(a) Appointment and Compensation. The presiding judge of the superior court for each judicial district with the approval of the chief justice of the Supreme Court may appoint one or more standing masters for such district, and the court in which any action is pending may appoint a special master therein. As used in these rules the word “master” includes a referee, an auditor and an examiner, and a magistrate judge or a deputy magistrate. The compensation, if any, to be allowed to a master shall be fixed by the court, and shall be charged upon such of the parties or paid out of any fund or subject matter of the action which is in the custody and control of the court, as the court may direct. The master shall not retain the master’s report as security for compensation; but when the party ordered to pay the compensation allowed by the court does not pay it after notice and within the time prescribed by the court, the master is entitled to a writ of execution against the delinquent party.
Rule 53.Masters.
Last amended October 15, 2014 · Last verified July 6, 2026
In one sentenceRule 53 lets a court appoint a master to handle designated matters in a case, sets the master's powers and procedures, and spells out how much independent review a court must give a master's report once it comes back.
Full Text of Rule 53
(b) Powers. The order of reference to the master may specify or limit the master’s powers and may direct the master to report only upon particular issues or to do or perform particular acts or to receive and report evidence only and may fix the time and place for beginning and closing the hearings and for the filing of the master’s report. Subject to the specifications and limitations stated in the order, the master has and shall exercise the power to regulate all proceedings in every hearing before the master and to do all acts and take all measures necessary or proper for the efficient performance of the master’s duties under the order. The master may require the production of evidence upon all matters embraced in the reference, including the production of all books, papers, vouchers, documents, and writings applicable thereto. The master may rule upon the admissibility of evidence unless otherwise directed by the order of reference and has the authority to put witnesses on oath and may examine them and may call the parties to the action and examine them upon oath. When a party so requests, the master shall make a record of the evidence offered and excluded in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as provided in Evidence Rule 103(b) for a court sitting without a jury.
(c) Proceedings.
(1) Meetings. When a reference is made, the clerk shall forthwith furnish the master with a copy of the order of reference. Upon receipt thereof unless the order of reference otherwise provides, the master shall forthwith set a time and place for the first meeting of the parties or their attorneys to be held within 20 days after the date of the order of reference and shall notify the parties or their attorneys. It is the duty of the master to proceed with all reasonable diligence. Either party, on notice to the parties and master, may apply to the court for an order requiring the master to speed the proceedings and to make the report. If a party fails to appear at the time and place appointed, the master may proceed ex parte or, in the master’s discretion, adjourn the proceedings to a future day, giving notice to the absent party of the adjournment.
(2) Witnesses. The parties may procure the attendance of witnesses before the master by the issuance and service of subpoenas as provided in Rule 45. If without adequate excuse a witness fails to appear or give evidence, the witness may be punished for a contempt and be subjected to the consequences, penalties and remedies provided in Rules 37 and 45.
(3) Statement of Accounts. When matters of accounting are in issue before the master, the master may prescribe the form in which the accounts shall be submitted and in any proper case may require or receive in evidence a statement by a certified public accountant who is called as a witness. Upon objection of a party to any of the items thus submitted or upon a showing that the form of statement is insufficient, the master may require a different form of statement to be furnished, or the accounts or specific items thereof to be proved by oral examination of the accounting parties or upon written interrogatories or in such other manner as the master directs.
(d) Report.
(1) Contents and Filing. The master shall prepare a report upon the matters submitted to the master by the order of reference and, if required to make findings of fact and conclusions of law, the master shall set them forth in the report. The master shall file the report with the clerk of the court and in an action to be tried without a jury, unless otherwise directed by the order of reference, shall file with it the original exhibits. The clerk shall forthwith mail to all parties notice of the filing.
(2) In Non-Jury Actions. Within 10 days after being served with notice of the filing of the report any party may serve written objections thereto upon the other parties. Application to the court for an action upon the report and upon objections thereto shall be by motion and upon notice as prescribed in Rule 77. In an action to be tried without a jury,
(A) if no party files objections to the report, the court may accept the master’s findings without conducting an independent review of the evidence presented to the master.
