A stay pending appeal is a court order that pauses enforcement of a trial court’s judgment while the losing party appeals it. Without one, the winning party can start collecting money, seizing property, or enforcing whatever else the court ordered, even as your appeal is still being briefed. Filing an appeal does not, by itself, stop any of that. In most cases, you have to ask for a stay and give the court a reason to grant it.
The Automatic 30-Day Pause
Federal courts build in a short grace period before enforcement can begin. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 62(a), enforcement of a judgment is automatically stayed for 30 days after the judgment is entered.1Legal Information Institute. Rule 62 – Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment The clock starts immediately, and it runs whether or not you have filed your notice of appeal yet. Use it to decide your next move and get your paperwork together.
Not every judgment gets this pause. Injunctions, receivership orders, and patent accounting orders can be enforced right away unless the court specifically orders otherwise.1Legal Information Institute. Rule 62 – Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment If your appeal involves one of these, there is no automatic cushion, and you need to move for a stay quickly.
What You Have to Show
Once the 30-day window closes, keeping enforcement paused requires a court order. The Supreme Court confirmed in Nken v. Holder that courts weigh four factors when deciding whether to grant a stay pending appeal:2Library of Congress. Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418 (2009)
- A strong likelihood that you will win on appeal. Courts scrutinize this factor the most heavily.
- Irreparable harm to you if the stay is denied — harm that cannot be undone later, even if you eventually win.
- Whether a stay would seriously injure the party that won at trial.
- Whether a stay serves or undermines the public interest.
The first two factors do most of the work. If you cannot make a credible showing on likelihood of success and irreparable harm, most courts deny the stay without reaching the other factors.
Where to File the Motion
The request starts in the trial court, not the appellate court. Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 8 requires you to ask the trial judge first, which makes sense because that judge already knows the record.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 8 – Stay or Injunction Pending Appeal The motion should lay out why you are entitled to relief, include supporting affidavits, and attach the relevant parts of the record.
If the trial court denies the motion, you can take the request to the appellate court. When you do, your motion must either explain why going to the trial court first was impractical or describe the reasons the trial court gave for denying you.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 8 – Stay or Injunction Pending Appeal Skipping the trial court without a good reason is one of the quickest ways to lose on procedure alone.
In genuinely urgent situations, a single appellate judge can rule on the motion rather than a full panel.4United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 8 – Stay or Injunction Pending Appeal Courts treat that as an exceptional procedure, so expect to explain why the standard timeline will not work.
The Bond Route for Money Judgments
For money judgments, posting a bond is often the most direct path to a stay. Rule 62(b) allows a party to obtain a stay at any time after judgment by providing a bond or other security that the court approves.1Legal Information Institute. Rule 62 – Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment This is sometimes called a supersedeas bond. It guarantees that if your appeal fails, money will be available to pay the judgment plus interest and costs that accumulated during the appeal.
The bond amount typically equals the full judgment plus estimated interest and costs. Because the bond itself removes the risk of harm to the winning party, posting one lets you get a stay without arguing the four-factor test.
What a Bond Costs
A supersedeas bond is not a deposit you get back when the appeal ends. You pay a surety company an annual premium — typically around 1% of the bond amount, often with a minimum around $250 — and that premium is earned when paid. The bigger expense is collateral. Surety companies almost always require the full bond amount in collateral, usually a cashier’s check or an irrevocable letter of credit. One hundred percent collateral is the industry standard when there is any doubt about the appellant’s ability to pay, though partial collateral is sometimes negotiable on very large bonds.
What Happens to the Bond After the Appeal
If the appellant wins the appeal, the bond is exonerated and the collateral is released. If the appeal fails, the judgment creditor can demand payment. The appellant still has the primary obligation, but the surety stands behind the bond as guarantor. In practice, the surety contacts the appellant to confirm the claim and decide whether the appellant will pay directly or whether the surety will pay on the bond. Either way, the winning party gets paid.
If the Stay Is Granted
A granted stay freezes enforcement for the duration of the appeal. The winning party cannot garnish wages, place liens on property, or take any other collection action while the stay is in place. The order holds until the appellate court issues its mandate or the court orders otherwise.4United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 8 – Stay or Injunction Pending Appeal The point is to preserve the status quo so that whatever the appellate court decides still matters.
If the Stay Is Denied
When a stay is denied, the judgment is fully enforceable. The winning party can garnish bank accounts, levy property, record judgment liens, and pursue any other remedy the law allows. The appeal continues in parallel with enforcement rather than instead of it.
That creates an uncomfortable position. You may be paying a judgment you believe is wrong while also paying to appeal it. And if you win the appeal after already paying, recovering your money can become its own legal fight. That risk is why the stay decision carries so much weight, and why the bond option exists as a route that does not depend on persuading a judge you are likely to win.