Rule 62.Stay of proceedings to enforce a judgment

Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified July 13, 2026

In one sentenceTrial Rule 62 controls when a judgment can be enforced in Indiana — allowing courts to pause execution while post-trial motions or an appeal are pending, and letting a party stop enforcement as of right by posting an approved appeal bond or letter of credit.

Full Text of Rule 62

Text sizeJump to: (A) (B) (C) (D) (C) (E) (F) (G) (H)

(A) Execution. Execution may issue upon notation of a judgment in the Chronological Case Summary except as otherwise provided in this rule hereinafter. During the pendency of an appeal the provisions of subdivision (C) of this rule govern the suspending, modifying, restoring, or granting of an injunction, the appointment of a receiver or, to the extent that a stay is not otherwise permitted by law upon appeal, any judgment or order for specific relief other than the payment of money.

(B) Stay of execution. In its discretion and on such conditions for the security of the adverse party as are proper, the court may stay the execution of or any proceedings to enforce a judgment pending the filing and disposition of

(1) a motion to correct error or to alter or amend a judgment made pursuant to Rule 59,

(2) a motion for judgment in accordance with a motion for a judgment on the evidence made pursuant to Rule 50,

(3) a motion for amendment to the findings or for additional findings or for a new trial or judgment made pursuant to Rule 52,

(4) a motion for relief from a judgment or order made pursuant to Rule 60, or

(5) an appeal.

(C) Stay of orders relating to injunctions, appointment of receivers and orders for specific relief. When an appeal is taken from an interlocutory or final judgment granting, dissolving or denying an injunction, the appointment of a receiver or, to the extent that a stay is not otherwise permitted by law upon appeal, from any judgment or order for specific relief other than the payment of money, the court to which the application is made in its sound discretion may suspend, modify, restore, or grant the injunction, the appointment of the receiver or the specific relief during the pendency of the appeal upon such terms as to bond or otherwise as it considers proper for the security of the rights of the adverse party. Nothing in this rule is intended to affect the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court or the Indiana Court of Appeals.

(D) Stay upon appeal.

(1) Procedure for obtaining. No appeal bond or other security shall be necessary to perfect an appeal from any judgment or appealable interlocutory order. Enforcement of a judgment or appealable interlocutory order will be suspended during an appeal upon the giving of an adequate appeal bond with approved sureties, an irrevocable letter of credit from a financial institution approved in all respects by the court, or other form of security approved by the court. The bond, letter of credit, or other security may be given at or after the time of filing the notice of appeal. The stay is effective when the appeal bond, letter of credit, or other form of security is approved by the appropriate court. The trial court or judge shall have jurisdiction to fix and approve the bond or letter of credit and order a stay pending an appeal as well as prior to the appeal. If the stay is denied by the trial court the appellate tribunal may reconsider the application at any time after denial; and this provision also shall apply to stays or relief allowed under subdivision

(C) of this rule. When the stay or relief is granted by the court on appeal, the clerk of the Supreme Court shall issue a certificate thereof to the clerk of the court below who shall file it with the judgment or order below and deliver it to the sheriff or any officer to whom execution or an enforcement order has been issued.

(2) Form of appeal bond or letter of credit. Whenever a party entitled thereto desires a stay on appeal, such party may present to the appropriate court for its approval an appeal bond or an irrevocable letter of credit from a financial institution. The bond or letter of credit shall be conditioned for the satisfaction of the judgment in full together with costs, interest, and damages for delay, if for any reason the appeal is dismissed or if the judgment is affirmed, and to satisfy in full such modification of the judgment and such costs, interest, and damages as the appellate court may adjudge and award. When the judgment is for the recovery of money not otherwise secured, the amount of the bond or letter of credit shall be fixed at such sum as will cover the whole amount of the judgment remaining unsatisfied, costs on the appeal, interest, and damages for delay, unless the court after notice and hearing and for good cause shown fixes a different amount or orders security other than a bond or letter of credit. When the judgment determines the disposition of the property in controversy as in real action, replevin, and actions to foreclose liens or when such property is in the custody of the sheriff or when the proceeds of such property or a bond or letter of credit for its value is in the custody or control of the court, the amount of the appeal bond or letter of credit shall be fixed at such sum only as will secure the amount recovered for the use and detention of the property, the costs of the action, costs on appeal, interest, and damages for delay.

