Federal Court Filing Rules by Category
Every federal judge sets individual rules that supplement the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and their court's local rules. These individual practices, standing orders, and policies govern everything from page limits to courtesy copy delivery. Below are 25,691 rules extracted from judicial documents across 19 active federal districts, organized by category.
Maximum page counts and word limits for motions, briefs, and other filings by judge.
When and how to deliver courtesy copies to chambers, including triggers, timing, and formatting.
Pre-motion conference and letter requirements before filing motions, including sequential steps.
Font, margin, spacing, and file format requirements for court filings.
Rules for contacting chambers: permitted methods, hours, and purposes.
Required elements, certificates, and structural requirements for court documents.
Procedures for filing sealed or redacted documents, including required motions and formats.
Requirements for requesting adjournments, extensions, and continuances.
Whether to bundle related filings together or file them promptly as completed.
Rules encouraging junior lawyer participation in oral arguments and court proceedings.
Why Individual Judicial Rules Matter
Federal litigation is governed by three overlapping layers of procedural rules: the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), each district's local rules, and individual judges' practices and standing orders. The individual layer is the most variable and the hardest to track. Two judges in the same courthouse may have completely different requirements for the same type of filing.
These individual rules are typically published as PDF documents on the court's website, under titles like "Individual Practices," "Standing Order," or "Policies and Procedures." They are updated irregularly and without notice. An attorney who last practiced before a judge six months ago may find that page limits, courtesy copy requirements, or pre-motion conference procedures have changed.
Court Rules Monitor extracts and structures these rules from the source documents, making them searchable and comparable across judges and courts. Each rule is traced back to the specific section and page of the source document where it was found.