A judgment or order in a civil action or proceeding may be reviewed as prescribed in this title. The Judicial Council shall prescribe rules for the practice and procedure on appeal not inconsistent with the provisions of this title.
§ 901.Generally
Title 13. Appeals In Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Appeals in General · Enacted 1968 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 901 opens California's civil appeals title by declaring that a judgment or order may be reviewed only as that title provides, and by directing the Judicial Council to write the procedural rules for appellate practice, so long as those rules don't conflict with the title's own provisions.
Full Text of § 901
Plain-English Summary
Section 901 is the first section of Title 13, the title that governs every civil appeal in California, and it sets the ground rules before any of the more detailed provisions that follow. A judgment or order can be reviewed on appeal only the way this title allows—there's no freestanding right to appeal apart from what the Legislature has written into these statutes. Later sections fill in the details: Section 902 says who may appeal, and Section 904.1 lists the specific judgments and orders an appellate court can review.
The second half of the section hands the Judicial Council the job of writing the day-to-day procedural rules for appellate practice—deadlines, briefing formats, record preparation, and the like—the rules collected today in the California Rules of Court. That delegation comes with a limit: whatever the Judicial Council adopts has to stay consistent with what this title itself provides. The statute sets the outer boundaries of the appeal right and who gets to exercise it; the Judicial Council fills in the procedure for exercising it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does California's constitution guarantee a right to appeal a civil judgment?
No. Section 901 makes appellate review available only as Title 13 prescribes, so the right to appeal a civil judgment or order comes from statute, not from a separate constitutional guarantee.
Where can I find the list of judgments and orders that can be appealed?
Section 904.1, later in this same title, sets out the specific judgments and orders a party may appeal from.
Who writes the procedural rules for briefing and filing a civil appeal?
The Judicial Council, under the authority Section 901 grants it, and those rules make up the appellate provisions of the California Rules of Court.
Can the Judicial Council's appellate rules override this title's own provisions?
No. Section 901 requires the Judicial Council's rules for appellate practice and procedure to stay consistent with the provisions of this title.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1968, Ch. 385.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: right to appeal california civil casejudicial council appellate rules authoritycalifornia civil appeal statute