5th Cir. R. 11.3 — Duty of the Clerk

High confidence· verified September 26, 2026Local Rules

Summary

5th Cir. R. 11.3 — Duty of the Clerk: the court's own rule, verbatim from RULES and INTERNAL OPERATING PROCEDURES OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT (December 2025), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies to appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit alongside the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Requirement

The district court clerk is responsible for determining when the record on appeal is complete for purposes of the appeal. Unless the record on appeal is sent to this court within 15 days from the filing of the notice of appeal or 15 days after the filing of the transcript of any trial proceedings, whichever is later, the district court clerk must advise the clerk of this court of the reasons for delay and request an extension to file the record. The clerk of this court may grant an extension for no more than 45 days. Extensions beyond 45 days are referred to a single judge. When transmitting the record on appeal in a direct criminal appeal involving more than one defendant, the district court must separate and identify the pleadings and any transcripts of pre-trial, sentencing, and post-trial hearings that apply to fewer than all of the defendants. However, only one copy of the trial transcript is required. In an action involving more than one defendant at trial but where separate actions are filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, the district court must separate and identify the pleadings and transcripts of pre-trial, sentencing, and post-trial hearings that apply to less than all of the defendants. One copy of the trial transcript is required for each defendant filing a separate § 2255 action.

Source of truth

The district court clerk is responsible for determining when the record on appeal is complete for purposes of the appeal. Unless the record on appeal is sent to this court within 15 days from the filing of the notice of appeal or 15 days after the filing of the transcript of any

Official source: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit (Rules & Procedures)
Source health: Healthy · checked October 4, 2026
Effective date: —
Last verified: September 26, 2026benchpath-appfed-rules-2026-09-25

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