Under California Rule of Court 8.124, an appendix is a bound set of the trial court documents that you, or you and the other side jointly, prepare and file directly with the Court of Appeal in lieu of a clerk’s transcript. It carries the same documents the clerk would otherwise assemble, but the work of gathering, indexing, and transmitting the record shifts to the parties. Every civil appeal needs either a clerk’s transcript under Rule 8.122 or an appendix under Rule 8.124.1California Rules of Court, Rule 8.124
When an Appendix Is Used Instead of a Clerk’s Transcript
When you file the notice of appeal, you also have to tell the court how the written record will reach the Court of Appeal. Electing an appendix means you take on preparation yourself. That can be faster than waiting on the clerk’s office, and it lets you control organization and pagination.
One quirk of the election is worth flagging. If the appellant chooses a clerk’s transcript and does not have a fee waiver, the respondent can override that choice by filing a notice electing an appendix within 10 days. Absent a superior court order to the contrary, the respondent’s election controls.
Designating the Record
Within 10 days after filing the notice of appeal, serve and file a notice in the superior court designating the record. You can combine it with the notice of appeal. The designation must state which format you’re using and identify each document you want in the record by title and filing date. If the filing date isn’t available, the date the document was signed will do.
The respondent then has 10 days after service of your designation to add any documents they want included. If the respondent wants the appellate court to see something you left out, this is the window.
What the Appendix Must Contain
Certain documents are mandatory in every appendix, whether or not anyone designates them:
- The notice of appeal.
- The judgment or order being appealed, and any notice of its entry.
- Any notice of intention to move for a new trial, any motion to vacate the judgment, any motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and any motion for reconsideration of an appealed order, together with the court’s ruling and notice of entry on each.
- Any notice or stipulation about preparing the clerk’s or reporter’s transcript, or proceeding by agreed or settled statement.
- The register of actions, if one exists.2California Rules of Court, Rule 8.122(b)(1)
Beyond the mandatory items, any party can designate other documents from the superior court file: pleadings, motions, declarations, opposition papers, written jury instructions, or anything else relevant to the issues on appeal.
Exhibits
Exhibits run on a separate track. All exhibits admitted into evidence, refused, or lodged in the trial court are automatically deemed part of the appellate record whether or not anyone lists them. To get a physical copy of an exhibit included in the appendix itself, though, you must identify that exhibit by number or letter in the designation notice. If the superior court has already returned a designated exhibit to a party, that party must deliver it back to the clerk within 10 days after the designation notice is served.
What Won’t Be Included Without an Order
Two categories stay out unless a court order or stipulation says otherwise: the original of a deposition (except portions presented into evidence under Rule 2.1040) and the record of an administrative proceeding admitted, refused, or lodged in the trial court.
Format Requirements
An appendix must follow the formatting standards in Rule 8.144. Pages are numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals starting from the cover page of volume one, running through indexes, certificates, and every subsequent volume cover.3California Rules of Court, Rule 8.144
The first volume must include both an alphabetical and a chronological index, each listing every document and the volume and page number where it appears.
Electronic Filing
An electronic appendix must be filed as a text-searchable PDF. A scanned non-searchable PDF is acceptable only where a document cannot practicably be made text-searchable.
Bookmarks are required. Every electronic filing needs bookmarks to each heading, subheading, and the first page of every component, including the table of contents, declarations, exhibits, and attachments. For an appendix specifically, add bookmarks to the indexes and to the first page of each separate exhibit or attachment, including exhibits nested inside other exhibits. Each bookmark must briefly describe what it links to.
Individual electronic files cannot exceed 25 megabytes. Larger records must be split into multiple files of 25 megabytes or less. The first file must include a master chronological and alphabetical index covering the whole set, and each file’s cover page must state the file number, the total number of files, the volumes contained in that file, and the page range.
Augmenting or Correcting the Record
Documents get left out. Rule 8.155 is how you fix it.4California Rules of Court, Rule 8.155
If a required or designated document is missing, serve and file a notice in the superior court identifying what’s missing and asking the clerk to prepare, certify, and send it to the Court of Appeal. Serve a copy on the reviewing court as well. The clerk has 10 days. If nothing happens, you can then move to augment the record in the Court of Appeal, attaching a copy of the notice you filed below.
The Court of Appeal can order the record augmented at any time, on a party’s motion or on its own. A motion to augment can add any document filed or lodged in the superior court, or a certified transcript of oral proceedings that was not originally designated. Attach a copy of whatever you want added, or, if you cannot, identify it by title and filing date. The appellate court can also order corrections to any part of the record or send the dispute back to the superior court to sort out what was omitted or inaccurate.
What Happens If You Miss a Deadline
Missing a designation deadline or, for a clerk’s transcript, failing to pay the required deposit triggers the default process under Rule 8.140. Dismissal isn’t automatic. The superior court clerk first mails a default notice telling you what to do and giving you 15 days to cure. Fix the problem in that window and the appeal proceeds. Ignore it and the clerk notifies the Court of Appeal, which may dismiss. The appellate court has discretion to vacate a dismissal for good cause, but that is not a plan.
Rule 8.60 separately allows the reviewing court to grant relief from default for good cause for any failure to comply with the appellate rules, with one absolute exception: the failure to file a timely notice of appeal. No court can extend or excuse that deadline. For every other misstep, moving quickly and giving the court a legitimate reason is your best shot at relief.5California Rules of Court, Rule 8.60