Notice Of Appeal Form For Pro se Litigants

(YOUR NAME)
(YOUR STREET ADDRESS)
(YOUR CITY/STATE/ZIP)
(YOUR PHONE NUMBER)
Appellant, In Propria Persona
(NAME OF COURT WHERE
JUDGMENT/DECREE TO BE APPEALED WAS ENTERED)
(CAPTION OF YOUR CASE; Edit to make it look similar to documents filed in your case)

_____________________________________)
_____________________________________) No. (CASE NUMBER
OF CASE
_____________________________________) IN WHICH JUDGMENT
TO BE
_____________________________________) APPEALED WAS
ENTERED)
_____________________________________)
_____________________________________)
_____________________________________) NOTICE OF APPEAL
_____________________________________)
_____________________________________)
_____________________________________)

NOTICE IS GIVEN that (YOUR NAME) hereby Appeals from the

(Judgment/Decree/Decision, etc.) entered herein on (DATE JUDGMENT

WAS SIGNED) by the Honorable (NAME OF JUDGE OR JUDICIAL

OFFICIAL

WHO SIGNED JUDGMENT) in the above-captioned action.

Dated:(DATE)_______________________
_____________________________
(YOUR NAME)
(YOUR STREET ADDRESS)
(YOUR CITY/STATE/ZIP)
(YOUR PHONE NUMBER)
Appellant, In Propria Persona

Original filed with the

Clerk of this Court, along
with any fees required by the clerk,
and copies mailed/delivered on
this date (DATE OF FILING/MAILING) to:
(NAME AND ADDRESS OF OTHER PARTY OR ATTORNEY FOR OTHER PARTY)
(NAME AND ADDRESS OF JUDGE WHO SIGNED THE JUDGMENT APPEALED FROM)
(OTHER PARTIES WHO RECEIVED COPIES IN THIS CASE)

Instructions And Precautions For Use

Of The Nolawyer Notice Of Appeal

1. NEVER assume that a universal document is correct for your state

and court; try to determine BEFORE YOU FILE if the above form will be
acceptable to the Clerk of your court. It is believed by NOLAWYER to
contain the minimum basic elements for the filing of a notice of appeal
anywhere, but no guarantees of format, sufficiency or acceptability are
made.

2. Find out IMMEDIATELY how many days you have from the date of
signing of your Judgment/Decree or other FINAL order to file a Notice of
Appeal. In some courts and in some kinds of cases, it can be 10, 20 or
30 days. IF YOU WAIT BEYOND THE APPEAL PERIOD FOR YOUR
CASE, YOU HAVE LOST YOUR RIGHT OF APPEAL AND CANNOT
FILE THE NOTICE. SPEED IS CRUCIAL!!!!

3. Check with the Clerk of Court as to where the Notice of Appeal and
subsequent papers are to be filed. In most instances, the initial Notice of
Appeal is filed in the Court that issued the Judgment or Decree that you
are appealing, not in the higher appeals court. Later papers may go to
the higher court, depending upon procedures in your state. Ask the Clerk
to be sure!
4. The Clerk may, instead of accepting this form, require that you use the
Clerk's own provided form. Go with the flow. Fill out theirs, if that's what
they want. What's important is to FILE A TIMELY NOTICE OF APPEAL
TO STOP THE CLOCK FROM RUNNING.

4. You may be required, depending on your state and court rules, to pay
various fees or bonds along with the Notice of Appeal. The Clerk should
be able to tell you what these are. There may be a simple Appeal Filing
Fee. If the judgment you are appealing requires you to pay a sum of
money, the filing of the Notice of Appeal alone may not stop the other
party's right to collect. A "supersedeas bond" in the amount of the
judgment or larger may be required to be posted in order to stop
collection or execution ofthe judgment while it is on appeal.

5. To carry through your appeal, be prepared to arrange and pay for, if

necessary, the preparation of a complete Court Reporter's Transcript of
what was said at your trial, if any, and possibly to pay for the Clerk's
photocopy costs required to send the Appeals Court a copy of the file
(the papers filed by both sides plus notations or memoranda placed into
the file by the Court itself. You may be required to obtain a "docket" or
listing of the papers already in your court file, originals or copies of which
will be sent up to the higher court. In some instances, you may save a
portion of the clerk's photocopying expense by giving the clerk a clearly
prepared list of only those docket papers which you wish to have the
court of appeals refer to. Safest is to let all the court's docketed papers
be transmitted to the higher court.

6. EITHER you will be sent a "briefing schedule" telling when your

"Opening Brief" will be due, or your state may have a fixed number of
days (usually more than 30) AFTER the Notice of Appeal is filed, in
which you must prepare and file your Opening Brief. Beware! Failure to
pay fees or to timely file the Opening Brief may result in permanent
dismissal of your Appeal. Sometimes a written motion for extension of
time will succeed in delaying the briefing schedule, BUT THE NUMBER
OF DAYS FOR FILING THE NOTICE OF APPEAL IN MOST CASES
CANNOT BE EXTENDED.