# COBRA deadline calculator

Source: https://www.getprescience.com/tools/cobra-deadline-calculator
Author: Rishab Jain, Cofounder and CEO, Prescience
Published: 2026-11-05
Updated: 2026-11-05
Cite as: Rishab Jain. "COBRA deadline calculator." Prescience, November 5, 2026. https://www.getprescience.com/tools/cobra-deadline-calculator

After you lose job-based coverage, COBRA gives you 60 days to elect continuation coverage, counted from the later of the day coverage ended and the day the election notice was sent. Once you elect, you have 45 days to make the first payment, and coverage then applies back to the day it ended. Enter your dates to see each deadline.

- **Election window:** 60 days
- **First payment:** 45 days after electing
- **Monthly grace period:** 30 days
- **Election notice due:** Within 44 days (employer-run plan)

## Work out your COBRA dates

_Interactive calculator: open the page in a browser to use it. The rules and figures it applies follow._

Deadlines here are the federal minimums for employers with 20 or more employees. Your plan may give you more time, never less. If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, check your notice; many plans extend it to the next business day, but the law doesn't require it. State continuation laws for smaller employers often have shorter windows.

## The COBRA timeline step by step

1. **Qualifying event** Job loss, reduced hours, divorce, a covered employee's death or Medicare entitlement, or a child aging out of the plan.
2. **Employer notifies the plan administrator: 30 days** For job loss, reduced hours, death or Medicare entitlement. For divorce or a child aging out, the employee or family must notify the plan within 60 days.
3. **Administrator sends the election notice: 14 days** When the employer is also the plan administrator, which is common for small companies, the combined deadline is 44 days.
4. **You elect coverage: 60 days** From the later of the date coverage ended and the date the notice was sent. Each family member can elect separately.
5. **First premium: 45 days after electing** It covers every month back to the day coverage ended, so it's often two or three months of premiums at once.
6. **Monthly premiums: 30-day grace period** Each later payment is on time if made within 30 days of its due date.

## Worked example

**Coverage ends October 31**

Illustrative. An employee leaves a company with an employer-run plan, and coverage ends October 31, 2026. The election notice is sent November 10.

- Latest date for the notice: Mon, Dec 14, 2026
- Election deadline (Nov 10 + 60 days): Sat, Jan 9, 2027
- If they elect on January 9, first payment due: Tue, Feb 23, 2027
- That payment covers: November through February

**Elect by January 9 and pay by February 23,** with coverage applying back to November 1.

Because coverage is retroactive, some people wait to elect and only do so if they need care in the window. It works, but it's risky: providers may bill you directly while coverage shows as inactive, and missing the deadline by a day means losing COBRA entirely.

## What if a deadline is missed?

- **You miss the 60-day election window:** COBRA is lost for good. You still have 60 days from the loss of coverage to enroll in a marketplace plan through a special enrollment period.
- **You miss the first 45-day payment:** the plan can treat it as never elected.
- **You miss a monthly payment by more than 30 days:** coverage can end for good. A payment that's short by a small amount (the lesser of $50 or 10% of the premium) must be treated as full payment unless the plan tells you and gives you time to pay the rest.
- **The employer misses its notice deadline:** your 60 days don't start until you get the notice, and the employer can face excise taxes and ERISA penalties of up to $110 a day.

> **Compare the marketplace before you elect:** Losing job coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period on HealthCare.gov. A marketplace plan with a premium tax credit is often far cheaper than COBRA. Once you elect COBRA and then drop it voluntarily outside open enrollment, you don't get a new special enrollment period.

## How long COBRA lasts

**Maximum COBRA coverage periods**

| Qualifying event | Who can continue | Maximum coverage |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Job loss (other than gross misconduct) or reduced hours | Employee, spouse and children | 18 months |
| Disability determined by Social Security within 60 days | Everyone covered by the event | 29 months |
| Employee's death, divorce or legal separation | Spouse and children | 36 months |
| Employee becomes entitled to Medicare | Spouse and children | 36 months |
| Child loses dependent status (for example, turns 26) | That child | 36 months |

A second qualifying event during an 18-month period, such as a divorce, can extend a spouse's or child's coverage to 36 months in total. To get the disability or second-event extension, the family has to notify the plan within 60 days, so put that date in your calendar too.

## Your own deadlines to notify the plan

Most deadlines run against the employer and plan, but some run against you. Missing them can cost you coverage you'd otherwise be entitled to.

- **Divorce, legal separation or a child aging out:** tell the plan administrator within 60 days of the event, or the later date coverage would be lost.
- **Social Security disability determination:** tell the plan within 60 days of the determination and before the 18-month period ends to get 29 months.
- **Second qualifying event:** tell the plan within 60 days to extend to 36 months.
- **Address changes:** keep the plan's records current so notices reach you; the 60-day clock can start when a notice is sent.

