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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Title I

1 Scope and Purpose
2 One Form of Action

Title II

3 Commencing an Action
4 Summons D
4.1 Serving Other Process D
5 Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers D
5.1 Constitutional Challenge to a Statute—Notice, Certification, and Intervention D
5.2 Privacy Protection For Filings Made with the Court
6 Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers D

Title III

7 Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions and Other Papers
7.1 Disclosure Statement
8 General Rules of Pleading
9 Pleading Special Matters D
10 Form of Pleadings
11 Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions D
12 Defenses and Objections: When and How Presented; Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings; Consolidating Motions; Waiving Defenses; Pretrial Hearing D
13 Counterclaim and Crossclaim
14 Third-Party Practice D
15 Amended and Supplemental Pleadings D
16 Pretrial Conferences; Scheduling; Management D

Title IV

17 Plaintiff and Defendant; Capacity; Public Officers
18 Joinder of Claims
19 Required Joinder of Parties
20 Permissive Joinder of Parties
21 Misjoinder and Nonjoinder of Parties
22 Interpleader
23 Class Actions D
23.1 Derivative Actions
23.2 Actions Relating to Unincorporated Associations
24 Intervention
25 Substitution of Parties D

Title V

26 Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery D
27 Depositions to Perpetuate Testimony D
28 Persons Before Whom Depositions May Be Taken
29 Stipulations About Discovery Procedure
30 Depositions by Oral Examination D
31 Depositions by Written Questions D
32 Using Depositions in Court Proceedings D
33 Interrogatories to Parties D
34 Producing Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Tangible Things, or Entering onto Land, for Inspection and Other Purposes D
35 Physical and Mental Examinations
36 Requests for Admission D
37 Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions

Title VI

38 Right to a Jury Trial; Demand D
39 Trial by Jury or by the Court
40 Scheduling Cases for Trial
41 Dismissal of Actions
42 Consolidation; Separate Trials
43 Taking Testimony
44 Proving an Official Record
44.1 Determining Foreign Law
45 Subpoena D
46 Objecting to a Ruling or Order
47 Selecting Jurors
48 Number of Jurors; Verdict; Polling
49 Special Verdict; General Verdict and Questions
50 Judgment as a Matter of Law in a Jury Trial; Related Motion for a New Trial; Conditional Ruling D
51 Instructions to the Jury; Objections; Preserving a Claim of Error
52 Findings and Conclusions by the Court; Judgment on Partial Findings D
53 Masters D

Title VII

54 Judgment; Costs D
55 Default; Default Judgment D
56 Summary Judgment D
57 Declaratory Judgment
58 Entering Judgment D
59 New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment D
60 Relief from a Judgment or Order
61 Harmless Error
62 Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment D
62.1 Indicative Ruling on a Motion for Relief That is Barred by a Pending Appeal
63 Judge’s Inability to Proceed

Title VIII

64 Seizing a Person or Property
65 Injunctions and Restraining Orders D
65.1 Proceedings Against a Security Provider
66 Receivers
67 Deposit into Court
68 Offer of Judgment D
69 Execution

Title IX

70 Enforcing a Judgment for a Specific Act
71 Enforcing Relief For or Against a Nonparty
71.1 Condemning Real or Personal Property D
72 Magistrate Judges: Pretrial Order D
73 Magistrate Judges: Trial by Consent; Appeal
74 [Abrogated (Apr. 11, 1997, eff. Dec. 1, 1997).]
75 [Abrogated (Apr. 11, 1997, eff. Dec. 1, 1997).]
76 [Abrogated (Apr. 11, 1997, eff. Dec. 1, 1997).]

Title X

77 Conducting Business; Clerk’s Authority; Notice of an Order or Judgment
78 Hearing Motions; Submission on Briefs
79 Records Kept by the Clerk
80 Stenographic Transcript as Evidence

Title XI

81 Applicability of the Rules in General; Removed Actions D
82 Jurisdiction and Venue Unaffected
83 Rules by District Courts; Judge’s Directives
84 [Abrogated (Apr. 29, 2015, eff. Dec. 1, 2015).]
85 Title
86 Effective Dates
87 Civil Rules Emergency D

Supplemental Rules

A Scope of Rules
B In Personam Actions: Attachment and Garnishment D
C In Rem Actions: Special Provisions D
D Possessory, Petitory, and Partition Actions
E Actions in Rem and Quasi in Rem: General Provisions
F Limitation of Liability D
G Forfeiture Actions In Rem D

Historical version:

View current (2025) →

Title II · Commencing an Action; Service of Process; Time

Rule 3. Commencement of Action

Version effective 2006

A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court.

added in current removed in current Compared to current version (2025).

A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court. (As amended Apr. 30, 2007, eff. Dec. 1, 2007.)

Source: Official FRCP PDF , p. 25.