These rules shall take effect six months from the date of their adoption by the Supreme Court of Alabama. They govern all proceedings in actions brought after they take effect and also all further proceedings in actions then pending, except to the extent that in the opinion of the court their application in a particular action pending when the rules take effect would not be feasible or would work injustice, in which event the former procedure applies.
Rule 86.Effective date.
Last verified July 6, 2026
In one sentenceRule 86 sets a six-month delay before the rules took effect and then applies them going forward to both new lawsuits and cases already pending, unless a court finds that applying the new procedure to a specific pending case would be impractical or unfair, in which case the older procedure controls that case instead.
Full Text of Rule 86
(dc) District court rule. These rules take effect on January 16, 1977.
Amendment History
This rule has not been amended since its adoption.
Committee Comments
Committee Comments on 1973 Adoption
Act No. 1311, 1971 Regular Session, provides that these rules shall not become effective until six months after they have been adopted by the court.
The rule, like Federal Rule 86 and similar state rules, makes the rules immediately applicable to pending actions, except where the court finds this course unfeasible. Compare Equity Rule 120.
District Court Committee Comments
Section 12-12-1, Code of Ala., provides that the district court of Alabama, a trial court of limited jurisdiction, is created and established effective January 16, 1977.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 86 addresses timing. It delayed the rules from taking effect until six months after the Alabama Supreme Court adopted them, giving courts and lawyers time to prepare. Once in effect, the rules apply to every action filed afterward and to further steps in cases already underway at that time.
The rule includes a safety valve for pending cases. If applying the new rules to a case already in progress would not work in practice or would create an injustice, the court may instead let that case continue under the procedure that existed before the rules took effect. For the district courts, the rule fixes a specific effective date tied to when that court system itself was created.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure take effect?
Six months after their adoption by the Alabama Supreme Court, as set out in Rule 86; the district court version fixes January 16, 1977, as its effective date.
Do the rules apply to cases that were already filed before the effective date?
Yes. Rule 86 applies the rules to further proceedings in cases already pending when the rules took effect, in addition to all cases filed afterward.
Is there any exception to applying the new rules to a pending case?
Yes. If a court finds that applying the rules to a particular pending action would not be feasible or would work an injustice, the case instead continues under the procedure that applied before the rules took effect.
Source & verification. The rule text, amendment history, and Committee Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
official Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure (Ala. R. Civ. P. 86). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Alabama (Ala. Const. amend. 328, § 6.11). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: effective date of Alabama civil rulesrules applicability to pending casestransition ruleAla. R. Civ. P. 86