Summary of Final Amendments 

to the Federal Circuit Rules of 

Practice

June 2020

The following summary was prepared by the Clerk’s Office as a guide 

to the adopted amendments and should not substitute for 

reading the full text of the amendments, which are available on the 

court’s website.

Draft Proof Copy – Federal Circuit Rules of Practice (July 1, 2020)

This summary is neither intended to serve as legal advice nor as 

commentary on the changes to the Federal Circuit Rules of Practice. 
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT SUMMARY OF ADOPTED

CLERK’S OFFICE RULES AMENDMENTS

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In addition to conforming amendments incorporating the 2019 amendments to the 

Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP), the court has adopted amendments to 

the following Federal Circuit Rules of Practice (FCR).

1. General Stylistic Changes: Incorporating the following stylistic 

amendments in order to minimize stylistic differences between the Federal 

Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Federal Circuit Rules to the extent 

practicable. Additionally, the court’s Federal Circuit Rules have internal 

stylistic inconsistencies, and the proposed amendments should remedy these 

issues. Lastly, some of the stylistic changes assist with the implementation of 

newly adopted amendments which required renumbering of current rules that 

had no other proposed amendments. The sections affected by the stylistic 

changes are shown in parenthesis following the explanation.

a. Electronic Filing Procedures: Renaming the document previously 

referred to as the “CM/ECF User Guide” or “User Manual” to “Electronic 

Filing Procedures.” (Practice Notes to Rule 5, FCR 8, FCR 15, FCR 18, 

FCR 21, FCR 25, and FCR 52.)

b. Formatting and Style:

i. Where a Federal Circuit Rule has inconsistently lowercased or 

capitalized words, those words are now properly capitalized or 

lowercased respectively. (FCR 8, FCR 15, FCR 17, FCR 18, FCR 24, 

FCR 25, FCR 26, FCR 47.3, FCR 47.7, FCR 47.9, FCR 47.12, and 

FCR 52.)

ii. For numbers 1-99, we are now uniformly spelling out the number 

and including the numeric representation in parentheses thereafter 

when that number is a required amount or maximum, or indicates 

a deadline. All numbers have been further reviewed to ensure 

proper hyphenation. (FCR 8, FCR 15, Practice Notes to Rule 15, 

FCR 17, FCR 18, FCR 21, Practice Notes to Rule 24, FCR 25, FCR 

26, FCR 26.1, FCR 27, FCR 28, FCR 28.1, FCR 30, FCR 31, FCR 32, 

Practice Notes to Rule 32, FCR 33, FCR 34, Practice Notes to Rule 

34, FCR 35, FCR 39, Practice Notes to Rule 39, FCR 40, FCR 45, 

FCR 46, FCR 47.3, FCR 47.4, FCR 47.7, FCR 47.9, FCR 52, Federal 

Circuit Attorney Discipline Rule 5, Federal Circuit Attorney 
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Discipline Rule 6, Federal Circuit Attorney Discipline Rule 7, 

Federal Circuit Attorney Discipline Rule 8, and Federal Circuit 

Attorney Discipline Rule 9.)

c. Electronic Filing System: The “CM/ECF system” will be referred to as 

the “electronic filing system.” A “CM/ECF filer” will be referred to as an 

“electronic filer.” Non-CM/ECF filings will be referred to as “paper 

filings,” or “physical filings” where appropriate. (FCR 8, FCR 15, Practice 

Notes to Rule 15, FCR 18, FCR 21, FCR 25, Practice Notes to Rule 25, 

FCR 26, FCR 27, Practice Notes to Rule 27, FCR 28, FCR 30, Practice 

Notes to Rule 32, FCR 32.1, FCR 34, FCR 35, Practice Notes to Rule 40, 

FCR 46, FCR 47.3, Practice Notes to Rule 47.3, FCR 47.9, and FCR 52.)

d. Movants: Referring to the filer as “the movant” rather than “movant.” By 

itself, “movant” seems as though it would refer to a specific filer. (FCR 8, 

FCR 18, and FCR 24.)

