Use Relative Date Queries to Keep Alerts Fresh

Use relative dates in your queries to keep your searches and alerts dynamically up to date.

When placing a search query into CourtListener, you can use either "Calendar" date queries or "Relative" date queries:

• Calendar date queries let you filter before or after a given date.
• Relative dates filter results dynamically based on the date the query is made by a user or system. Instead of specifying a calendar date, such a "January 1, 2025", you can use relative time periods like 1 day ago, Past 1 month, or -14d.

Relative date queries are useful for saved or bookmarked queries, so that your query always filters to recent content. They are also valuable when creating alerts. Imagine you want to receive an alert whenever a recent document — filed in the past week — is made available in the RECAP Archive. With relative dates, your date range is rolling, and the "Past Week" changes in sync with the date the alert is triggered.

Allowed Syntax

You can use the following syntax:

• Xd ago
• X days ago
• -Xd
• -Xd ago
• -X days
• Past X days

To filter to months or years, substitute m, months, y, or years instead of d or days.

When using the Search API, relative dates are accepted on all date filters, even if they are not supported by the CourtListener interface.

Notes

• The past day (d) begins at 12:00am UTC the previous day and continues up to the time of the query.

  Example: Suppose today is Monday the 26th.

  • If you run a "Past 1 day" query at *20:00 local time in New York (Eastern Time, UTC–4, which is 00:00 UTC on Tuesday the 27th*), you'll get filings from *00:00 UTC Monday* through *00:00 UTC Tuesday*.
  • If you run the same query at 19:59 local time* (which is 23:59 UTC Monday), you'll get filings from 00:00 UTC Sunday through *23:59 UTC Monday.
• Similarly, the past X days begin at 12:00am UTC X days before the current day, and continue up to the current time.
• One month (m) is equal to 30 days, so 12m is equal to 360 days, not 365 days.
• One year (y) is equal to 365 days regardless of leap years.