Serving
How long is jury duty?
Choose the court: the tool gives the length of service its law sets and how long you are protected from another summons.
How long will your service last?
New York
Term set by the court
| Term: Trial jurors serve no more than five court days of actual attendance (or less if the commissioner sets it), but stay until any trial they are on ends. | |
| Wait before next summons | 72 months |
Rules read on October 29, 2026.
For most people jury duty lasts one day. Many states use a "one day or one trial" system: you report once, and if you are not picked for a trial by the end of that day, your service is over; if you are picked, you serve until that trial ends. We found the system written in the law or court pages of 11 of the 51 jurisdictions. Others summon jurors for a term, often a week or a set number of days, with the possibility of being called on several days. Trials themselves are usually short, but some last weeks, and the judge tells the panel the expected length during selection. Grand juries are different: federal grand jurors generally serve up to 18 months, meeting a few days a month. After you serve, 45 jurisdictions protect you from a new summons for a set time. The tool gives your state's rule, read on October 29, 2026.
When can you be summoned again?
California: not again before
September 29, 2027
| Rule | 12 months |
| Term | One day or one trial (statewide) |
Not required to serve again for at least 12 months after reporting or serving
Statutes and court pages read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Service length in every state
The table gives, for each jurisdiction, whether the one day or one trial rule appears in the law or court pages we read, the term in our words, and the protected period before another summons. A county court may run shorter terms than the statute allows, so your summons has the last word on your own dates.
| State | One day or one trial | Term | Next summons after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | not specified | No more than three months of jury service in any two-year period (a trial in progress must be finished). | 12 months |
| Alabama | not specified | A selected juror serves for the length of the trial unless excused by the judge. | 24 months |
| Arkansas | no | County terms of several months (Clark County: three 4-month terms a year; Mississippi County: 2 months); jurors appear when called for trials during the term. | 24 months |
| Arizona | yes | One day or one trial: service ends after one trial, or after one day without being assigned, or after the call-in period. | 24 months |
| California | yes | One day or one trial (statewide) | 12 months |
| Colorado | yes | One day, or the length of one trial if impaneled (statewide). | 12 months |
| Connecticut | yes | One day, or the length of the trial if impaneled. | 36 months |
| District of Columbia | yes | Petit jurors: one day unless picked for a trial (service ends for the day once panels are filled); grand jurors: 25 workdays. | 24 months |
| Delaware | no | New Castle County: one day or one trial; Kent and Sussex Counties: a two-week term. | 24 months |
| Florida | yes | One day or one trial (statewide). | 12 months |
| Georgia | not specified | Set by each county: if not selected you are released and the summons is complete; some counties summon for a week (e.g. Fayette County). | 12 months |
| Hawaii | not specified | Selection usually takes one day; if chosen you serve for the whole trial, often three to four days. | not specified |
| Iowa | not specified | Set by each county court, up to 3 months, longer only to finish a case. | 24 months |
| Idaho | not specified | Varies by court; in Bingham County a panel term lasts four months. | 24 months |
| Illinois | not specified | Cook County: one day or one trial. Practice in other counties not verified. | 12 months |
| Indiana | yes | One trial: you serve until the end of the first trial you are sworn for; if not selected, service ends when jury selection is complete. | 12 months |
| Kansas | not specified | Set by each district court; e.g. Sedgwick County (Wichita) calls panels for one week, or until the trial ends if selected. | 12 months |
| Kentucky | not specified | No more than 30 court days of petit jury service in any 24-month period, unless needed to finish a case. | 24 months |
| Louisiana | not specified | not specified | 24 months |
| Massachusetts | yes | One day or one trial (statewide); grand jurors serve three months. | 36 months |
| Maryland | not specified | Length of service is set by each circuit court's jury plan; ask your local jury office. | 36 months |
| Maine | no | The usual call is 15 court days (longer only to finish a case); in practice most jurors serve one day of selection. | 60 months |
| Michigan | no | Set by each court; state law allows but does not require one day/one trial, and the state best-practice manual recommends no more than two weeks. | 12 months |
| Minnesota | no | Term set by county size: 2 weeks in counties of 100,000+, up to 2 months (50,000-100,000), up to 4 months (50,000 or less); service ends after 10 days actually reported. | 48 months |
| Missouri | not specified | not specified | 24 months |
