In Re: Amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure

Summary

Acting on a report from The Florida Bar's Appellate Court Rules Committee, the Supreme Court of Florida adopted proposed amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.020 (Definitions), 9.045 (Form of Documents), 9.200 (The Record), and 9.420 (Filing; Service of Copies; Computation of Time). The amendments conform the appellate rules to the 2025 changes to the Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration: they delete the outdated 'E-filing System Docket' definition in rule 9.020, remove outdated cross-references and electronic-record references tied to the former e-filing docket, require paper filings to be held together by removable paper clips, and restructure rule 9.420's filing and service provisions by adding a new service-of-filed-documents subdivision, substituting 'unrepresented' for 'pro se,' and retitling the proof-of-service provision as 'Certificate of Service.' The amendments take effect July 1, 2026, at 12:01 a.m., and the filing of a motion for rehearing will not alter that date. All seven Justices concurred; no separate opinions were filed.