked by" deadline:

• Counter postmark. Free on request at a Post Office counter U.S. Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 608checked October 1, 2026, when you hand the piece over at any Post Office, station or branch. Its date matches the day the Postal Service accepted the piece.
• Printed postage. Printed postage shows when postage was bought, not when USPS took the piece U.S. Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 608checked October 1, 2026: meter strips, kiosk labels and labels bought online.
• Certificate of Mailing. Evidence of the date the Postal Service took the piece, for $2.45 U.S. Postal Service, Price List Notice 123checked October 1, 2026 per article.

The section took effect on December 24, 2025 Federal Registerchecked October 1, 2026, and the Postal Service says it "does not change any existing postal operations or postmarking practices." No notice or settlement agreement read for this page defines "postmarked" differently.

How long mail takes, for a "received by" deadline

The Postal Service's First-Class Mail page says mail is delivered in 1 to 5 days U.S. Postal Servicechecked October 1, 2026. That is a range, not a promise. The binding service standards in 39 CFR 121.1 build delivery time within the 48 contiguous states from legs: 2 days to 5 days Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 39 CFR 121.1checked October 1, 2026 for the middle leg, set by the drive time between processing centers, plus 1 extra day when the mail starts more than 50 miles from its regional processing center; in that case the middle leg counts four days at most, so the standard stays within five days. Mail that starts and ends within one processing area follows separate rules in the same section. For a "received by" deadline, those days come out of the sender's time.

Which deadline comes first

The claim deadline is the one most people notice, but it is often the last. One notice usually does two jobs, a practice the Committee Note to Rule 23 records: one notice commonly serves both purposes and includes the opt-out date Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law Schoolchecked October 1, 2026. In real notices the dates line up like this:

So the order is common, not fixed. In the RealPage notices the claim deadline comes after the hearing, and in the Amazon returns notice all three deadlines fall on one day. That is why the planner sorts what you type instead of assuming an order.

The Federal Judicial Center's checklist for judges says at least 30 days Federal Judicial Centerchecked October 1, 2026 from completed notice is needed before deadlines, with 60 to 90 days preferred. That is guidance to judges, not a right a class member can claim; the court's order sets the dates in each case.

Online deadlines and time zones

Most notices print only a date for online claims, with no time of day and no time zone. Of the notices compared for this page, only the RealPage notice gave a clock time ("11:59 p.m. EST"), and that court sits in Central time.

Two limits keep that rule from answering the question on a notice. It governs filings with the court, such as an objection, not the settlement website. And its counting rules are written for periods stated in days, not for a calendar date printed in a notice. If a notice gives only a date, it does not say when that day ends; the administrator named in it can say what time it closes.

What the final approval hearing date means

At the hearing the judge decides whether to approve the settlement. Under Rule 23(e)(2), the court may approve it “only after a hearing and only on finding that it is fair, reasonable, and adequate” Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law Schoolchecked October 1, 2026. Notice goes out earlier, once the court finds that it will likely be able to approve the proposal, so the deadlines on a notice come before the court has decided anything about fairness.

The hearing date is not a payment date. The Federal Judicial Center's model notice says: "Payments will be made if the Court approves the settlement and after appeals are resolved. Please be patient." How payment timing works is on the payments page. Hearing dates can also move: the Amazon returns hearing is set for March 16, 2027 U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.checked October 1, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and the notice says the date can change without further notice to the class.

Two worked examples

Common misreadings

• Reading only the table on the first page. The guide to reading a notice shows a real notice whose table and questions word the same deadline differently.
• Assuming an email opts you out. An Equifax opt-out must be sent by the class member personally, by mail U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga.checked October 1, 2026. The Skin360 notice, by contrast, accepts an opt-out by mail, postmarked, or by email U.S. District Court, D.N.J.checked October 1, 2026. Each notice decides.
• Throwing away the mailing that carries the Notice ID or Claim ID, which the claim form may ask for.

What to do next, and who can help for free

1. Find each deadline in the long-form notice on the official settlement website, and note its kind next to the date.
2. Check whether a later court order moved a date. The settlement website usually posts it, and the court record has it; the case lookup guide shows how to find the docket.
3. For a mailed form, keep a record of the mailing date. The Postal Service names a postmark or postage label applied at the counter, a Certificate of Mailing, and the receipts of Certified and Registered Mail as records of the date it accepted a piece.
4. Questions about a deadline in a specific case go to the administrator and class counsel named in the notice. What each option keeps and gives up, and where free legal aid is, are on the options page.

This page is general information about how deadlines are written, not legal advice, and it does not suggest which option to choose.

Sources

1. DMM 608, section 11.0 Postmarks and Postal PossessionU.S. Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 608
2. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6, Computing and Extending TimeLegal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
3. Rule 23. Class Actions, with Advisory Committee NotesLegal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
4. Notice of Proposed Class Action SettlementU.S. District Court, D.D.C.
5. Notice 123 Price List, effective July 12, 2026U.S. Postal Service, Price List Notice 123
6. Postmarks and Postal PossessionFederal Register
7. First-Class Mail (usps.com)U.S. Postal Service
8. 39 CFR 121.1 First-Class Mail service standardsElectronic Code of Federal Regulations, 39 CFR 121.1
9. If You Paid for One or More Prescription Drugs with Insurance At Kroger, A Class Action Settlement Could Affect You (Long-Form Notice)U.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio
10. Claim FormU.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio
11. Class Action Notice (long form)U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga.
12. Notice of Class Action Settlements (Long Form)U.S. District Court, M.D. Tenn.
13. Summary Notice of Proposed Class Action SettlementsU.S. District Court, M.D. Tenn.
14. Judges' Class Action Notice and Claims Process Checklist and Plain Language Guide (2010), PDFFederal Judicial Center
15. Notice of Proposed Class Action SettlementU.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.
16. Home - Amazon Return Policy Litigationreturnsettlement.com
17. Order granting motion to reset certain settlement-related deadlinesU.S. District Court, M.D. Tenn.
18. Notice of Proposed Class Action SettlementU.S. District Court, D.N.J.

Each source listed here was read on October 1, 2026.