Check your plan's summary plan description for its notice procedures. Plans can require notices in writing to a specific address, and a phone call may not count. If you're not sure who the plan administrator is, ask HR; for many small companies it's the company itself or a COBRA vendor it hired.

## A checklist for the person leaving

1. **Confirm the date coverage ends** Many plans run through the end of the month you leave; some end on your last day. Ask HR in writing.
2. **Price a marketplace plan** Enter your expected income for the year on HealthCare.gov or your state exchange. If you'll earn less after leaving, the premium tax credit may be large.
3. **Compare with COBRA** COBRA keeps your doctors, deductible progress and network. The [COBRA cost calculator](https://www.getprescience.com/tools/cobra-cost-calculator) shows the monthly price.
4. **Put both deadlines in your calendar** The 60-day marketplace special enrollment window and the COBRA election deadline from this calculator.
5. **Keep copies of everything** The election notice, your election form and proof of payment. Send elections and payments in a way you can track, such as certified mail or the administrator's online portal, and note the date you sent each one. If a dispute comes up later, the dates are what matter.

## For employers: staying on the right side of COBRA

Most COBRA mistakes come from small employers who run the plan themselves and don't realize they owe notices. If you have 20 or more employees, give every new plan member a general notice within 90 days of enrollment, and send an election notice within 44 days of each qualifying event. Under 20 employees, federal COBRA doesn't apply, but most states have their own continuation laws.

Many companies use a COBRA administrator to send notices and collect premiums. It usually costs a few dollars per employee per month and moves the deadline risk off your desk. Our guide to [COBRA for small employers](https://www.getprescience.com/guides/cobra-for-small-employers) covers the rules, and the [COBRA cost calculator](https://www.getprescience.com/tools/cobra-cost-calculator) shows what a departing employee will pay.

**Comparing a replacement company plan? Keep the deadlines separate**

Use the census and planned coverage date for a written proposal while maintaining existing notices and continuation responsibilities. Starting a new quote does not extend a COBRA election or payment deadline.

[Compare plans for my company](https://www.getprescience.com/quote)

[Review continuation responsibilities](https://www.getprescience.com/guides/cobra-for-small-employers)

## If you're reviewing the company plan

COBRA questions often come up while a company is reviewing its plan. Diamond is a group plan, so the same COBRA rules apply to it once you have 20 or more employees, and departing employees continue on the same coverage.

> **Prescience Diamond: A company health plan with an effective $0 deductible.** If you're comparing plans, Diamond pairs an effective $0 deductible with copays shown before each visit.
> - **An effective $0 deductible** and simple copays shown before a visit
> - **A broad national PPO network,** plus providers we contract with directly
> - **24/7 physician-led care navigation** that books visits and explains costs
> - **Usually 10–20% below comparable fully insured coverage,** fixed in your quote, with no admin fees
> Best for teams of about 15 or more that want one great group plan. [Get a Diamond quote](https://www.getprescience.com/get-started?p=Employer&product=diamond)

## Frequently asked questions

**How long do I have to elect COBRA?**

At least 60 days, counted from the later of the date your coverage ended and the date the election notice was provided.

**When is the first COBRA payment due?**

Within 45 days after you elect. It must cover every month from the day coverage ended through the current month.

**Is there a grace period for COBRA payments?**

Yes. After the first payment, each monthly premium has a grace period of at least 30 days.

**Is COBRA coverage retroactive?**

Yes. If you elect within 60 days and pay on time, coverage applies back to the day your group coverage ended, with no gap.

**How long does the employer have to send the COBRA notice?**

30 days to notify the plan administrator, and the administrator has 14 days to send the election notice. When the employer is the administrator, the total is 44 days.

**What happens if I miss the COBRA election deadline?**

You lose the right to COBRA. You may still have a 60-day special enrollment period for a marketplace plan from the date you lost coverage.

## Sources

- [29 CFR 2590.606-4, COBRA notice requirements for plan administrators](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-2590.606-4)
- [U.S. Department of Labor, An employer's guide to group health continuation coverage under COBRA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/publications/an-employers-guide-to-group-health-continuation-coverage-under-cobra)
- [26 CFR 54.4980B-8, premiums, underpayments and disability exceptions](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-54/section-54.4980B-8)
- [HealthCare.gov, COBRA and Marketplace enrollment](https://www.healthcare.gov/unemployed/cobra-coverage/)
- [29 CFR 2575.502c-1, discretionary ERISA penalty](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-XXV/subchapter-G/part-2575/subpart-A/section-2575.502c-1)