A general motion form is the document you file to ask a judge for a specific ruling during an ongoing case when no dedicated court form exists for your request. To fill it out, you need a correct case caption, a clear statement of exactly what you want the judge to do, the legal rule or statute that authorizes the relief, and your signature. To file it, you upload or deliver it to the clerk, pay any required fee, and serve a copy on every other party in the case with a certificate showing how and when you served them.
When You Use a General Motion Form
Courts keep preprinted forms for routine filings like a change of address or a notice of appearance, but most substantive requests to a judge go on a general motion. Common uses include asking for a continuance when the hearing date no longer works, asking the court to order the other side to produce documents or answer interrogatories they’ve been ignoring, and asking to extend a scheduling-order deadline such as an expert-witness disclosure cutoff.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 16 – Pretrial Conferences; Scheduling; Management Less common uses include asking to quash a subpoena, requesting permission to file an oversized brief, asking to seal documents, or asking the judge to reconsider a prior ruling. If the court needs to act and no preprinted form exists, this is the right vehicle.
Where to Get the Form
Start with the website of the court handling your case. Most state judicial branches post a fillable PDF version, and courthouse self-help centers keep printed copies along with completion guides. Federal courts using CM/ECF typically don’t provide a blank template. You draft the motion as a standalone document following local formatting rules, then upload it. Self-help centers staffed by attorneys can walk you through the jurisdiction’s requirements without advising you on the merits of your case.
Try to Resolve It First
Many courts will reject a motion on sight if you haven’t first tried to work the dispute out with the other side. In federal court this is mandatory for discovery motions, and you must include a written certification that you tried in good faith to resolve the issue before asking the judge to step in.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 37 – Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions Skip this step and you risk having the motion denied and being ordered to pay the other side’s attorney fees for the wasted effort.
Even when no rule requires it, reaching out first is smart. Judges notice when a motion could have been avoided with a phone call, and that impression colors how they read the rest of your arguments. A short email or letter documenting your attempt, and the other side’s refusal, strengthens the motion if the court asks whether you tried to resolve things informally.
What Goes on the Form
Every motion has three structural pieces: the case caption, the body requesting relief, and the signature block. Getting any of these wrong can cause the clerk to reject the filing before it reaches the judge.
Case Caption
The caption sits at the top of the first page and identifies the case. Copy the party names exactly as they appear on the original complaint. Even if a name was misspelled there, consistency with the docket matters more than accuracy at this stage. Include the full case number assigned by the clerk, the court’s name, and the division or department if your jurisdiction uses one. A mismatched case number is the single most common reason a filing ends up in the wrong docket or gets returned unfiled.
Title and Body
Title the document clearly. “Plaintiff’s Motion for Extension of Discovery Deadlines” tells the judge and clerk exactly what’s inside. Vague titles like “Motion for Relief” slow processing and can send the filing to the wrong judge or department.
The body must do two things: state exactly what you want the judge to do, and explain why the court has the authority to do it.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 7 – Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions and Other Papers Be specific about the relief. “Grant a 30-day extension of the discovery deadline from July 15 to August 14” is useful. “Grant additional time” forces the judge to guess what you actually need. For the legal grounds, cite the rule or statute that authorizes the relief and briefly explain how your facts satisfy it. Keep the factual narrative tight. Only include what’s relevant to this particular request, not a recap of the entire case.
Many courts require a separate memorandum of law alongside the motion, arguing the legal analysis in more detail. Check your local rules. Some courts let you combine the motion and memorandum into a single document; others insist they be filed separately with distinct titles.
Signature Block
Every motion must be signed by at least one attorney of record, or by you personally if you’re representing yourself. The signature block has to include a printed name, address, email address, and telephone number. An unsigned motion gets struck from the record.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions The signature is a certification: that you’ve done a reasonable investigation, that the legal arguments are supported by existing law or a good-faith argument for changing it, and that the factual claims have evidentiary support.
What to Attach
A bare motion without evidence is just an argument. Most motions need supporting documents to give the judge something concrete to evaluate.
Declarations or Affidavits
When your motion relies on facts not already in the record (scheduling conflicts, failed settlement attempts, the other side’s refusal to cooperate) you need a sworn statement from someone with firsthand knowledge. Federal courts accept unsworn declarations signed under penalty of perjury as a substitute for notarized affidavits.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1746 – Unsworn Declarations Under Penalty of Perjury The declaration must end with language substantially similar to: “I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on [date].” That carries the same legal weight as a notarized affidavit.
A declaration from the attorney alone usually won’t work for authenticating documents, because the attorney often lacks personal knowledge of the underlying facts. Get the declaration from the person who actually witnessed the events or created the documents.
