Rule 77.Conducting Business; Clerk's Authority; Notice of an Order or Judgment
Last amended December 1, 2014 · Last verified June 30, 2026
In one sentenceRule 77 provides that district courts are always open for filing and most business, defines the clerk’s authority and office hours, and requires the clerk to serve notice of an order or judgment — though a failure to receive notice generally does not extend the time to appeal.
(a)When Court Is Open. Every district court is considered always open for filing any paper, issuing and returning process, making a motion, or entering an order.
(b)Place for Trial and Other Proceedings. Every trial on the merits must be conducted in open court and, so far as convenient, in a regular courtroom. Any other act or proceeding may be done or conducted by a judge in chambers, without the attendance of the clerk or other court official, and anywhere inside or outside the district. But no hearing—other than one ex parte—may be conducted outside the district unless all the affected parties consent.
(1)Hours. The clerk's office—with a clerk or deputy on duty—must be open during business hours every day except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. But a court may, by local rule or order, require that the office be open for specified hours on Saturday or a particular legal holiday other than one listed in Rule 6(a)(6)(A).
(2)Orders. Subject to the court's power to suspend, alter, or rescind the clerk's action for good cause, the clerk may:
(A)issue process;
(B)enter a default;
(C)enter a default judgment under Rule 55(b)(1); and
(D)act on any other matter that does not require the court's action.
(1)Service. Immediately after entering an order or judgment, the clerk must serve notice of the entry, as provided in Rule 5(b), on each party who is not in default for failing to appear. The clerk must record the service on the docket. A party also may serve notice of the entry as provided in Rule 5(b).
(2)Time to Appeal Not Affected by Lack of Notice. Lack of notice of the entry does not affect the time for appeal or relieve— or authorize the court to relieve—a party for failing to appeal within the time allowed, except as allowed by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure (4)(a).
End
Amendment History
(Amended December 27, 1946, effective March 19, 1948; January 21, 1963, effective July 1, 1963; December 4, 1967, effective July 1, 1968; March 1, 1971, effective July 1, 1971; March 2, 1987, effective August 1, 1987; April 30, 1991, effective December 1, 1991; April 23, 2001, effective December 1, 2001; April 30, 2007, effective December 1, 2007; April 25, 2014, effective December 1, 2014.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 77 keeps the courthouse functionally open. Every district court is deemed always open for filing papers, issuing and returning process, and making motions and orders, and the court may conduct business anywhere within the district. The clerk’s office, staffed during business hours on all days except weekends and legal holidays, carries out routine acts, while some orders the clerk may enter are subject to the court’s review.
The rule’s practical heart is notice. When an order or judgment is entered, the clerk must promptly serve notice of the entry on every party. But there is a trap for the unwary: a party’s failure to receive that notice does not, by itself, extend the time to appeal, except in the narrow circumstances the appellate rules allow — so parties are expected to monitor the docket rather than wait for the clerk’s notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are federal courts always open for filing?
Yes. Rule 77(a) treats every district court as always open for filing papers, issuing process, and making motions and orders.
Does missing the clerk’s notice of judgment extend the time to appeal?
Generally no. Under Rule 77(d), lack of notice does not extend the appeal deadline except as the appellate rules specifically allow.
Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the
official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P. 77), 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 77Fed. R. Civ. P. 77courts always openclerk's authoritynotice of entry of judgment