(B) if any party files objections to the report, the court shall obtain and review a transcript or electronic recording of the portions of the proceedings that relate to the objections. The court must consider under a de novo standard of review all objections to findings of fact made or recommended in the report, and must rule on each objection. However, the parties may stipulate with the court’s consent that the master’s findings will be reviewed for clear error or that the master’s findings will be final.
The court may adopt the report, may modify it, may reject it in whole or in part, may receive further evidence, or may recommit it with instructions.
(3) In Jury Actions. In an action to be tried by a jury the master shall not be directed to report the evidence. The master’s findings upon the issues submitted to the master are admissible as evidence of the matters found and may be read to the jury, subject to the ruling of the court upon any objections in point of law which may be made to the report.
(4) Stipulation as to Findings. The effect of a master’s report is the same whether or not the parties have consented to the reference; but, when the parties stipulate that a master’s findings of fact shall be final, only questions of law arising upon the report shall thereafter be considered.
(5) Draft Report. Before filing the master’s report a master may submit a draft thereof to counsel for all parties for the purpose of receiving their suggestions.
(6) Report of Magistrate Judge or Deputy Magistrate. Where a magistrate judge or a deputy magistrate has been appointed a standing or special master for any purpose, the master’s report shall include such findings of fact, transcript of evidence or proceedings and recommendations as may have been requested by the superior court in its order of reference.
Amendment History
(Adopted by SCO 5 October 9, 1959; amended by SCO 358 effective March 22, 1979; by SCO 888 effective July 15, 1988, by SCO 1096 effective January 15, 1993; by SCO 1153 effective July 15, 1994; by SCO 1685 effective December 19, 2008; and by SCO 1829 effective October 15, 2014)
Notes
USE NOTE to subsection (d): “Independent review” means de novo review; that standard of review does not require a new or supplementary evidentiary hearing unless the trial court in its discretion determines that such additional proceedings are necessary.
Plain-English Summary
A court can appoint a standing master for a judicial district (with the chief justice's approval) or a special master for a particular pending case, and the term covers a referee, auditor, examiner, magistrate judge, or deputy magistrate. The court fixes the master's pay, charged to the parties or drawn from a fund in the court's custody, and a master who isn't paid can get a writ of execution against the delinquent party rather than holding the report hostage for payment. The order appointing the master can limit what the master handles and set deadlines for hearings and the report; within those bounds, the master runs the proceedings, can compel production of documents and evidence, rules on admissibility unless told otherwise, and can put witnesses and parties under oath and question them.
The master sets an initial meeting within 20 days of the reference and must move the matter along with reasonable diligence, with either party able to ask the court to speed things up. Witnesses are subpoenaed the same way as for trial, and a party seeking an accounting can be required to submit it in a particular form, including a certified public accountant's statement. Once the master's report is filed, the clerk notifies the parties, who have 10 days to object; in a case that would otherwise be tried without a jury, the court can accept unobjected-to findings without independently reviewing the evidence, but if a party objects, the court must review a transcript or recording of the relevant proceedings and decide every disputed factual finding for itself, unless the parties have agreed — with the court's consent — to a more limited standard of review or to treat the master's findings as final. In a jury case, the master isn't asked to report the evidence at all — just the findings, which come in as evidence and can be read to the jury subject to the court's rulings on any legal objections.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "master" under Alaska's civil rules?
A referee, auditor, examiner, magistrate judge, or deputy magistrate the court appoints to handle designated matters in a case, standing for a whole judicial district or specially for one action.
How closely does a judge review a master's report?
If no party objects, the court can accept the findings without independently reviewing the evidence; if a party objects, the court must review the record and decide each disputed factual finding itself, unless the parties have agreed to a more limited standard.
Does a master's report go to the jury in a jury trial?
The master doesn't report the evidence at all in a jury case — only the findings, which come in as evidence and may be read to the jury, subject to the court's rulings on legal objections.
Source & verification. The rule text, Amendment History, and Notes are reproduced verbatim from the
official Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure (Alaska R. Civ. P. 53). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Alaska (Alaska Const. art. IV, § 15). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: court appointed master Alaska civil casemaster's report review standard Alaskade novo review master findings AlaskaAlaska R. Civ. P. 53