COBRA Election Deadline Calculator
60-day election window, first premium due date, and monthly grace period after coverage loss.
Written and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Rules last verified · Sources
These calculators are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.
How the COBRA Election Deadline Calculator works
The COBRA Election Window calculator works out the two deadlines that decide whether continuation coverage actually happens: the date by which you must elect, and the date by which the first premium must be paid. Enter the coverage-loss date, the date the election notice reached you if it was later, and — importantly — the date you elect, once you have.
The election deadline is 60 days from the <em>later</em> of the coverage-loss date and the date the election notice was provided, which is why both inputs matter. Plan administrators frequently send the notice weeks after coverage ends, and the clock runs from whichever came second. Leave the notice field blank and the calculator measures from the loss date alone.
The premium deadline is where this tool changed, and the change matters. The first premium is due <strong>45 days after the date you elect</strong> — not 45 days after the election deadline. This calculator previously measured from the deadline, which quietly told anyone electing early that they had far longer to pay than they did: elect on day 10 and the real premium deadline is day 55, while the old figure pointed at day 105. Non-payment of that initial premium voids the coverage retroactively, so the error ran in the worst possible direction. Enter your election date and you get your own deadline; leave it blank and the figure shown is explicitly labelled as applying only if you elect on the final day.
Worked example
Coverage ends on Monday, 1 June 2026 and the election notice arrives the same week. The 60-day election deadline is Friday, 31 July 2026. Elect on Thursday, 11 June and the first premium is due Sunday, 26 July — 45 days from the election, comfortably before the election deadline itself has even passed. Under the old calculation the same election showed a premium deadline in mid-September, which would have been four months too late and would have ended the coverage.
Frequently asked questions
When is the first COBRA premium actually due?
45 days after the date you elect. Electing early does not buy you more time to pay — it starts the payment clock sooner. This catches people out because the 60-day election window and the 45-day payment window feel like they should run back to back, and they do only if you elect on the very last day. Enter your election date into this calculator to get the date that binds you.
What if the election notice arrived after my coverage ended?
Then the 60 days run from the notice, not from the coverage-loss date — the rule uses the later of the two. Late notices are common, so enter the date it actually reached you. If you never received one, that is a separate problem worth raising with the plan administrator in writing, because the election period generally does not start until proper notice is given.
What happens after the first payment?
Subsequent premiums are due monthly with a 30-day grace period after each due date. Coverage is typically suspended during an unpaid month and reinstated retroactively when payment arrives inside the grace period, which is why claims incurred in that window can appear to be denied and then pay later. Missing the grace period entirely terminates the coverage with no right to reinstate.
Why does entering the notice date change my deadline?
Because the 60 days run from the later of the coverage-loss date and the date the election notice was provided. If the notice arrived after coverage ended — which is common — counting from the coverage-loss date alone understates your time. Leaving the field blank makes the calculator count from coverage loss, which is the conservative answer rather than the accurate one.
What this calculator does not do
A limitation you know about costs far less than one you find after the deadline. These are the specific things this tool cannot work out for you.
- The 60 days run from the later of the coverage-loss date and the date the election notice was provided — which is why the notice date is a separate input and why leaving it blank can understate your time.
- It does not track the 45-day initial premium deadline or the 30-day grace period on later premiums, both of which can end coverage independently of the election.
Where these rules come from
The periods this calculator applies are taken from the primary sources below rather than from secondary summaries. Verify against them before relying on a date that matters.
- 29 CFR § 2590.606-4
Plan administrator notice obligations that start the election period.
- US Department of Labor — COBRA continuation coverage
The 60-day election window and the 45-day initial premium period.