Bindinglaw

US · rules

Fed. R. App. P. 45

Clerk’s Duties

activein force · 2024-12-01 – presentact-effective-date

(a) General Provisions.

(1) Qualifications. The circuit clerk must take the oath and

post any bond required by law. Neither the clerk nor any deputy clerk may practice as an attorney or counselor in any

court while in office.

(2) When Court Is Open. The court of appeals is always open

for filing any paper, issuing and returning process, making a

motion, and entering an order. The clerk’s office with the

clerk or a deputy in attendance must be open during business

hours on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. A court may provide by local rule or by order that the

clerk’s office be open for specified hours on Saturdays or on

legal holidays other than New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King

Jr.’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day,

Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day,

Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day,

and Christmas Day.

(b) Records.

(1) The Docket. The circuit clerk must maintain a docket

and an index of all docketed cases in the manner prescribed by

the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States

Courts. The clerk must record all papers filed with the clerk

and all process, orders, and judgments.

(2) Calendar. Under the court’s direction, the clerk must prepare a calendar of cases awaiting argument. In placing cases

on the calendar for argument, the clerk must give preference

to appeals in criminal cases and to other proceedings and appeals entitled to preference by law.

(3) Other Records. The clerk must keep other books and

records required by the Director of the Administrative Office

of the United States Courts, with the approval of the Judicial

Conference of the United States, or by the court.

(c) Notice of an Order or Judgment. Upon the entry of an order

or judgment, the circuit clerk must immediately serve a notice of

entry on each party, with a copy of any opinion, and must note

the date of service on the docket. Service on a party represented

by counsel must be made on counsel.

(d) Custody of Records and Papers. The circuit clerk has custody of the court’s records and papers. Unless the court orders or

instructs otherwise, the clerk must not permit an original record

or paper to be taken from the clerk’s office. Upon disposition of

the case, original papers constituting the record on appeal or review must be returned to the court or agency from which they

were received. The clerk must preserve a copy of any brief, appendix, or other paper that has been filed.

(As amended Mar. 1, 1971, eff. July 1, 1971; Mar. 10, 1986, eff. July

1, 1986; Apr. 24, 1998, eff. Dec. 1, 1998; Apr. 29, 2002, eff. Dec. 1, 2002;

Apr. 25, 2005, eff. Dec. 1, 2005; Apr. 24, 2023, eff. Dec. 1, 2023.)

49 Rule 47 FEDERAL RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE

Provenance

Source
uscourts.gov
Retrieved
2026-08-19
Edition
2026-08-19
Content hash
c54a602dbfd668dbd173551d01a0258b0ee96280b0af9e526142eaf55ae84852
View the official source →

The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.

Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.

Coverage · API docs

Bindinglaw

Point-in-time US law with the receipt attached. Source URL, retrieval time, content hash, and validity dates on every answer.

curl api.binding.law/v1/law/coverage

© 2026 binding.law · a Jubal, Inc. productAttorneys and firms never pay. Ever.
Fed. R. App. P. 45 — Clerk’s Duties · binding.law