Decision Notified in August in Spain: the Two-Month Appeal Deadline Starts on 1 September (Supreme Court, 15 July 2026)

The Spanish Supreme Court (Third Chamber, judgment of 15 July 2026, appeal 4782/2023) establishes binding doctrine: where an administrative decision is notified during August, the two-month deadline under Article 46 LJCA to file a judicial review claim runs from 1 September, with no deduction for the remaining days of August. The only exception is the fundamental rights procedure.

1. The real problem: a decision landing in mid-August

It happens every summer. A town hall, the Spanish tax agency or a regional department notifies an unfavourable decision in mid or late August. The client receives it on holiday, or the law firm receives it as attorney with half the office away. And the question that generates more urgent calls than any other in the month appears: is my appeal deadline running out?

Following the judgment of the Third Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court of 15 July 2026 (cassation appeal 4782/2023), the answer is reassuring and no longer open to argument: no. The two-month period to bring a judicial review claim starts on 1 September.

At [Bufete Padilla](https://bufetepadillatorrevieja.com/en/contact) we review dozens of August notifications every summer for clients in Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Elche and Moraira. This article explains exactly what has been decided and how it affects your file.

2. The binding doctrine set by the Supreme Court

The ruling is direct. The Chamber declares:

> "The two-month period established in Article 46 of the LJCA, in respect of the challenge to administrative decisions notified during the month of August, starts to run from 1 September, with the sole exception of the procedure for the protection of fundamental rights."

Three practical consequences follow:

  1. The starting day (*dies a quo*) is not the day after notification, but 1 September.
  2. The remaining days of August are not deducted. There is no reduction or pro-rating of the period.
  3. Expiry is calculated date to date from 1 September: a decision notified on 12 August 2026 may be challenged until 1 November 2026, or the next working day if that date is not a working day.

3. The legal basis: why August does not count here

3.1 Article 128.2 LJCA August is a non-working month for the administrative jurisdiction (Art. 128.2 of Law 29/1998, LJCA), save for urgent steps and fundamental rights procedures. If the month is closed for litigation, it would be contradictory for a period to run whose sole purpose is to prepare and file a claim before those very courts.

3.2 Article 46 LJCA Article 46 grants two months from notification of the express act. The judgment holds that this period must be useful and complete: notification in August cannot turn it into two months minus the days during which the claimant was deprived of access to the courts.