Ohio App. R. 13

As amended through October 29, 2024

Rule 13 - Filing and Service

(A) Filing. Documents required or permitted to be filed in a court of appeals shall be filed with the clerk. Filing may be accomplished by mail addressed to the clerk, but filing shall not be timely unless the documents are received by the clerk within the time fixed for filing, except that briefs shall be deemed filed on the day of mailing. If a motion requests relief which may be granted by a single judge, the judge may permit the motion to be filed with the judge, in which event the judge shall note the filing date on the motion and transmit it to the clerk. A court may provide, by local rules adopted pursuant to the Rules of Superintendence, for the filing of documents by electronic means. If the court adopts such local rules, they shall include all of the following:

(1) Any signature on electronically transmitted documents shall be considered that of the attorney or party it purports to be for all purposes. If it is established that the documents were transmitted without authority, the court shall order the filing stricken.

(2) A provision shall specify the days and hours during which electronically transmitted documents will be received by the court, and a provision shall specify when documents received electronically will be considered to have been filed.

(3) Any document filed electronically that requires a filing fee may be rejected by the clerk of court unless the filer has complied with the mechanism established by the court for the payment of filing fees.

(B) Service of all documents required. Copies of all documents filed by any party and not required by these rules to be served by the clerk shall, on or before the day of filing, be served by a party or person acting for the party on all other parties to the appeal as provided in division (C) of this rule, except that in expedited appeals under App. R. 11.2 and in original actions involving election issues, service of all documents (except the complaint filed to institute an original action) shall be in accordance with division (C)(1), (2), (5), or (6) at or before the time of filing. Service on a party represented by counsel shall be made on counsel.

(C) Manner of service. A document is served under this rule by:

(1) handing it to the person;

(2) leaving it:

(a) at the person's office with a clerk or other person in charge or, if no one is in charge, in a conspicuous place in the office; or

(b) if the person has no office or the office is closed, at the person's dwelling or usual place of abode with someone of suitable age and discretion who resides there;

(3) mailing it to the person's last known address by United States mail, in which event service is complete upon mailing;

(4) delivering it to a commercial carrier service for delivery to the person's last known address within three calendar days, in which event service is complete upon delivery to the carrier;

(5) leaving it with the clerk of court if the person has no known address; or

(6) sending it by electronic means to the most recent facsimile number or e-mail address listed by the intended recipient on a prior court filing (including a filing in the lower court) in which event service is complete upon transmission, but is not effective if the serving party learns that it did not reach the person served.

(D) Using court facilities. If a local rule so authorizes, a party may use the court's transmission facilities to make service under App. R. 13(C)(6).

(E) Proof of service. Documents presented for filing shall contain an acknowledgment of service by the person served or proof of service in the form of a statement of the date and manner of service and of the names of the persons served, certified by the person who made service. Documents filed with the court shall not be considered until proof of service is endorsed on the documents or separately filed.

Ohio. App. R. 13

Effective:7/1/1971;7/1/2001;7/1/2012;7/1/2015.

Staff Note (July 1, 2015 amendment)

App. R. 13(B) is amended by correcting a typographical error. The reference to App. R. 11.1 has been changed to App. R. 11.2, as the need for immediate service applies in expedited appeals, not accelerated appeals.

App. R. 13 is also amended by adding a new division (D), permitting a party to use a court's transmission facilities to serve other parties by electronic means if so authorized by local rule, and the subsequent division of the rule is re-lettered accordingly. The amendment eliminates a duplication of effort resulting from the 2012 amendments to App. R. 13(C), which permitted a party to use electronic means to fulfill the party's App. R. 13 duty to serve all other parties but did not authorize the party to use the facilities of a local court's electronic filing system to perform that duty-even though, under local rules, the court's facilities nevertheless serve by electronic means all parties participating in the electronic filing system. The new provision is the same as Civ. R. 5(B)(3), as also adopted July 1, 2015.

Staff Note (July 1, 2001 Amendment)

Appellate Rule 13Filing and Service

Appellate Rule 13(A) Filing

The amendments to this rule were part of a group of amendments that were submitted by the Ohio Courts Digital Signatures Task Force to establish minimum standards for the use of information systems, electronic signatures, and electronic filing. The substantive amendment to this rule was the addition of the last two sentences of division (A) and the addition of divisions (A)(1) - (3). Comparable amendments were made to Civil Rule 5, Civil Rule 73 (for probate courts), Criminal Rule 12, and Juvenile Rule 8.

As part of this electronic filing and signature project, the following rules were amended effective July 1, 2001: Civil Rules 5, 11, and 73; Criminal Rule 12; Juvenile Rule 8; and Appellate Rules 13 and 18. In addition, Rule 26 of the Rules of Superintendence for Courts of Ohio was amended and Rule of Superintendence 27 was added to complement the rules of procedure. Superintendence Rule 27 establishes a process by which minimum standards for information technology are promulgated, and requires that courts submit any local rule involving the use of information technology to a technology standards committee designated by the Supreme Court for approval.

Staff Notes (July 1, 2012 Amendments)

The amendment to App.R. 13(C) clarifies the various available methods of service and adds service by electronic means a permissible method. The language of the amendment largely tracks the language of the 2012 amendment to Civ.R. 5(B), so the rules are now linguistically consistent. App.R. 13(B) now also requires parties in expedited cases or original actions involving elections to use a method of service that ensures actual receipt of the filing on the day it is served.