AGENCY:

Advisory Committees on the Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rules of Evidence; Judicial Conference of the United States.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed amendments to the federal rules of practice and procedure.

SUMMARY:

The Advisory Committees of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure propose amending the federal rules of practice and procedure. The proposed amendments to Appellate Rule 25, Bankruptcy Rules 5005, 8011, 9006, 9036, Civil Rules 5 and 6, and Criminal Rules 45 and 49 relate to the ability of self-represented litigants to use a federal court's electronic filing system to file and serve documents. The proposed amendments to Bankruptcy Rule 9037, Civil Rule 5.2, and Criminal Rule 49.1 relate to enhanced protection of taxpayer identification numbers and minors' names in public court filings. Other proposed amendments include: Bankruptcy Rule 2003 (relating to meetings of creditors); Civil Rule 55 (relating to the clerk's entry of default); Criminal Rules 11 and 32 (relating to pleas and sentencing); Evidence Rule 104 (relating to deciding preliminary issues of fact); and Evidence Rule 902(1) (relating to self-authentication of public records of federally recognized Indian tribes).

DATES:

Written comments: Written comments on the proposed rule amendments may be made any time on or after August 14, 2026, but must be received by February 15, 2027.

Requests to testify at public hearings: Any request to testify at one of the public hearings set forth below must be received by December 8, 2026, regardless of the hearing date.

Public hearings: Unless cancelled due to lack of requests for public testimony, hearings will be held virtually on the following dates:

• Appellate Rules: January 25, 2027; additional day on February 1, 2027, if needed.
• Bankruptcy Rules: January 8, 2027; additional day on February 9, 2027, if needed.
• Civil Rules: January 13, 2027; additional day on January 26, 2027, if needed.
• Criminal Rules: January 20, 2027; additional day on January 27, 2027, if needed.
• Evidence Rules: January 11, 2027; additional day on January 28, 2027, if needed.

Requests to observe: Individuals who wish to observe one or more of the above public hearings must register before 4 p.m. EST on the day before the hearing date.

ADDRESSES:

Requests to testify or observe must be made in writing by emailing the request prior to the deadlines noted above to: RulesCommittee_Secretary@ao.uscourts.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carolyn A. Dubay, Esq., Chief Counsel, Rules Committee Staff, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, One Columbus Circle NE, Suite 7-300, Washington, DC 20544, Phone (202) 502-1820, RulesCommittee_Secretary@ao.uscourts.gov.