e. Pro Se Filers: Changing the term “pro se” to “unrepresented” when 

referring to the individual filer and not the manner of appearance before 

the court. (FCR 15, Practice Notes to Rule 15, FCR 21, FCR 25, Practice 

Notes to Rule 25, FCR 26, FCR 28, FCR 30, FCR 31, Practice Notes to 

Rule 38, Practice Notes to Rule 39, FCR 40, Practice Note to Rule 40, FCR 

47.3, FCR 52, and FCR 54.)

f. Page/Type-Volume Limitations: Where the Federal Circuit Rules state 

different length requirements based on whether a party is using a 

computer or handwriting or typewriting a document, the Clerk’s Office is 

adjusting those rules using the following language: “<#> words if prepared 

electronically or <#> pages otherwise,” which is more concise and 

straightforward. (FCR 8, FCR 18, FCR 21, FCR 35, FCR 39, FCR 40, and 

FCR 47.9.)

g. Clerk of Court: Where the Federal Circuit Rules refer to a clerk, the 

rules will specify “clerk of court” if that intended clerk is the Clerk of 

Court of the Federal Circuit. If the intended clerk is currently ambiguous, 

we have proposed clarification. (FCR 4, Practice Notes to Rule 4, Practice 

Notes to Rule 12, FCR 15, FCR 29, FCR 34, Federal Circuit Attorney 

Discipline Rule 4, Federal Circuit Attorney Discipline Rule 5, Federal 
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT SUMMARY OF ADOPTED

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Circuit Attorney Discipline Rule 6, Federal Circuit Attorney Discipline 

Rule 7, and Federal Circuit Attorney Discipline Rule 9.)

h. Cross-References: Updating cross-references to other rules when those 

rules changed location or numbering, as well as inserting cross-references 

where needed for clarification and deleting unnecessary cross-references. 

(Practice Notes to Rule 4, FCR 8, FCR 11, Practice Notes to Rule 12, FCR 

15, Practice Notes to Rule 15, FCR 17, FCR 18, FCR 21, FCR 24, Practice 

Notes to Rule 24, FCR 25, Practice Notes to Rule 25, FCR 26, FCR 27, 

FCR 28, FCR 28.1, FCR 29, FCR 30, FCR 31, FCR 32, FCR 33, Practice 

Notes to Rule 34, FCR 35, FCR 40, FCR 45, FCR 46, and FCR 47.3.)

i. Principal Briefs: Uniformly referring to an appellant or petitioner’s first 

brief as the “principal” brief. (Practice Notes to Rule 4, Practice Notes to 

Rule 15, FCR 25, FCR 28, FCR 30, FCR 31, and FCR 32.)

j. Enumerated Lists: Standardizing the format of all enumerated lists. 

(FCR 1, FCR 8, FCR 11, the Practice Notes to Rule 15, the Practice Notes 

to Rule 25, FCR 26, FCR 27, FCR 28.1, FCR 30, FCR 31, FCR 32, FCR 35, 

FCR 40, FCR 45, FCR 46, FCR 47.5, FCR 47.7, FCR 47.9, FCR 47.12, FCR 

54; Federal Circuit Attorney Discipline Rule 8.)

k. Forms: Standardizing references to forms in the local rules to ensure 

references to our court’s forms appear in the format “Federal Circuit Form 

X” to avoid any confusion with FRAP forms. (FCR 15, the Practice Notes 

to FCR 15, the Practice Notes to Rule 24, FCR 39, the Practice Notes to 

FCR 39, FCR 46, the Practice Notes to Rule 47.3, FCR 47.4, FCR 47.7, 

FCR 52, the Practice Notes to FCR 52.)

2. Fed. Cir. R. 1: Clarifying that the term “agency” includes certain arbitrator 

cases.

3. Fed. Cir. R. 3: Clarifying the filing requirements for cases arising under 15 

U.S.C. § 3416(c) (relating to enforcement of presidential subpoenas and orders 

pertaining to emergency presidential authority to collect information during a 

natural gas shortage) and 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-12(f) (relating to review of Court 

of Federal Claims [CFC] vaccine determinations).
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4. Fed. Cir. R. 4: Clarifying the case law and statutory requirements for filing a 

timely notice of appeal or petition for review; authorizing the clerk of court to 

return a petition for review that is untimely on its face and clarifying when the 

court will deactivate an appeal pursuant to FRAP 4(a)(4). 

