(a) Generally. — On motion of any party filed within 30 days after entry of judgment, the court may exercise revisory power and control over the judgment and may take any action that it could have taken under Rule 3-534.
Rule 3-535.Revisory power
District Court · Last amended April 1, 2022 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 3-535 lets the District Court revise a judgment within thirty days for any reason, and beyond that window for fraud, mistake, irregularity, newly-discovered evidence, or clerical error.
Full Text of Rule 3-535
(b) Fraud, mistake, irregularity. — On motion of any party filed at any time, the court may exercise revisory power and control over the judgment in case of fraud, mistake, or irregularity. Committee note. — This section is intended to be as comprehensive as Code, Courts Article, § 6- 408.
(c) Newly-discovered evidence. — On motion of any party filed within 30 days after entry of judgment, the court may grant a new trial on the ground of newly-discovered evidence that could not have been discovered by due diligence in time to move for a new trial pursuant to Rule 3-533.
(d) Clerical mistakes. — Clerical mistakes in judgments, orders, or other parts of the record may be corrected by the court at any time on its own initiative, or on motion of any party after such notice, if any, as the court orders. During the pendency of an appeal, such mistakes may be so corrected before the appeal is docketed by the appellate court, and thereafter with leave of the appellate court.
Amendment History
Amended Oct. 31, 2002, effective Jan. 1, 2003; Nov. 12, 2003, effective Jan. 1, 2004; February 9, 2022, effective April 1, 2022.
Committee Note & Source
Committee note. When reviewing a motion to vacate a judgment based on a party’s failure to appear at a proceeding, the court must consider relevant emergency circumstances that contributed to the failure to appear, if presented with information by the moving party. In the event of a public health or other declared emergency, factors to consider include lack of transportation due to the emergency, lack of access to a platform to participate in a remote proceeding, stay-at-home or quarantine orders issued by a governmental authority, or a medically verifiable immunocompromised status of the party or a member of the party’s household. Cross references. — For default judgments relating to citations issued for certain record-keeping violations, see Code, Transportation Article, § 15-115.
Source. This Rule is derived as follows:
Section (a) is derived from former M.D.R. 625 a.
Section (b) is derived from former M.D.R. 625 a.
Section (c) is derived from former M.D.R. 625 b.
Section (d) is derived from the 1948 version of Fed. R. Civ. P. 60 (a) and former Rule 681.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 3-535 spells out how far, and for how long, a District Court can go back and change a judgment after it's entered. For thirty days after judgment, a party can file a motion asking the court to exercise the same broad revisory power available on a motion to alter or amend under Rule 3-534 — reopening evidence, revising findings, or entering a new judgment.
Beyond that thirty-day window, the court's power narrows to specific circumstances. A party can move at any time, with no deadline, to reopen a judgment tainted by fraud, mistake, or irregularity; the rule's Committee note says this ground is meant to reach as far as the state's default-judgment statute, Code, Courts Article, § 6-408. Separately, within thirty days of judgment, a party who couldn't have discovered important evidence in time to move for a new trial under Rule 3-533 — despite exercising due diligence — can ask for a new trial based on that newly-discovered evidence.
Clerical mistakes are handled differently still. The court can fix a clerical error in a judgment, order, or other part of the record on its own initiative, at any time, or on a party's motion, with whatever notice the court decides is appropriate. Once a case is on appeal, the trial court can still correct clerical mistakes before the appellate court dockets it; after that, correcting the error needs the appellate court's permission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a deadline to ask the court to vacate a judgment for fraud or mistake?
No. Rule 3-535(b) lets a party move to reopen a judgment for fraud, mistake, or irregularity at any time — unlike the other grounds in this rule, there's no thirty-day or other cutoff.
Is this the District Court equivalent of relief from judgment under Rule 60(b) or Rule 2-535?
Yes. Rule 3-535 is the District Court's version of the revisory-power rule that governs Circuit Court judgments under Rule 2-535, and it serves the same role Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) serves in federal court — it lets a party reopen a case for fraud, mistake, or irregularity, or ask the court to fix a clerical error.
What counts as newly-discovered evidence under this rule?
Evidence that a party, using due diligence, could not have found in time to raise it in a motion for new trial under Rule 3-533. A motion on this ground must be filed within thirty days of judgment.
Can the court fix a clerical error in a judgment without a motion from either party?
Yes. Rule 3-535(d) lets the court correct clerical mistakes in a judgment, order, or record on its own initiative, at any time, subject to whatever notice the court chooses to require.
Does a declared public health emergency affect a motion to vacate a default judgment?
It can. The rule's Committee note directs the court, when reviewing a motion to vacate a judgment based on a party's failure to appear, to consider relevant emergency circumstances the moving party raises — things like a lack of transportation, no access to a remote-hearing platform, a stay-at-home or quarantine order, or a medically verifiable immunocompromised status affecting the party or a household member.
Source & verification. Rule text, Committee Note, Source note, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Maryland Rules, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Maryland. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: relief from judgment district court maryland60(b) equivalent district court marylandreopen a case district court marylandvacate default judgment maryland district courtfix clerical error in judgment marylandfraud mistake irregularity motion district court marylandnewly discovered evidence new trial maryland district court