Perfecting an Appeal in the New York Appellate Division: Record, Brief, and Deadlines by Department

Filing a notice of appeal is only the first step in a New York appeal. The appeal does not move forward — and can ultimately be dismissed — until the appellant perfects it. Perfecting an appeal means assembling and filing the record on appeal (or appendix), filing a brief that complies with the Appellate Division's format rules, paying the required fee, and doing all of it within the deadline set by the statewide Practice Rules of the Appellate Divisions, 22 NYCRR Part 1250, as supplemented by each Department's local rules. This page explains each component concretely, with the governing rule citations and worked examples of the deadlines.

The Six-Month Deadline to Perfect: 22 NYCRR 1250.9(a)

Under 22 NYCRR 1250.9(a), an appellant must perfect a civil appeal within six months of the date of the notice of appeal (or the date of the order granting leave to appeal, or the order of transfer, whichever applies). This six-month clock is the single most important date in appellate practice, because failure to perfect on time subjects the appeal to dismissal under 22 NYCRR 1250.10(a) — in the Second Department, dismissal for failure to perfect is frequently automatic once the deadline passes without an extension in place.

Worked example: You serve and file a notice of appeal on March 10. Under Rule 1250.9(a), you must perfect the appeal — meaning the record or appendix and your appellant's brief must be filed with the court, with proof of service — on or before September 10. If September 10 falls on a weekend or court holiday, General Construction Law § 25-a extends the deadline to the next business day.

Extending the Time to Perfect

The rules permit limited relief. Under 22 NYCRR 1250.9(b), the parties may stipulate to extend the time to perfect by no more than 60 days, and the stipulation must be filed with the court. Any further extension requires a motion under 22 NYCRR 1250.4, made before the perfection deadline expires and supported by a showing of good cause. Practically, courts expect counsel to move early; waiting until the six-month date has passed converts a routine extension request into a motion to vacate a dismissal, which demands a reasonable excuse for the default and a showing of merit.

Component One: The Record on Appeal

The Appellate Division decides appeals on a closed record. The contents of a full record on appeal are dictated by CPLR 5526: the notice of appeal, the judgment or order appealed from, the decision underlying it, the transcript of the proceedings (if any), all papers and exhibits upon which the judgment or order was founded, and a statement pursuant to CPLR 5531. The record must be certified as correct — typically by stipulation of the parties under CPLR 5532, by certification of the clerk, or by the attorney's certification permitted in the Departments' rules.

Where there was a trial or evidentiary hearing, the transcript must first be settled. Under CPLR 5525(c), the appellant serves the transcript on the respondent, who has 15 days to propose amendments or objections; disputes are settled by the judge or referee who presided. Skipping settlement is a common and costly error — an unsettled transcript can result in rejection of the record at filing.

New York also permits alternatives to the full record: the appendix method under CPLR 5528(a)(5), in which the parties reproduce only the portions of the record necessary to decide the issues raised, and the agreed statement in lieu of record under CPLR 5527. The appendix method can substantially reduce reproduction costs in appeals from lengthy trials, but an inadequate appendix risks dismissal or affirmance for failure to provide a reviewable record. For a deeper treatment of assembling, settling, and certifying the record, see our page on the New York record on appeal.

Component Two: The Appellant's Brief

The content requirements for briefs are set by CPLR 5528 and the format requirements by 22 NYCRR 1250.8. An appellant's brief must contain a table of contents, a concise statement of the questions presented (with the answer of the court below), a statement of the nature of the case and facts with citations to the record, and the argument divided under appropriate point headings.

Key format rules under 22 NYCRR 1250.8 include:

• Word limits: computer-generated principal briefs (appellant's and respondent's) may not exceed 14,000 words; reply briefs and amicus briefs may not exceed 7,000 words. A certification of compliance stating the word count is required.
• Typography: a serif, proportionally spaced typeface of at least 14 points for body text (12 points for footnotes), with required margins and double spacing of text.
• Record citations: every factual assertion must be supported by a citation to the record or appendix; unsupported factual statements may be disregarded or stricken.

Persuasive structure matters as much as compliance. Issue selection, preservation analysis, and standard-of-review framing determine outcomes far more often than volume of argument. Our page on the appellate brief covers drafting strategy in detail.

Respondent and Reply Deadlines

Once the appeal is perfected, 22 NYCRR 1250.9(f) sets the remaining briefing schedule: the respondent's brief is due within 30 days after service of the appellant's brief, and any reply brief is due within 10 days after service of the respondent's brief. Continuing the example above: if the appeal is perfected and the appellant's brief is served on September 10, the respondent's brief is due October 10, and the reply is due 10 days after the respondent's brief is served.

Department-by-Department Differences

Although Part 1250 harmonized practice statewide in 2018, each Department retains local rules and distinct case-management cultures that affect how you perfect.

First Department (Manhattan and the Bronx)

The Appellate Division, First Department supplements Part 1250 with its local rules at 22 NYCRR Part 600. The First Department calendars appeals by terms of court, so the date you perfect determines the term — and thus the argument date — your appeal receives. Perfecting well before the six-month deadline can advance your argument by months. The First Department also actively enforces its interim-relief and CPLR 5519 stay practice, so appellants seeking a stay pending appeal should coordinate the perfection timeline with any motion practice.

Second Department (Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley counties)

The Appellate Division, Second Department supplements Part 1250 with 22 NYCRR Part 670. The Second Department is known for strict enforcement of the six-month rule and for dismissing unperfected appeals under 22 NYCRR 1250.10 without a motion by the respondent. Given the court's heavy caseload, scheduling orders and active case management are increasingly common, and counsel should docket every date defensively.

Third and Fourth Departments

The Third and Fourth Departments likewise apply the six-month rule of 1250.9(a) with their own local supplements (22 NYCRR Parts 850 and 1000, respectively), including their own preferences on the appendix method and digital submissions. Appeals in these Departments follow the same core CPLR record and brief requirements described above.

Appeals Below the Appellate Division

Not every appeal goes to the Appellate Division. Appeals from the New York City Civil Court, and from certain other lower courts, are heard by the Appellate Term, which has its own perfection rules and deadlines — an important distinction when calendaring.

Electronic Filing and Fees

Most civil appeals must now be filed electronically through NYSCEF pursuant to 22 NYCRR 1245.1 et seq., with digital copies of the record and briefs in text-searchable PDF format complying with the Departments' technical guidelines. The statutory filing fee for perfecting a civil appeal is $315 under CPLR 8022(b), payable when the record or appendix and brief are filed, unless the appellant is exempt or granted poor person relief under CPLR 1101.

A Practical Perfection Checklist

1. Docket the six-month deadline from the notice of appeal date on the day the notice is filed.
2. Order the transcript immediately and calendar the CPLR 5525(c) settlement window.
3. Choose the record method — full record, appendix, or agreed statement — based on cost and the issues to be raised.
4. Draft the brief to CPLR 5528 and 22 NYCRR 1250.8 specifications, with word-count certification.
5. File any 1250.9(b) stipulation (maximum 60 days) or extension motion before the deadline, never after.
6. Confirm NYSCEF filing, fee payment, and proof of service the same day you perfect.

For a step-by-step overview of the entire process from notice of appeal through oral argument, visit our companion page on perfecting an appeal in New York.

You can contact us by phone at 212-233-1233 or by email at [email protected].