Rule 62.Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment

Last amended December 1, 2018 · Last verified June 30, 2026

In one sentenceRule 62 governs stays of enforcement: execution on a judgment is automatically stayed for 30 days after entry, and a party may obtain a longer stay pending post-trial motions or appeal, usually by posting a bond or other security the court approves.

Full Text of Rule 62

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)

(a) Automatic Stay. Except as provided in Rule 62(c) and (d), execution on a judgment and proceedings to enforce it are stayed for 30 days after its entry, unless the court orders otherwise.

(b) Stay by Bond or Other Security. At any time after judgment is entered, a party may obtain a stay by providing a bond or other security. The stay takes effect when the court approves the bond or other security and remains in effect for the time specified in the bond or other security.

(c) Stay of an Injunction, Receivership, or Patent Accounting Order. Unless the court orders otherwise, the following are not stayed after being entered, even if an appeal is taken:

(1) an interlocutory or final judgment in an action for an injunction or receivership; or

(2) a judgment or order that directs an accounting in an action for patent infringement.

(d) Injunction Pending an Appeal. While an appeal is pending from an interlocutory order or final judgment that grants, continues, modifies, refuses, dissolves, or refuses to dissolve or modify an injunction, the court may suspend, modify, restore, or grant an injunction on terms for bond or other terms that secure the opposing party's rights. If the judgment appealed from is rendered by a statutory three-judge district court, the order must be made either:

(1) by that court sitting in open session; or

(2) by the assent of all its judges, as evidenced by their signatures.

(e) Stay Without Bond on an Appeal by the United States, Its Officers, or Its Agencies. The court must not require a bond, obligation, or other security from the appellant when granting a stay on an appeal by the United States, its officers, or its agencies or on an appeal directed by a department of the federal government.

(f) Stay in Favor of a Judgment Debtor Under State Law. If a judgment is a lien on the judgment debtor's property under the law of the state where the court is located, the judgment debtor is entitled to the same stay of execution the state court would give.

(g) Appellate Court's Power Not Limited. This rule does not limit the power of the appellate court or one of its judges or justices:

(1) to stay proceedings—or suspend, modify, restore, or grant an injunction—while an appeal is pending; or

(2) to issue an order to preserve the status quo or the effectiveness of the judgment to be entered.

(h) Stay with Multiple Claims or Parties. A court may stay the enforcement of a final judgment entered under Rule 54(b) until it enters a later judgment or judgments, and may prescribe terms necessary to secure the benefit of the stayed judgment for the party in whose favor it was entered.

End

Amendment History

(Amended December 27, 1946, effective March 19, 1948; December 29, 1948, effective October 20, 1949; April 17, 1961, effective July 19, 1961; March 2, 1987, effective August 1, 1987; April 30, 2007, effective December 1, 2007; March 26, 2009, effective December 1, 2009; April 26, 2018, effective December 1, 2018.)

Plain-English Summary

Winning a judgment does not always mean collecting on it right away. Rule 62 builds in a pause: unless the court orders otherwise, no execution may issue on a judgment, and proceedings to enforce it are stayed, for 30 days after its entry. That window gives the losing party time to seek post-trial relief or an appeal.

A party may extend the stay. By posting a bond or other security, a party may obtain a stay that lasts while post-trial motions under Rules 50, 52, 59, and 60 are pending, or throughout an appeal; the stay takes effect when the court approves the security. The 2018 amendments consolidated these provisions and set the automatic period at 30 days. Special rules apply to injunctions, receiverships, and judgments in favor of the United States.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the automatic stay after a judgment?

30 days after the entry of judgment, unless the court orders otherwise (Rule 62(a)).

What is a supersedeas bond?

A bond (or other security) a party posts to stay enforcement of a money judgment during post-trial motions or an appeal; the stay takes effect when the court approves it (Rule 62(b)).

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P. 62), a public-domain work of the U.S. Government. Prescribed by the United States Supreme Court under the Rules Enabling Act. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified June 30, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: FRCP 62Fed. R. Civ. P. 62stay of enforcementsupersedeas bondstay pending appealautomatic stay of execution