Analyze & understand

Keeping track of deadlines

Collect detected deadlines, view them at a glance, and act in time.

Updated 12 October 2026

Many legal matters are subject to deadlines – if you miss a deadline, there is often nothing more to be done. Smart Legal Pro detects deadlines from your documents and collects them under Deadlines.

How it works

During the analysis, deadlines are automatically detected (e.g., "objection within 14 days"). The AI only adopts a date if it is literally in the document or can be calculated from a verified reference date and the deadline – it never estimates.
They appear in your deadline overview – and, if you extract facts, also in the detected data.
You keep track of what is coming up next.
You can enter your own deadlines directly into the deadline center via "Add deadline manually" – without needing an associated document. A result from the deadline calculator (second tab on the same page) can also be adopted with one click or downloaded as a calendar entry (ICS).
If a letter you created mentions a deadline, you can adopt it directly from its success page into the register.
With "By matter", you group the list according to your matters (deadlines without assignment are listed under "Without a matter"); "By date" shows the chronological order again. A chip on each deadline leads to the associated matter.

Deadline done

Once you have responded to a deadline, mark it as "Done". The reminders for it are then turned off, and the deadline disappears from the list of open deadlines. Immediately afterwards, you can undo this with "Undo"; later, you can retrieve completed deadlines via "Show done" and reopen them with "Reopen". The next deadline for a matter also only takes open deadlines into account.

Where the date comes from

Below every date in the deadline center, it states how it was determined: "Date as stated in the document or as recorded — without automatic working day adjustment." or, for a deadline calculated according to German law, "For German deadlines, the working day adjustment according to § 193 BGB is already taken into account …". The label "AI-detected, unverified" shows that the AI has detected the deadline and no secondary check has taken place yet. A date is only displayed if it is in the document or can be calculated. Two cases appear intentionally without a date, at the top of the overview and with a field for subsequent entry:

The deadline starts upon receipt, and the receipt date is unknown – e.g., "within two weeks of receipt". The deadline is then displayed as "Deadline detected — receipt date missing": "Enter when you received the letter — only then can we calculate the deadline and remind you." As soon as you save the receipt date, the deadline is calculated ("Receipt date saved — the deadline is calculated from it.").
The deadline starts with an event – e.g., with a revocation or the moment you learned of something, not with the receipt of the letter. The deadline is then displayed as "Deadline detected — date of the event missing". Enter the date of the event ("Enter the date of the event"); only then will we calculate the deadline and remind you. We never extract it from the letter and never estimate it. The date may be before the date of the letter, but not in the future.
The AI detects a possible deadline whose date is not in the document. Instead of an estimated date, you see "Date not evidenced" with the note "This deadline was detected, but its date is not in the document. Please check the letter and enter the date yourself — only then will we remind you." and the field "Enter date".

Does the receipt date not match the date of the letter? If your receipt date is before the date of the letter or more than 30 days after it, the deadline center does not adopt it unverified, but explains in a card which two dates do not match. Perhaps the date of the letter was detected incorrectly – e.g., in a collective PDF or because of another date in the text. You can then change it with "Correct date of the letter" (then "Apply and save receipt date") or delete it with "Remove date of the letter"; your receipt date is automatically saved in the process ("Date of the letter removed and receipt date saved — the deadline is calculated from it."). Only the calculation basis for this deadline is changed – your document remains unchanged. The same card appears everywhere you can enter a receipt date. If you re-analyze the same document, your correction to this deadline is retained.

Older entries without a date appear as "Date open" in the same list. Immediately after an analysis, the result list mentions the same cases ("The deadline starts on receipt — enter the date you received the letter." or "No date evidenced in the document — please check and enter it yourself."). Reminders are only provided for deadlines with a date – therefore, enter any missing date promptly.

Designation of a deadline: Even in the designation of a detected deadline, only a date that appears in the letter itself is included. If the designation contains a complete date (with year) that is not in the letter as such – e.g., one calculated by the AI – the app removes it from the designation. You can see the date of the deadline itself in the deadline center, with a note on how it was determined. The app also removes such a calculated date from the explanatory information regarding a deadline (calculation method, uncertainties).

Date of the letter: Only a date specification in the letterhead (date line) or a phrase such as "Date:", "Letter of ...", or "Notice of ..." counts as the date of the letter – a loose date elsewhere in the text (e.g., the day of an incident) does not count. If such a specification is missing, you will see a note instead of a date for a deadline that is supposed to run from the date of the letter. This detection is currently designed for German-language letters.

How calculations are performed

Under German law, §§ 187, 188, 193 BGB (German Civil Code) apply: If the deadline falls on a weekend or a nationwide public holiday, it is postponed to the next working day. Regional public holidays (e.g., state holidays) may additionally postpone the deadline.
Monthly deadlines are calculated according to the calendar, not as 30 days: "one month from January 31" ends on February 28, or February 29 in a leap year.
End of the following month: Some deadlines do not end after a number of days, but at the end of a calendar month – for example, the deadline for hardship objections regarding a modernization notice from your landlord (until the end of the month following receipt of the notice). The app then calculates the end of the month, not 30 days: If the notice is received on March 15, the deadline ends on April 30 (if this day falls on a weekend or a public holiday under German law, the next working day applies). This requires a verified receipt date; as long as it is missing, the deadline appears without a date ("Receipt date missing"). If the app cannot reliably detect the deadline of a letter, you will see a note instead of a date.
Challenging a resolution of the owners' meeting (condominium ownership, e.g., regarding the annual statement of accounts): This deadline begins with the resolution, not with the date of the administrator's letter communicating it. The app therefore only calculates it if the resolution date is in the letter; otherwise, you will see the note "The start of the deadline is not in the document — please check and enter the date yourself." instead of a date.
If a law other than German law applies or the country is unclear, the app does not postpone the deadline to a working day. You will then see the date calculated without postponement, along with the note "Calculated without the German §193-BGB-Werktagsverschiebung, as the jurisdiction is unknown — please check locally which law applies." (or "... as this case file has the jurisdiction ... — please check locally."). In case of doubt, check the rules of the respective country.

Reminders

For every deadline with a date in your deadline center, you can activate email and push reminders individually (with express consent). Once activated, we will remind you in an escalating manner up to three times: 7, 3, and 1 day before the deadline – not just once. This applies to every deadline, regardless of whether it originated from a document analysis, the chat, a letter created via voice, or manually. You can set up push notifications additionally per device (Setting up push notifications); more on the other notification channels can be found at Notifications & Alerts.

Secondary check of a deadline

For security, you can have a detected deadline cross-checked: The source document is re-read and the deadline is independently re-derived – including the start of the deadline, the end of the deadline, the jurisdiction, and the next step. The app only applies a correction if the new date is evidenced in the document or can be calculated using the deadline calculator. Otherwise, you will see "Secondary check contradicts — date not evidenced, please check", and the previous date remains until you decide for yourself. The secondary check is also AI-based and costs credits (price is stated in advance); it does not replace legal deadline monitoring.

Important

Deadline detection is an aid, not a guarantee. Always check critical deadlines yourself against the original document.
In case of doubt and for short deadlines: involve a law firm early on (Finding a lawyer).

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