The record on appeal is the official set of trial court materials that an appellate court uses to decide an appeal. Under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, it consists of the original papers and exhibits filed in the trial court, the transcript of proceedings, and a certified copy of the docket entries.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 10 – The Record on Appeal Appellate judges do not hear witnesses or take new evidence. They work from this record and nothing else, which is why assembling it accurately is one of the first and most important jobs for anyone pursuing an appeal.
What the Record Contains
The record captures everything that happened in the trial court, from the first filing to the final judgment. Contents vary by case, but the core pieces are consistent across federal and most state courts:
- Pleadings, including the complaint, answer, and any amended versions.
- Motions and the judge’s rulings on them, including pretrial evidentiary rulings, summary judgment decisions, and jury instructions.
- Trial transcripts prepared by the court reporter, covering testimony, arguments, objections, bench conferences, and the judge’s oral rulings.
- Exhibits admitted into evidence, such as contracts, photographs, emails, or medical records.
- The final judgment or order being challenged.
- Docket entries, a certified log of every filing and event in the case, prepared by the trial court clerk.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 10 – The Record on Appeal
Sealed or confidential materials, such as grand jury transcripts, trade secrets, or juvenile records, stay part of the record but travel under special handling, usually in separate sealed volumes.
Why the Record Is the Whole Universe of the Appeal
Appellate courts do not retry cases. They review the trial record for legal errors, and they are generally limited to what appears within it. If evidence was never offered at trial, if an argument was never raised before the judge, or if an objection was never made on the record, the appellate court usually will not consider it. What is not in the record essentially does not exist for purposes of the appeal.
This is tied to a doctrine lawyers call preservation. To challenge a ruling on appeal, a party generally must have raised the issue in the trial court and obtained a ruling. An objection to a piece of evidence needs to appear in the transcript. A legal argument needs to appear in a motion or in the oral record. If the trial court never had a chance to address the issue, the appellate court will typically treat it as forfeited.
There is a narrow exception. Appellate courts can sometimes review errors that were never raised below if those errors qualify as “plain error,” meaning the mistake was obvious, affected the outcome, and seriously undermined the fairness of the proceedings. Relief on plain error is granted sparingly. The safer course is making sure every issue you might want to appeal is clearly preserved in the trial record.
How the Record Gets Built
Building the record is the appellant’s responsibility, and it starts right after the notice of appeal is filed. The job has two main parts: designating the documents and ordering the transcripts.
Designating the Documents
The appellant files a designation of record with the trial court clerk specifying which papers, exhibits, and proceedings should be included. The opposing party then gets to designate additional items. This matters because a one-sided record can hurt both sides. The appellant wants everything that shows the trial court erred; the appellee wants everything that shows it did not.
Ordering Transcripts
In federal appeals, the appellant must order transcripts from the court reporter within 14 days of filing the notice of appeal. The order must be in writing, and a copy must be filed with the trial court clerk. If no transcripts are needed, the appellant files a certificate saying so.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 10 – The Record on Appeal The 14-day window is tight, and missing it can jeopardize the appeal.
Transcripts are often the most expensive part of the process. Federal court reporters charge per page at rates set by the Judicial Conference, with expedited turnaround costing more than ordinary delivery.2United States Courts. Federal Court Reporting Program A multi-week trial can run into thousands of pages and tens of thousands of dollars.
Appellants who cannot afford these costs have options. Under federal law, transcript fees for parties proceeding in forma pauperis can be covered by the government if a judge certifies that the appeal is not frivolous and presents a substantial question.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 753 – Court Reporters In criminal cases, the Criminal Justice Act covers transcript costs for defendants who qualify for appointed counsel. Many state courts offer similar fee-waiver programs.
When No Transcript Exists
Sometimes a transcript simply is not available. The court reporter’s notes may have been lost, or the proceeding may not have been recorded at all. The federal rules offer two alternatives.
The first lets the appellant prepare a narrative statement of the evidence and proceedings from the best available information, including personal recollection. The statement gets served on the opposing party, who has 14 days to object or propose changes. The trial court then settles any disputes, approves a final version, and the clerk includes it in the record.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 10 – The Record on Appeal It is less reliable than a verbatim transcript, but it keeps the appeal alive.
The second option is an agreed statement. Both parties jointly prepare and sign a summary showing how the issues arose and were decided, covering only the facts essential to the appeal. If the trial court finds it truthful, the court approves and certifies it as the record on appeal.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure – Rule 10(d)
Correcting the Record
Records are assembled by humans, and mistakes happen. A transcript page goes missing, a key exhibit gets left out, or the record misstates what occurred. Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 10(e) provides a mechanism for fixing these problems at any stage. If the parties agree on the correction, they can stipulate to it. If they disagree about what actually happened, the trial court resolves the dispute and orders the record corrected. The appellate court can also order corrections on its own.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 10 – The Record on Appeal
This matters more than it looks. Appellate courts presume the record is correct and complete. If something is missing and you never move to supplement, the court will decide based on what it has. Where the missing material would have supported your argument, the court may rule against you on that issue. Checking the record for accuracy before briefing begins is a step that separates careful appellate practice from the kind that loses winnable cases.
The Record Is Not the Appendix
In many federal appeals, the parties also prepare a joint appendix, a curated selection of the most important parts of the record bound and filed with the briefs. The appendix is not the record. It is a convenience tool that puts the key documents in front of the judges so they do not have to search the entire file.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 30 – Appendix to the Briefs
The appendix includes the relevant docket entries, the pertinent portions of the pleadings, the judgment or order on appeal, and any other parts of the record the parties want the court to focus on. It opens with a table of contents and runs chronologically. Parties should not dump the entire record into the appendix. The rules warn against unnecessary designation, and the full record remains available to the court if something was left out.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 30 – Appendix to the Briefs
Getting the Record to the Appellate Court
Once the record is complete, the trial court clerk numbers every document, prepares a corresponding index, and sends the package to the appellate court clerk. Federal rules require the clerk to do this “promptly,” without setting a specific day count.6Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 11 – Forwarding the Record In some courts, the clerk forwards only a certified index, and the appellate court accesses the files electronically through the federal court filing system. Once the record is filed with the appellate court, the briefing clock begins to run.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 31 – Serving and Filing Briefs