| Mississippi | not specified | not specified | 24 months |
| Montana | no | Counties draw jurors for a jury term (e.g. Lewis and Clark County: a one-year term, September to August); after serving on a trial you are not called again for about two months. | not specified |
| North Carolina | no | One week: jurors serve for the week summoned and are discharged at the end of the weekly session, unless sitting on a trial, which they must finish. | 24 months |
| North Dakota | not specified | No more than ten court days as a trial juror in any two-year period, unless needed to finish a case. | not specified |
| Nebraska | not specified | Depends on the court: from one day to several weeks; you may have to check in daily. | 60 months |
| New Hampshire | no | Petit jurors are summoned for a month and may sit on several trials; no more than 30 days (six 5-day weeks) unless on an ongoing trial. Grand jurors usually serve 1 to 3 days a month. | 36 months |
| New Jersey | not specified | not specified | 36 months |
| New Mexico | not specified | Set by each court; the summons or local jury office gives the length. | 36 months |
| Nevada | not specified | Clark County (Eighth Judicial District): if not assigned to a panel or selected the first day, service is complete; sworn jurors serve for the trial (average 3 to 5 days). | 18 months |
| New York | not specified | Trial jurors serve no more than five court days of actual attendance (or less if the commissioner sets it), but stay until any trial they are on ends. | 72 months |
| Ohio | not specified | A juror who has actually served two consecutive calendar weeks is discharged (unless a trial is still under way). | not specified |
| Oklahoma | yes | One day per calendar year, unless selected (or under consideration) for a trial; then for the length of the trial. | 60 months |
| Oregon | yes | One day or one trial is the statutory goal for circuit courts; term length is set locally, but no trial juror serves more than 10 days unless needed to finish a trial. | 24 months |
| Pennsylvania | not specified | Set by each county. Many counties (e.g. Lehigh) use one day or one trial. | 36 months |
| Rhode Island | not specified | Providence and Kent counties: two days or one trial. Washington and Newport counties: usually one day or one trial. | 36 months |
| South Carolina | not specified | Circuit court jurors are summoned for a court term beginning a given week; the length is set locally. | 36 months |
| South Dakota | not specified | Each circuit's presiding judge decides how jury panels are used and summoned; your term of service is shown in the UJS Juror Portal. | not specified |
| Tennessee | not specified | Set by each county: for example 2 weeks in Knox County and 2 or 3 weeks in Hamilton County. | 24 months |
| Texas | not specified | not specified | 24 months |
| Utah | yes | One day or one trial. Your qualification term runs 1 month (Salt Lake County district courts), 3 months (Davis, Utah, Weber) or 6 months elsewhere. | 24 months |
| Virginia | no | One term of court, which can last up to four months depending on the circuit; the summons gives the dates. | 36 months |
| Vermont | no | Two-year term: during it you can be called to jury selection at most 3 times and to serve on a trial date at most 3 times. | 24 months |
| Washington | not specified | Each court sets its own jury terms; state policy says a term should ideally be one week or less and service one day or one trial, whichever is longer. | 12 months |
| Wisconsin | not specified | Circuits may opt for one day or one trial. Elsewhere, availability is capped at 31 consecutive days and at most 5 days in court unless a trial needs more. | 24 months |
| West Virginia | not specified | Service is for a term of court; within any two years no one may be required to attend more than 30 court days (unless needed to finish a case) or serve as a petit juror at more than one term. Call-in system means not every day in person. | 24 months |
| Wyoming | not specified | Each court sets its own jury term; jurors are summoned for that term. Example: Teton County District Court uses six-month terms. | not specified |
A day at the courthouse
The day starts in a jury assembly room with an orientation, then waiting until a courtroom asks for a panel. Selected panels go to the courtroom for questioning, called voir dire, where the judge and lawyers choose the jurors for the case. People not chosen go back to the assembly room or home. The what to expect page has a checklist for each step.
Federal service
A federal trial juror hears at most one case and is then discharged, and nobody can be required to attend more than thirty days as a petit juror in a two-year period, except to finish a case, under 28 U.S.C. § 1866. Grand jurors generally serve up to 18 months, extended to 24 by a judge, but meet only on scheduled days. The federal page has the pay for long service.
How soon you can be summoned again
Serving earns you a break in most states, but it applies to the court system that summoned you: state service does not protect you from a federal summons, and the reverse. A postponement or an excuse usually does not count as service. The second tool on this page computes the date from the last day you served.