(3) Effect of appeal bond or letter of credit. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as giving the right to stay, by giving such bond or letter of credit, any judgment or order which cannot now be stayed or suspended by the giving of an appeal bond, except as provided in subdivisions (A), (B) and (C) of this rule. The provisions in this rule do not limit any power of an appellate court or of a judge or justice thereof to stay proceedings during the pendency of an appeal or to suspend, modify, restore, or grant an injunction during the pendency of an appeal or to make any order appropriate to preserve the status quo or the effectiveness of the judgment subsequently to be entered.

(E) Stay in favor of governmental organization--Personal representative. When an appeal or review is taken by a governmental organization, or by a court-appointed representative of a decedent’s estate, guardian, receiver, assignee for the benefit of creditors, trustee or other court-appointed representative, the operation or enforcement of the judgment shall be stayed as it would as against other persons upon application to the appropriate court, but no bond, obligation or other security shall be required.

(F) Stay of execution under existing laws--Other bonds required before or as a condition to judgment: Money in lieu of bonds--Amount fixed by court. Execution upon a judgment for recovery of money or sale of property may be stayed, and personal property taken in execution may be delivered up as now provided by law. Indiana Acts, ch. 38, §§ 493-506 and §§ 531-536 (Spec.Sess.1881).1 Nothing in this rule is intended to alter the right of a party to the protection of a surety bond or security or to obtain relief by furnishing a surety bond or security before or as a condition of final judgment, including without limitation such protection or relief in replevin, ejectment, attachment and injunction actions, upon judicial review of administrative action, in suits upon a lost instrument, for costs and the like. In any case where a surety bond, letter of credit, or security is furnished under this rule, the right to furnish money or a check in lieu of a bond shall remain unimpaired. Any requirement that the amount of the bond or letter of credit be fixed and reconsidered by the court in civil actions and proceedings shall remain unaffected by this rule.

(G) Effect of stay or temporary relief when new trial granted. When an appealable judgment or order is entered against a party who has obtained a prior stay or temporary relief by furnishing a surety bond, letter of credit, or other security, including without limitation relief in replevin, ejectment, attachment and injunctive actions, such stay or temporary relief shall lapse except to the extent:

(1) provided in subdivision (A) of this rule; or

(2) a stay is granted as provided or recognized in this rule. If thereafter the order or judgment is reversed and a new trial or new hearing in fact is ordered or authorized in favor of such party, the original stay or relief shall not be reinstated unless the reversing court orders otherwise or, in the absence of such order, the court on the new trial or new hearing orders otherwise. When a stay or temporary relief is granted to a party seeking reversal of an appealable order or judgment under subdivision (B), (C) or (D) of this rule and a new trial or new hearing in fact is ordered or authorized in favor of such party, the stay or temporary relief shall continue until a final, appealable judgment or order is entered unless the court on review or appeal orders otherwise or, in the absence of such order, the court on the new trial or new hearing orders otherwise. Nothing in this subdivision is intended to limit the liability of the bondsman, the financial institution issuing the letter of credit, or other security or determine the order of liability assumed among different bondsmen or different security furnished in the course of proceedings before judgment, after judgment and after appeal or review.

(H) Stay of judgment as to multiple claims or multiple parties. When a court has ordered a final judgment under the conditions stated in Rule 54(B), the court may stay enforcement of that judgment until the entering of a subsequent judgment or judgments and may prescribe such conditions as are necessary to secure the benefit thereof to the party in whose favor the judgment is entered. 1 IC 34-55-2-1 to 34-55-2-13 and IC 34-55-5-1 to 34-55-5-6.

End

Amendment History

This rule’s current text took effect January 1, 2011. For the full history of earlier amendments and adoption orders, see the Indiana Office of Court Services.

Plain-English Summary

Trial Rule 62 answers a practical question: once a judgment is entered, when can the winning party start collecting, and when can the losing party put that on hold? Under subdivision (A), execution can issue as soon as the judgment is noted in the Chronological Case Summary — nothing pauses enforcement automatically. Subdivision (C) carves out an exception for judgments or orders granting, dissolving, or denying an injunction, appointing a receiver, or granting specific relief other than the payment of money: those are governed by the appeal-stay rules discussed below rather than by ordinary execution.

