Common Questions

By federal statute, the Federal Circuit has exclusive nationwide jurisdiction over a variety of subject areas; however, we do not have jurisdiction over any criminal, bankruptcy, immigration, or state matters.  The Federal Circuit also cannot hear appeals from decisions of other U.S. Courts of Appeals, which should be directed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Please refer to our statement of Federal Circuit Case Types. 

See “Federal Circuit Case Types” and Guide for Unrepresented Parties, Section D: Are you in the Correct Court? (p. III-2) for more information

Cases are typically opened within three business days of receipt. You will receive a “Notice of Docketing” via email or mail, using the contact information provided on your case opening document, indicating your submission has been processed and assigned a case number. Any deadlines will not take effect until after the case is docketed.  Please be sure your documents are readable and clearly labeled with your name, originating case number, and title of the document.  

See Electronic Filing Procedures, IV(C): Filing a New Petition or Appeal (p. 54) for more information. 

To link a legacy CM/ECF account, you must first request new electronic filing access using PACER’s Registration Wizard. From the list of courts available for registration, select “Federal Circuit,” then “E-File Registration only.”  Court staff will review this registration request and link your legacy account and new account.  

See Electronic Filing Procedures, II(F): Attorney Electronic Filing Registration (p. 8) for more information.

To register for eFiling, you may request new electronic filing access using PACER’s Registration Wizard.  From the list of courts available for registration, select “Federal Circuit,” then “E-File Registration only.”  The court typically processes new electronic filing access requests within 24 hours of receipt.  

See Electronic Filing Procedures, II(F): Attorney Electronic Filing Registration (p. 8) and Electronic Filing Procedures, II(G) Non-Attorney Electronic Filing Registration (p. 15) for more information.

To check the status of your eFiling request, navigate to the “Manage My Account” section of the PACER website (you may be prompted to log in). Under the “Maintenance” tab, select “Check E-File Status” to check your e-filing status at our court.  

See Electronic Filing Procedures, II(I): Check the Status of your Request/Application (p. 24) for more information.

To update the address associated with your PACER account, navigate to the “Manage My Account” section of the PACER website. After you log in, navigate to the “Maintenance” tab.  To update your first name, last name, or generation, select “Update Personal Information.”  To update your firm/office name, street address, phone number, etc., select “Update Address Information.” Address updates are typically processed within 24 hours of receipt.  

See Electronic Filing Procedures, II(K): Account Maintenance (p. 27) for more information.

The Federal Circuit does not assign bar numbers. However, you may be asked to provide your admission date (ex: Form 8A – Entry of Appearance.), which you can find using the Attorney Admissions Search on the court’s website.

An attorney may be admitted to the bar in open court by (1) appearing personally with a sponsor who is a member of the bar of this court, (2) on written motion of a member of the bar of this court, or (3) on that attorney’s own motion by completing Form 21, available on the court’s website.  The use of Form 21 is most common. Once completed, Form 21 is provided to the court for processing by uploading it to PACER when the attorney registers for electronic filing.  

See Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 46, Federal Circuit Rule 46, and Electronic Filing Procedures, II(F): Attorney Electronic Filing Registration (p. 8) for more information

Preliminary Documents

With some exceptions, preliminary documents are due 14 days from the date the case was opened.

1. All non-government parties must pay the case docketing fee or file a Motion for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis (Form 6). 
2. All parties must turn in either an Entry of Appearance (Form 8A) or Notice of Unrepresented Person Appearance (Form 8B) if appearing pro se. 
3. All non-government counseled parties must submit a Certificate of Interest (Form 9) and a Docketing Statement (Form 26). 
4. All non-government petitioners in MSPB or Arbitrator cases must submit a Statement Concerning Discrimination (Form 10).    

See Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 47 and Federal Circuit Rules 15(c) and 47.3 – 47.6 for more information.

Briefs

Parties in counseled cases must file formal briefs in accordance with the Court’s rules. Unrepresented parties have the option to file their briefs informally using court-provided forms.

1. If you are the petitioner or appellant in an appeal from an agency, board, or commission, your opening brief is due
   60 days after the certified list is served. 
2. If you are the appellant in an appeal from a court, your opening brief is due 60 days after the case is docketed.  The appellee or respondent must file a response brief within 40 days after service of your opening brief.  You may choose to file a reply brief within 21 days after service of the other party’s brief. 
3. Unrepresented parties choosing to file informal opening briefs should note that there are different Opening Brief forms for different courts, tribunals, and agencies.  Please take care to select the appropriate form.    

Emergency Filings

For writs, Rule 8 or 18 motions, and Petitions for Permission to Appeal 1292(b), different requirements may apply.  Please refer to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

See Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 28, 30, 31, and 32, Federal Circuit Rules 28, 30, 31, and 32, and Guide for Unrepresented Parties, VI: Filing Your Brief (p. VI-1) for more information.

You can check the status of your case electronically by going to PACER and using the “Case Search” feature (available 24/7) to review the most recent filings or by calling the Clerk’s Office between 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Eastern.  To use the “Case Search” feature, you can find a case by its number and/or the name of an attorney or party.

If you haven’t received any notification from the Clerk’s Office directing action and there is no motion or other document under consideration by the Court in your case, please review your case’s deadlines to make sure you have satisfied your case’s filing requirements.

See Electronic Filing Procedures, V(B): PACER Report (p. 70) for more information.

All notices of noncompliance will indicate the specific issues that require correction.  Common errors observed on Entries of Appearance and how to correct them are listed below.