5. Fed. Cir. R. 5: Removing duplicative information on how to file a petition for 

permission and the use of the court’s electronic filing system. This information 

can already be found in FCR 25.

6. Fed. Cir. R. 8 and 18: Proposing unrepresented filer electronic filing changes 

in FCR 25 requires corresponding changes to FCR 8 and 18; eliminating 

redundancy in FCR 8 and 18 regarding filing methods and content 

requirements, as well as new language for notifying the Clerk’s Office about 

emergency filings.

7. Fed. Cir. R. 10: Clarifying the duties of the trial court clerk and clarifying how 

FRAP 10(d) interacts with the court’s local rules; revising the Practice Notes to 

reflect current court practice and clarify transcript compliance requirements.

8. Fed. Cir. R. 11: Deleting the reference to physical exhibits since the rule does 

not discuss physical exhibits; providing conforming changes consistent with the 

creation of new FCR 25.1 to consolidate all confidentiality requirements under 

one rule.

9. Fed. Cir. R. 12: Clarifying that the clerk of court will provide the parties with 

the appeal number, short case name, and official caption at the time of case 

opening; creating two new Practice Notes to clarify how the court will reflect 

the official caption in cases that have been consolidated before the trial court or 

when an appellee chooses not to participate on appeal.

10. Fed. Cir. R. 15: Clarifying or removing duplicative service information, paper 

copy requirements, and fee payment requirements in order to conform to 

concurrent FCR 25 changes; clarifying when the clerk of court may return a 

petition for untimeliness and when the clerk of court is authorized to dismiss 

for failure to file a statement concerning discrimination. 

11. Fed. Cir. R. 17: Aligning the rule with current Clerk’s Office procedures; 

providing conforming changes consistent with the creation of new FCR 25.1 to 

consolidate all confidentiality requirements under one rule.
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12. Fed. Cir. R. 21: Clarifying writ petition requirements; clarifying the 

mechanism for amici curiae to request leave to file in support of, or opposition 

to, petitions for writs of mandamus and detailing specific timing and typevolume limitations; clarifying rehearing requirements on writ petitions.

13. Fed. Cir. R. 24: Improving language clarity and reducing redundancy in light 

of other proposed amendments and current court practice.

14. Fed. Cir. R. 25: Clarifying, streamlining, and updating filing requirements to 

reflect current court practice; authorizing the clerk of court to permit electronic 

filing for unrepresented litigants and to suspend electronic filing accounts for 

system security violations or non-compliance with established filing 

procedures; ending pro se facsimile and email transmission of documents in 

light of the former change; eliminating proof of service requirements for 

documents filed and served entirely within the court’s electronic filing system; 

clarifying court practice for correcting filings.

15. Fed. Cir. R. 25.1: Creating a new FCR 25.1 that consolidates all privacy and 

confidentiality rules into a single rule and clarifies requirements for advising 

the court of confidential material.

16. Fed. Cir. R. 26: Codifying practices when electronic or nonelectronic filing are 

inaccessible and the impact on filing deadlines; authorizing the clerk of court to 

extend filing deadlines in the event of nonelectronic or electronic filing 

inaccessibility.

17. Fed. Cir. R. 26.1: Clarifying that the court’s certificate of interest rule 

satisfies the disclosure statement requirements of FRAP 26.1.

18. Fed. Cir. R. 27: Clarifying and simplifying existing language, including 

combining or removing language to reflect the court’s current practice.

19. Fed. Cir. R. 28: Clarifying brief requirements and addressing gaps that have 

led to questions regarding brief contents; requiring certain patent information 

be included within patent-case briefs and requiring disclosure when a filer 

reuses brief language from a brief filed in a related case.

20. Fed. Cir. R. 28.1: Clarifying cross-appeal brief requirements and general brief 

content requirements. 
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21. Fed. Cir. R. 29: Clarifying amicus brief requirements and contents.