Subdivision (B) gives the trial court discretion to stay execution, on whatever security conditions protect the other side, while certain motions or an appeal work their way through the system: a motion to correct error or to alter or amend the judgment under Rule 59, a motion for judgment under Rule 50, a motion to amend findings or for a new trial under Rule 52, a motion for relief from judgment under Rule 60, or an appeal itself. Subdivision (C) gives the same kind of discretion — suspending, modifying, restoring, or granting an injunction or receivership, or specific relief other than money — while that kind of order is on appeal, on whatever bond terms protect the other side.

Subdivision (D) covers the stay a party can get as of right by posting security. No bond is needed just to file an appeal, but enforcement of the judgment is suspended once an adequate appeal bond, an irrevocable letter of credit, or another court-approved form of security is posted and approved — either at or after the notice of appeal is filed. The trial court can approve the bond and grant the stay before or during the appeal; if the trial court refuses, the appellate court can take up the request. The bond or letter of credit has to be large enough to cover the unpaid judgment, appeal costs, interest, and delay damages, unless the court sets a different amount for good cause after notice and a hearing — or, in cases about specific property already in the court’s control, just large enough to cover the value of using or holding the property, plus the costs of the action, appeal costs, interest, and delay damages.

The remaining subdivisions handle special situations. Governmental organizations and court-appointed representatives — a decedent’s estate, a guardian, a receiver, an assignee for creditors, a trustee — get a stay without having to post any bond or security. Existing statutory rights to a stay, and the option to post money or a check instead of a bond, remain available alongside this rule. If a party who obtained a stay by posting security later wins a new trial or hearing, the original stay generally lapses unless the court orders otherwise, though a stay obtained by the party who succeeds on appeal continues until a new final judgment is entered. And when a court enters a final judgment on some but not all claims or parties under Rule 54(B), it can stay enforcement of that judgment until the remaining claims are resolved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does winning a judgment in Indiana mean I can collect right away?

Usually yes. Under Trial Rule 62(A), execution can issue as soon as the judgment is noted in the Chronological Case Summary, unless the losing party has obtained a stay.

How do I stop the other side from collecting while I ask the court to reconsider or while I appeal?

Ask the court for a discretionary stay under Rule 62(B), tied to a pending motion under Rule 50, 52, 59, or 60, or to the appeal itself. The court can condition the stay on security to protect the other side.

Do I have to post a bond just to file an appeal in Indiana?

No. No appeal bond or other security is required to perfect an appeal. A bond, letter of credit, or other approved security is only needed if you want to stop enforcement of the judgment while the appeal is pending.

How large does an appeal bond need to be?

Generally large enough to cover the unpaid judgment, appeal costs, interest, and delay damages, unless the court sets a different amount for good cause. In cases where the judgment concerns specific property already in the court’s control, the bond only needs to cover the value of using or holding that property, plus costs, interest, and delay damages.

Does a government agency have to post a bond to get a stay?

No. Rule 62(E) exempts governmental organizations, as well as court-appointed representatives such as estates, guardians, receivers, and trustees, from having to post bond or other security to get a stay.

What happens to my stay if the case gets sent back for a new trial?

It depends. The original stay generally lapses unless the court that ordered the new trial says otherwise, though a stay obtained by the party who won on appeal continues until a new final judgment is entered.

Can a court stay part of a judgment when the case involves multiple claims or parties?

Yes. Under Rule 62(H), when a court enters final judgment on fewer than all claims or parties under Rule 54(B), it can stay enforcement of that judgment until the rest of the case is resolved.

Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the official Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure (T.R. 62). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Indiana, under its inherent constitutional rulemaking power (reaffirmed by Ind. Code 34-8-1-1 and 34-8-2-1); originally enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 1969. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 13, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: stay of execution indianatrial rule 62 indianaappeal bond indianastay judgment pending appeal indianaletter of credit stay indiana appealstop collection on judgment indianasupersedeas indiana