1. Error: The filer used an incorrect or outdated version of the form.
   Correction: Current versions of all forms are available on the court’s website under the “Rules and Forms” tab.
   Fed. Cir. R. 47.3(b)(6) (Form 8A, Form 8B).
2. Error: The contact on the form does not match the information associated with the users’ accounts.
   Correction: Please ensure the corrected appearance form contains up-to-date contact information.
   If that information differs from the information associated with the user’s account, please also update that information through the PACER Service Center.
   Fed. Cir. R. 25(a)(5). For more information on how to update your contact information, see FAQ #7.
3. Error: Only one attorney may serve as principal counsel for each party. Fed. Cir. R. 47.3(b)(1).
   Correction: Parties may file a new entry of appearance replacing the principal counsel and listing other attorneys or file a notice withdrawing previous principal counsel.
   To withdraw a principal attorney from a case, non-government counsel must file a motion and obtain leave of court.

See Federal Circuit Rule 47.3 and Federal Circuit Rule 25 for more information.

The court will address the motion in its own time. If a notice of noncompliance has not been issued, there is no deficiency to the motion that needs to be addressed. Most orders are considered routine, and counsel will receive notification by Notice of Docket Activity as soon as the motion is decided.

Unless ordered otherwise, an appeal will not be dismissed for failure to file the appellant’s brief if the appellant’s motion to extend time was filed and served at least seven (7) days before the due date for the brief.  

See Practice Notes to Federal Circuit Rule 26 and Practice Notes to Federal Circuit Rule 27 for more information.

Yes, briefs filed by non-government counsel must contain a Certificate of Interest (FCR 47.4).  The certificate of interest must be filed contemporaneously with the first-filed entry of appearance and must also be included with each principal brief and amicus curiae brief.  

See Federal Circuit Rule 28 and Federal Circuit Rule 47.4 for more information.

Content

The addendum is a collection of record material that is appended to the end of the opening brief.  It can be thought of as an excerpt of the appendix.

The court requires that the addendum be comprised of A) judgments, orders, agency actions, or other decisions appealed from and any opinions, memoranda, or findings and conclusions supporting them, including rehearing opinions, and B) if the appeal involves a patent or patent application, all patents or applications at issue on appeal reproduced in their entirety.  (FCR 28(f)).

Pagination

Material that appears in the addendum that is also designated for inclusion in the appendix must be paginated with the corresponding appendix page numbers.  Other addendum material must be paginated in a way as to avoid confusion. (FCR 28(C)(2)). Remember that judgments, orders, agency actions, or other decisions on appeal (part A of the addendum requirements) will be included in the appendix and must be assigned the first page numbers (FCR 30(b)(2)(B)).

See Federal Circuit Rule 28, Federal Circuit Rule 30, and Electronic Filing Procedures IV(A)(2): Appendix Formatting (p. 34) for more information.

Briefs that exceed one volume must identify the volume number in Roman numerals and the range of pages within that volume centered at the top of their cover page.  For example, “Vol. I, pp. 1-502” or “Volume II: pages 305-700.”  

See Federal Circuit Rule 28 and Federal Circuit Rule 30 for more information.

All notices of noncompliance will indicate the specific issues that require correction.  In addition to resolving any deficiencies listed on the notice of noncompliance you received, your corrected document must indicate “Corrected” in the title or on the cover.  Please see below for common deficiencies and how to correct them.

1. Error: The caption on the cover is incorrect or incomplete.
   Correction: The full caption is available on the case docket report, below the list of parties and attorneys and above the docket entries.
   Common errors include omitting parties, unauthorized use of “et al.”, using an outdated caption, using the short caption, and omitting all required party designations.
   Please ensure the caption on your document matches exactly to the full caption on the Court’s docket report. Fed. Cir. R. 32(a).
2. Error: The addendum does not include all required material.
   Correction: The addendum is comprised of record material and is submitted in the opening brief.
   For all appeals, the addendum must include all judgments, orders, agency actions, or other decisions appealed from and supporting documents.
   For appeals involving a patent or patent application, the addendum must also include all patents or applications at issue on appeal. Fed. Cir. R. 28(c)(1); Fed. Cir. R. 28.1(d).
3. Error: Appendix references are not in the proper format.
   Correction: All appendix page numbers must be preceded by “Appx” (or “SAppx” for a supplemental appendix) and then the number, without any intervening non-numerical characters or spaces.  The court provides additional examples of acceptable and unacceptable appendix references in its Electronic Filing Procedures, (IV)(A)(2): Appendix Formatting; see also Fed. Cir. R. 28(f); Fed. Cir. R. 29(c).

See Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 25, Federal Circuit Rule 25 and Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32, Federal Circuit Rule 32 for more information.

Paper copies of formal briefs and appendices must be securely bound along the left margin to ensure that the bound copies will not loosen or fall apart and that they brief will lie reasonably flat when open.  Informal briefs may be secured by a single staple in the left-hand corner. 

See Federal Circuit Rule 32 for additional information.

For rehearing petitions (panel and en banc), filers must also submit the required number of responses and supporting amicus briefs to the petition.  See Federal Circuit Rule 25 and Federal Circuit Rule 32 for more information.

Briefs

For formal and informal briefs, the court will issue a request for paper copies on the docket report of each case, typically at the end of briefing.  This notice grants parties five business days to provide paper copies.  Please note, if a brief or appendix is corrected after paper copies have been provided, new paper copies that indicate “corrected” in the title or on the cover must be sent to the court.

Rehearing Petitions

Paper copies of petitions for rehearing (en banc and panel), to include responses and supporting amicus briefs, are due two business days after the filing of the document.  The court will not issue a notice on the docket report to request these copies.

If a petition for en banc rehearing is granted, additional paper copies of the original briefs and appendices are due within five business days of the order granting the petition.  If briefs are filed during the en banc consideration, paper copies of those briefs are due within five business days of their filing. 

See Federal Circuit Rule 25 and Federal Circuit Rule 35 for additional information.