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Rules of Practice and Procedure

Rules of Practice and Procedure

Overview

The Federal Judicial Center offers many educational resources on the Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure: Appellate Procedure, Bankruptcy Procedure, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence. In addition, the Center’s Research Division has long provided the Judicial Conference’s rules committees with empirical and analytical research reports that inform the committees’ policy considerations.
     Additional information on rules and the rulemaking process is presented by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, including information about pending amendments.

Recent Resources

Intervention in the Federal Courts of Appeals
Tim Reagan and Kristin A. Garri
2025, 74 pages
Prepared for the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, this report examines motions to intervene on appeal.

Review of Local District and Appellate Rules Governing Redaction of Private Information in Federal Court Filings
Marie Leary
2025, 139 pages
At the request of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, the Center reviewed local court rules in the courts of appeals and the district courts to identify rules requiring redaction of specified private information from court filings.

Review of Local Bankruptcy Rules, Orders, and Procedures Governing Redaction of Private Information in Federal Court Filings
Carly E. Giffin
2025, 136 pages
At the request of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, the Center reviewed local court rules in the bankruptcy courts to identify rules requiring redaction of specified private information from court filings.

Supplemental Analysis of Unredacted Social Security Numbers in Federal Court PACER Documents
Kristin A. Garri
2025, 78 pages
At the request of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, the Center completed a supplemental analysis of unredacted Social Security numbers identified in its 2024 study, "Unredacted Social Security Numbers in Federal Court PACER Documents." The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether unredacted personally identifiable information is more common in particular types of court filings and proceedings.

United States District Courts’ Local Rules and Procedures on Electronic Filing by Self-Represented Litigants
Tim Reagan
2025, 36 pages
This report compiles local rules and procedures in the ninety-four district courts on electronic filing by self-represented litigants. More than two thirds of the courts permit self-represented litigants to use the court’s electronic filing system at least on a case-by-case basis.

Redaction of Non-Government Party Names in Social Security and Immigration Case Documents
Jana E. Laks and Kristin A. Garri
2025, 22 pages
At the request of the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, the Center completed a study of unredacted non-government party names in Social Security and immigration case documents.

Default and Default Judgment Practices in the District Courts
Emery G. Lee III and Jason A. Cantone,
2024, 55 pages
This report summarizes the practices of district courts regarding entry of defaults and default judgments pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55.

Unredacted Social Security Numbers in Federal Court PACER Documents
Kristin A. Garri, Roy P. Germano, Jason A. Cantone, and Jana E. Laks
2024, 31 pages
At the request of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, the Center identified unredacted Social Security numbers in public filings in violation of Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure: Appellate Rule 25(a)(5), Bankruptcy Rule 9037, Civil Rule 5.2, and Criminal Rule 49.1.

Local-Counsel Requirements for Practice in Federal District Courts
Tim Reagan
2024, 44 pages
This report, which was prepared for the standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure’s subcommittee on attorney admissions, summarizes when and where federal district courts require local counsel to participate in litigation and attorney admissions to the district courts’ bars.

Fees for Admission to Federal Court Bars
Tim Reagan
2024, 55 pages
This report, which was prepared for the standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure’s subcommittee on attorney admissions, summarizes fees charged for admission to federal court bars, including admission fees, pro hac vice fees, and fees charged by state and territory bars for certificates of good standing.

Federal Courts’ Electronic Filing by Pro Se Litigants
Tim Reagan, Carly Giffin, and Roy Germano
2022, 79 pages
From research on pro se use of the federal courts’ Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system, we learned that (1) perhaps paper filers should not be required to separately serve parties already receiving electronic service; and (2) perhaps the rules should clarify references to electronic filing, which sometimes means using CM/ECF and sometimes means otherwise submitting filings electronically, as by email.