22. Fed. Cir. R. 30: Clarifying, streamlining, and updating language to reflect 

current appendix requirements. 

23. Fed. Cir. R. 31: Clarifying briefing deadlines in consolidated cases and 

responsive brief deadlines when one party fails to file.

24. Fed. Cir. R. 32: Clarifying, streamlining, and updating document formatting 

requirements; ending the practice permitting parties to supply the court with 

corresponding briefs on CD-ROM; clarifying the requirement to include a 

certificate of compliance with type-volume limitations; inserting requirements 

regarding electronically filed documents requiring more than one attorney’s 

signature.

25. Fed. Cir. R. 32.1: Removing duplicative information and clarifying the court’s 

policies on nonprecedential and unpublished dispositions. 

26. Fed. Cir. R. 33: Reflecting changes to the statutory scheme referenced in the 

section by requiring settlement discussions in inter partes proceedings.

27. Fed. Cir. R. 33.1: Incorporating the Mediation Guidelines docketing 

statement requirements into the local rules.

28. Fed. Cir. R. 34: Codifying the current practice for considering counsel 

scheduling conflicts at argument, limiting the number of counsel who can 

participate in argument; prohibiting the use of presentation programs, 

projection equipment, or certain visual aids without leave of the court.

29. Fed. Cir. R. 35 and 40: Adopting similar content and procedural 

requirements for all rehearing petitions and petitions en banc.

30. Fed. Cir. R. 36: Clarifying that a dispositive order issued without a separate 

opinion will constitute the court’s judgment.

31. Fed. Cir. R. 39: Eliminating taxable costs amounts from the Practice Notes 

and delegating to the clerk of the court the authority to set reasonable cost 

rates consistent with items taxable under FRAP 39; clarifying that intervenors 

may only receive costs under FCR 39 by leave of court.
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32. Fed. Cir. R. 41: Clarifying dismissal and mandate requirements.

33. Fed. Cir. R. 45: Clarifying (1) the clerk of court’s authority to issue paperless 

orders and sign documents electronically, (2) the authority of deputy clerks, 

and (3) public noticing requirements. 

34. Fed. Cir. R. 46: Revising bar admission procedures under FCR 46 to remove 

redundancy with FCR 52; providing greater consistency with Form 21 

requirements; clarifying when counsel can expect to receive certificates of 

admission and how to update electronic filing account information.

35. Fed. Cir. R. 47: Codifying the court’s practice for amending the Federal 

Circuit Rules consistent with 28 U.S.C. § 2071.

36. Fed. Cir. R. 47.2: Clarifying the composition of a panel of the court and 

providing the relevant citation to the U.S. Code.

37. Fed. Cir. R. 47.3: Simplifying and recategorizing the requirements for an 

attorney to appear before the court, specifically, the process for non-principal 

and government counsel to withdraw from a case; requiring leave of court 

before an attorney can enter an appearance after a case has already been 

calendared.

38. Fed. Cir. R. 47.4: Clarifying, streamlining, and updating current certificate of 

interest requirements and addressing existing gaps that have led to questions 

regarding the filing procedures and contents of Federal Circuit Form 9. 

39. Fed. Cir. R. 47.5: Clarifying language.

40. Fed. Cir. R. 47.7: Clarifying language and the addition of a practice note 

addressing Federal Circuit Form 20 use when seeking attorney fees under the 

Equal Access to Justice Act.

41. Fed. Cir. R. 47.9: Clarifying language and stylistic changes.

42. Fed. Cir. R. 47.10: Making stylistic changes.

43. Fed. Cir. R. 47.12: Relocating the rule’s content to FCR 15 and reserving the 

rule for future use.
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44. Fed. Cir. R. 50: Adding language requiring counsel to take reasonable steps to 

comply with FCR 50 requirements.

45. Fed. Cir. R. 52: Revising the court’s fees rules to improve clarity and avoid 

redundancy in light of other proposed amendments and current court practice.

46. Fed. Cir. R. 54: Making minor adjustments to the language regarding who 

may use the court’s library.

47. Attorney Discipline Rules: Clarifying language and minor stylistic changes.