Petitioners federal habeas corpus petition was dismissed as time barred when the District Court concluded that the federal limitations period was not tolled while petitioners motion for postconviction relief was pending in state court. After petitioner abandoned his attempt to seek review of the District Courts decision, this Court decided that a state postconviction relief petition can toll the federal statute of limitations even if, like petitioners, the petition is ultimately dismissed as procedurally barred. Artuz v. Bennett, 531 U. S. 4. Petitioner filed a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) motion for relief from the judgment, which the District Court denied. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial, holding that the Rule 60(b) motion was in substance a second or successive habeas petition, which under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 28 U. S. C. §2244(b), cannot be filed without precertification by the court of appeals.

Held:

1. Because petitioners Rule 60(