Exhibits
Attach copies of contracts, emails, letters, or other documents that support your position. Label each exhibit sequentially (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, or Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2) and refer to them by label in the body of the motion so the judge can follow along. If your motion and exhibits together exceed a dozen pages, some courts require a table of contents and an index. Documents that aren’t self-authenticating should be attached to a declaration from someone who can verify they’re genuine copies.
Proposed Order
Many courts require you to submit a proposed order with your motion, which is a draft of the exact ruling you want the judge to sign. Keep it simple and restate the relief in order format: “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant shall produce all documents responsive to Plaintiff’s Request No. 3 within 14 days of the date of this Order.” If the motion is unopposed, some courts will sign the proposed order without a hearing, which speeds things up considerably. Check local rules for whether a proposed order is mandatory or just encouraged in your court.
Filing and Serving the Motion
How to File
Most courts now require electronic filing through a portal like CM/ECF (federal) or a state equivalent. Upload the motion as a text-searchable PDF, not a scanned image, with no password protection. Leave at least two inches of blank space at the top of the first page so the court can stamp it electronically. You can also file by delivering the document to the clerk’s window or mailing it via certified mail, though paper filing is increasingly restricted to self-represented litigants who’ve received an exemption from e-filing.
Filing Fees
Whether you owe a fee depends on the court and the type of motion. Federal courts generally don’t charge a separate fee for motions filed during an existing case because the initial civil filing fee covers them. State courts vary widely. Some charge a flat motion fee, often in the range of $20 to $50, while others charge nothing for non-dispositive motions. If you can’t afford the fee, you can file an application to proceed without prepaying fees and costs, commonly called an in forma pauperis petition, which asks the court to waive the charge based on your finances.6United States Courts. Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (Short Form)
Serving the Other Side
A motion doesn’t count as properly filed until the opposing party has been served with a copy. You must serve every other party in the case, then attach a certificate of service to your filing that states who was served, when, and by what method. In federal court, filing through CM/ECF automatically serves any attorney registered as an e-filer in the case.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5 – Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers Service by other electronic means, like a direct email outside the court system, is only valid if the recipient previously consented to it in writing. For anyone who isn’t an e-filer, serve by first-class mail or hand delivery.
One detail people miss: electronic service isn’t effective if you learn it didn’t reach the person. A bounced email or a system notification that delivery failed means you haven’t served them, no matter what your certificate of service says.
What Happens After You File
Response and Reply
In federal court, a motion and notice of hearing must be served at least 14 days before the hearing date, unless the court sets a different schedule.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers The opposing party then files a written response within the time set by local rules, often 14 days, though this varies by court and motion type. After the opposition lands, you may file a reply addressing only the arguments raised in the response. Replies that introduce new arguments or new evidence are routinely struck.
How the Judge Decides
Judges resolve most non-dispositive motions on the papers, meaning they read the motion, the opposition, and the reply, then issue a written order without a hearing. More complex or contested motions may get a hearing date where both sides argue orally. Either way, the judge issues a formal written order granting or denying the request, and that order becomes part of the case record.
Fee Exposure on Discovery Motions
Discovery motions carry a financial edge other motions don’t. If a court grants your motion to compel, the judge must order the losing side to pay your reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, unless the opposition was substantially justified or the award would be unjust.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 37 – Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions The same rule cuts the other way. If your motion to compel is denied, you may be ordered to pay the other side’s costs. This is where the meet-and-confer requirement earns its keep: filing a discovery motion without trying to resolve the dispute informally is one of the specific grounds that lets the court deny you fees even if you win.
If Your Motion Is Denied
A denial isn’t always the end of the road. You can file a motion for reconsideration if you have a legitimate basis: new evidence that wasn’t previously available, a clear legal error, or a significant change in circumstances. In federal court, a motion to alter or amend the judgment must be filed within 28 days of the order to preserve your right to appeal. Simply disagreeing with the judge’s reasoning is not grounds for reconsideration, and courts treat these motions with skepticism. Use them sparingly.
Don’t File a Motion You Can’t Back Up
Filing a motion you know is baseless, or filing one to drive up the other side’s legal costs, can backfire badly. When you sign a motion, you certify that it has a legitimate legal and factual basis and isn’t being filed to harass or delay.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions If a court finds you violated that certification, sanctions can include orders to pay the other side’s attorney fees, monetary penalties paid to the court, or non-monetary directives designed to prevent the behavior from happening again.
There is a built-in safety valve. Before filing a sanctions motion with the court, the opposing party must serve it on you and wait 21 days. During that window you can withdraw or fix the problematic filing and avoid sanctions entirely. If a judge initiates the sanctions process on their own, that 21-day grace period doesn’t apply. Never file a motion unless you genuinely believe the facts and law support it, and pull it back quickly if you realize it doesn’t hold up.