(b) Rules of the Court of International Trade, Court of Federal

Claims, and Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. (1) (2) Reference in these rules to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure includes analogous rules of the Court of International Trade and the Court of Federal Claims. Reference in these rules to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure includes rules of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims only where applicable, because that court’s rules are derived from the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. (c) Title.

These rules are to be known as the Federal Circuit Rules. FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 2 Suspension of Rules (a) In a Particular Case. On its own or a party’s motion, a court of appeals may - to expedite its decision or for other good cause - suspend any provision of these rules in a particular case and order proceedings as it directs, except as otherwise provided in Rule 26(b). (b) In an Appellate Rules Emergency.

(1) Conditions for an Emergency. The Judicial Conference of the United States may declare an Appellate Rules emergency if it determines that extraordinary circumstances relating to public health or safety, or affecting physical or electronic access to a court, substantially impair the court’s ability to perform its function in compliance with these rules. (2) Content. The declaration must: (A) designate the circuit or circuits affected; and (B) be limited to a stated period of no more than 90 days.

(3) Early Termination. The Judicial Conference may terminate a declaration for one or more circuits before the termination date. Federal Circuit Rules of Practice (December 1, 2025) (Return to Table of Contents) FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 2 (4) Additional Declarations. The Judicial Conference may issue additional declarations under this rule.

(5) Proceedings in a Rules Emergency. When a rules emergency is declared, the court may: (A) suspend in all or part of that circuit any provision of these rules, other than time limits imposed by statute and described in Rule 26(b)(1)-(2); and (B) order proceedings as it directs. Federal Circuit Rules of Practice (December 1, 2025) TITLE II - APPEAL FROM A JUDGMENT OR ORDER OF A DISTRICT COURT (Return to Table of Contents) FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 3 Appeal as of Right - How Taken (a) Filing the Notice of Appeal. (1) (2) (3) (4) An appeal permitted by law as of right from a district court to a court of appeals may be taken only by filing a notice of appeal with the district clerk within the time allowed by Rule 4.

At the time of filing, the appellant must furnish the clerk with enough copies of the notice to enable the clerk to comply with Rule 3(d). An appellant’s failure to take any step other than the timely filing of a notice of appeal does not affect the validity of the appeal, but is ground only for the court of appeals to act as it considers appropriate, including dismissing the appeal. An appeal from a judgment by a magistrate judge in a civil case is taken in the same way as an appeal from any other district court judgment. An appeal by permission under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) or an appeal in a bankruptcy case may be taken only in the manner prescribed by Rules 5 and 6, respectively.

(b) Joint or Consolidated Appeals. (1) When two or more parties are entitled to appeal from a district- court judgment or order, and their interests make joinder practicable, they may file a joint notice of appeal. They may then proceed on appeal as a single appellant. (2) When the parties have filed separate timely notices of appeal, the appeals may be joined or consolidated by the court of appeals.

(c) Contents of the Notice of Appeal. (1) The notice of appeal must: (A) specify the party or parties taking the appeal by naming each one in the caption or body of the notice, but an attorney representing more than one party may describe those parties with such terms as “all plaintiffs,” “the defendants,” “the plaintiffs A, B, et al.,” or “all defendants except X”; Federal Circuit Rules of Practice (December 1, 2025) FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 3 (Return to Table of Contents) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (B) designate the judgment - or appealable order - from which the appeal is taken; and (C) name the court to which the appeal is taken. A pro se notice of appeal is considered filed on behalf of the signer and the signer’s spouse and minor children (if they are parties), unless the notice clearly indicates otherwise. In a class action, whether or not the class has been certified, the notice of appeal is sufficient if it names one person qualified to bring the appeal as representative of the class.

The notice of appeal encompasses all orders that, for purposes of appeal, merge into the designated judgment or appealable order. It is not necessary to designate those orders in the notice of appeal. In a civil case, a notice of appeal encompasses the final judgment, whether or not that judgment is set out in a separate document under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58, if the notice designates: an order that adjudicates all remaining claims and the (A) rights and liabilities of all remaining parties; or (B) an order described in Rule 4(a)(4)(A). An appellant may designate only part of a judgment or appealable order by expressly stating that the notice of appeal is so limited.

Without such an express statement, specific designations do not limit the scope of the notice of appeal. An appeal must not be dismissed for informality of form or title of the notice of appeal, for failure to name a party whose intent to appeal is otherwise clear from the notice, or for failure to properly designate the judgment if the notice of appeal was filed after entry of the judgment and designates an order that merged into that judgment. (8) Forms 1A and 1B in the Appendix of Forms are suggested forms of notices of appeal.* * Federal Circuit Form 1 is available as a suggested form of a notice of appeal. Federal Circuit Rules of Practice (December 1, 2025) (Return to Table of Contents) FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 3 (d) Serving the Notice of Appeal.

(1) (2) (3) The district clerk must serve notice of the filing of a notice of appeal by sending a copy to each party’s counsel of record - excluding the appellant’s - or, if a party is proceeding pro se, to the party’s last known address. When a defendant in a criminal case appeals, the clerk must also serve a copy of the notice of appeal on the defendant. The clerk must promptly send a copy of the notice of appeal and of the docket entries - and any later docket entries - to the clerk of the court of appeals named in the notice. The district clerk must note, on each copy, the date when the notice of appeal was filed.

If an inmate confined in an institution files a notice of appeal in the manner provided by Rule 4(c), the district clerk must also note the date when the clerk docketed the notice. The district clerk’s failure to serve notice does not affect the validity of the appeal. The clerk must note on the docket the names of the parties to whom the clerk sends copies, with the date of sending. Service is sufficient despite the death of a party or the party’s counsel.

(e) Payment of Fees. Upon filing a notice of appeal, the appellant must pay the district clerk all required fees. The district clerk receives the appellate docket fee on behalf of the court of appeals. Federal Circuit Rules of Practice (December 1, 2025) (Return to Table of Contents)