San Jose, CA asked in Contracts and Gov & Administrative Law for California

Q: Is a document valid through an expiration date or does it end (expire) on the expiration date?

This is with respect to official government document expiration dates (such as for identification cards), but I would like to know if there is a standard. Would you be able to provide sources substantiating the definition of expiration for legal documents? Thank you.

UPDATE: Notice how I stated that I was curious if there was a standard definition. I have received multiple responses. One respondent gave me a general definition, referring to "government document[s]" generally, but no citation was provided to substantiate. Another respondent stated that there is no way to answer the question if they do not know which government agency is being referred to; then they offered information about "hard and fast deadlines" and appealable deadlines which is not what I was asking about (but I don't mind supplemental information).

2 Lawyer Answers
Julie King
Julie King
Answered
  • Monterey, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: Without telling us what type of document it is and which government agency it involves, there is no way to answer your question. Our governments are not well organized so each government agency follows its own rules in many instances. One expiration date or deadline may allow people to appeal and, if someone has a legitimate reason for not responding or complying with a requirement by a government deadline, that person may still be able to act. But other deadlines, like the IRS' tax return deadline, are hard and fast deadlines that cannot be moved or excused regardless of why the opportunity was missed. Sorry about that!

James L. Arrasmith
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Answered
  • Sacramento, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: An official government document, such as an identification card, is considered expired once the expiration date has passed. The expiration date signifies the end of its validity, and the document may no longer be legally recognized or accepted.

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