Rule 55.02.Caption of Pleading — What Set Forth.

Every filing needs a caption showing the court, the case title, the file number, and a designation of what the document is. A petition must list every party by name, but later filings can shorten things by naming just the first party on each side and noting that others exist. That saves paper and repetition once the parties are already established in the record.

The bulk of the rule sets formatting standards that apply across the board: text-searchable PDF for electronic filings, 8½-by-11-inch pages, consecutive Arabic-numeral page numbers at the bottom, one-inch margins on all sides, and line spacing of at least 1.5. A handful of items can be single-spaced — the caption, headings, longer quotations, footnotes, the certificate of service, and the signature block. The font, footnotes included, must be at least 13-point Times New Roman.

For parties who can’t file electronically, the rule preserves a paper track: one-sided printing, a temporary binding like a rubber band or binder clip (no tape, staples, spiral binding, or edge sealing), and an allowance for exhibits larger than standard letter size. The formatting rules exist so that every filing, regardless of who submits it, looks and reads the same way in the court file.