Staying a federal judgment: 30 automatic days, then a bond — and three things that are never stayed

Rule 62 gives every federal judgment debtor a short, automatic breathing space and then puts the burden on them. Thirty days after entry, execution begins unless you have posted security or obtained a different order.

Three categories of judgment are not stayed at all, even on appeal.

The automatic 30 days

Rule 62(a):

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.

Three points.

It is automatic. No motion, no bond, no application. The clock starts on entry.

It is 30 days, which happens to be longer than the 28 days Rules 50(b), 52(b) and 59 allow for post-trial motions — so the automatic stay covers the whole post-trial motion window with two days to spare.

And the court can shorten it. "Unless the court orders otherwise" cuts both ways; a court may lift the automatic stay on a proper showing.

After 30 days: a bond or other security

Rule 62(b):

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.

Two features of the current rule are worth noting, because they differ from the pre-2018 version many practitioners learned.

"A bond or other security." The rule is not limited to a supersedeas bond from a surety. A letter of credit, a cash deposit, or another arrangement the court approves will do.

And it is available immediately — "at any time after judgment is entered," not only once an appeal is taken. You need not have filed a notice of appeal to obtain a Rule 62(b) stay.

The stay takes effect on court approval, not on posting. Build that approval step into the timeline; a bond obtained on day 29 and approved on day 32 leaves a gap.

What is never stayed

Rule 62(c):

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.

So an injunction takes effect on entry and stays in effect through the appeal, unless the court orders otherwise. Posting a bond does nothing.

The route for an injunction is Rule 62(d):

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.

That is a discretionary application to the district court, on terms — not an entitlement.

Three-judge courts: where the judgment appealed from was rendered by a statutory three-judge district court, the order must be made "by that court sitting in open session" or "by the assent of all its judges, as evidenced by their signatures."

Who does not have to post security

Rule 62(e):

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.

Mandatory. The court has no discretion to require security from a federal appellant.

Borrowing the state's stay

Rule 62(f):

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.

This is a genuine alternative route, and it is underused. Where the federal judgment operates as a lien under state law, the debtor gets whatever stay the state courts would grant — which in some states is more generous than Rule 62(b), and may not require a full-value bond.

Two conditions: the judgment must be a lien under state law, and the state in question is the one where the court is located.

Some states make a federal judgment a lien on recording an abstract, as California does under CCP 697.310 for its own judgments. Whether Rule 62(f) is available therefore turns on that state's lien statutes, which this site covers state by state.

Partial judgments

Rule 62(h):

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.

Where a Rule 54(b) determination has made one claim or party final while the rest of the case continues, the court can hold enforcement until the whole case resolves — on terms protecting the party who won.

The guide on federal default judgments covers Rule 54(b) certification.

The appellate court's own power

Rule 62(g): the 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."

So a denial in the district court is not the end. The court of appeals has independent authority, and the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure govern how to ask.

The routes, in order

How the federal rule compares

California is the useful contrast. Its CCP 918 trial-court stay expires 10 days after the last date to file a notice of appeal, so the undertaking under CCP 917.1 is effectively compulsory. Rule 62(b) has no such ceiling — a court-approved security holds the stay "for the time specified in the bond or other security."

A short checklist

1. Calendar 30 days from entry. That is your automatic protection and it is shorter than most people assume.
2. Start arranging security immediately if you intend to appeal. The stay takes effect on court approval, not on posting.
3. Consider alternatives to a surety bond. Rule 62(b) says "bond or other security."
4. Check Rule 62(f). If the judgment is a lien under the law of the state where the court sits, you may be entitled to that state's stay instead.
5. If an injunction is involved, do not rely on a bond. Rule 62(c) leaves it unstayed; ask under Rule 62(d).
6. If the United States is appealing, no security may be required — Rule 62(e) is mandatory.
7. On a Rule 54(b) partial judgment, ask for a Rule 62(h) stay until the rest of the case resolves.
8. If the district court refuses, go to the court of appeals. Rule 62(g) preserves its independent power.
9. Remember a post-judgment motion does not stay anything by itself — Rule 60(c)(2) says so expressly, and the guide on relief from a federal judgment covers it.

Where these rules live

• FRCP 54 — Judgment; costs
• FRCP 58 — Entering judgment
• FRCP 59 — New trial; altering or amending a judgment
• FRCP 60 — Relief from a judgment or order
• FRCP 62 — Stay of proceedings to enforce a judgment
• FRCP 62.1 — Indicative ruling on a motion for relief barred by a pending appeal
• FRCP 65 — Injunctions and restraining orders
• FRCP 65.1 — Proceedings against a security provider
• FRCP 69 — Execution

Appellate stays are also governed by the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, which this site doesn't reproduce. This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice.