District court — civil · Motions
Motion for Leave to Amend (Rule 15)
Seeks permission to amend a pleading.
Filed by: Any party
Not yet verified. Compiled from the national rules and not yet verified by a reviewing attorney. The national rules are amended each December 1, and local rules, standing orders and judges' practices add to them. Confirm with the current rules before filing. This is not legal advice.
What it must include
- Caption: court name, title of the action, file number and document designation (FRCP 10(a))
- Motion and grounds (FRCP 7(b))
- Proposed amended pleading attached (required by many local rules)
- Redline comparison (required by some local rules)
- Proposed order (required by many local rules)
- Signature of attorney of record with address, email and phone (FRCP 11(a))
- Certificate of service, unless served through the court’s electronic-filing system on registered users (FRCP 5(d)(1)(B))
Deadline and length
Deadline: Amendment once as a matter of course is allowed within 21 days after serving, or 21 days after service of a responsive pleading or Rule 12(b), (e) or (f) motion (FRCP 15(a)(1)); otherwise by consent or leave. After a scheduling-order deadline, good cause is required (FRCP 16(b)(4)).
Governing rules
- FRCP 15(a)(2)
- FRCP 16(b)(4)
Check the local rules for
- Font, spacing, margin and page-limit rules
- Hearing / notice-of-motion procedure and briefing schedule
- Meet-and-confer certification before filing
- Assigned judge’s individual practices or standing orders
Applies in federal district courts. Find your court for its local requirements.
Other motions
Draft this filing in DraftAria.
Court-formatted template with this checklist built in, and brackets where your matter details go.