Rule 12 - Docketing of the appeal; docket fee; filing of the record(a) Docketing the Appeal and Docket Fee. The clerk of thetrial court shall send to the clerk of the appellate court towhich the appeal is taken a copy of the notice of appeal.Unless the notice of appeal is filed electronically, theappellant, in a civil case, shall accompany the copy of thenotice of appeal with payment to the clerk of the appellatecourt to which the appeal is taken a docket fee in the amountprescribed by Rule 35A, which shall be in lieu of otherappellate court costs, unless otherwise set by the court. Ifthe notice of appeal is filed electronically, then theappellant shall send directly to the clerk of the appellatecourt to which the appeal is taken a docket fee in the amountprescribed by Rule 35A, which shall be in lieu of otherappellate court costs, unless otherwise set by the court. Saidpayment must be received by the clerk of the appellate courtwithin seven days of the electronic filing of the notice ofappeal. The timeliness of the payment of the docket fee shallbe governed by Rule 25(a)(3).(b) Notice of the filing of the record. The clerk of the appellate court shall immediately give notice to all parties of the date on which the record on appeal was filed. (c) Dismissal for failure of appellant to cause timely completion of record. If the appellant shall fail to cause timely completion of the record, any appellee may file a motion in the appellate court to dismiss the appeal. The motion shall be supported by a certificate of the clerk of the trial court showing the date and substance of the judgment or order from which the appeal was taken, the date on which the notice of appeal was filed, the expiration date of any order extending the time for completing the record, and by proof of service.Amended 10-2-78, eff. 12/1/1978; amended July 1, 2019, effective 10/1/2019Committee Comments
Rule 12 provides that the appeal is considered to be docketed with the appellate court when the clerk files a copy of the notice of appeal with the clerk of the appellate court, and upon payment of a docket fee in the amount prescribed in Rule 35A. Certain appeals may cost more to process, and the rule provides that the court may set a higher docket fee to defray expenses in that event, e.g., utility and class action appeals may require a higher docket fee. The failure of a party to cause timely completion of the record may result in dismissal of the appeal upon motion. See Rule 2. The time for response to such motions and the form of the motion are to be in conformance with the general rules set out in Rule 27.
Court Comment to Amendment to Rule 12(a) Effective October 1, 2019
Rule 12(a) has been amended to require the appellant topay the docket fee to the clerk of the appropriate appellatecourt within seven days of the electronic filing of the noticeof appeal. The timeliness of the payment of the docket fee isgoverned by the same rules applicable to the filing of otherdocuments with the appellate courts. This amendment isconsistent with the amendments to Rule 3(a), (d), and (e) andRule 35A(a)(1) and (b). When sending the payment to theappellate court clerk, the appellant should identify theappeal to which the payment applies by enclosing a copy of thenotice of appeal and docketing statement or by some othermeans.
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