(a) Appointment and Compensation. Each circuit court in which any action is pending may appoint a master therein. The compensation to be allowed a master 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 or control of the court, as the court may direct.
Rule 68.01.Masters in Circuit Courts.
Part I · Rule 68: Masters and Receivers · Last amended July 1, 2008 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceRule 68.01 authorizes a circuit court to appoint a master, treats such a reference as the exception and not the norm, and sets out the master's qualifications, oath, powers over hearings, and the process for filing and acting on the master's report.
Full Text of Rule 68.01
(b) Reference. A reference to a master shall be the exception and not the rule. In actions to be tried by a jury, a reference shall be made only when the issues are complicated; in actions to be tried without a jury, save in matters of account and of difficult computation of damages, a reference shall be made only upon a showing that some exceptional condition requires it.
(c) Qualifications of Master. No person shall be appointed a master who is of kin to either party or is interested in the outcome of the action.
(d) Oath of Master. Before proceeding to hear any testimony in the action, a master shall take and subscribe an oath, before some officer duly authorized to administer an oath, faithfully to hear and examine the matters at issue and to make a just, impartial and true report.
(e) 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 duties under the order. The master may require the production of evidence upon all matters embraced in the reference. 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 Rule 73.01(a) for a court sitting without a jury.
(f) 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 thirty 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. Any 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 a report. If a party fails to appear at the time and place appointed, the master may proceed or, in the master’s discretion, adjourn the proceedings to a future day, giving notice thereof to the absent party.
(2) Witnesses. The parties may procure the attendance of witnesses before the master by the issuance and service of subpoenas issued by the clerk of the appointing court. The failure of any person to comply with the requirements of any subpoena issued as herein provided shall be reported promptly to the court issuing the subpoena. Witnesses shall receive the same fees as would be allowed them as witnesses in a civil case in circuit court. Sheriff and all other officers shall be entitled to the same fees for services performed in references to a master, as would be allowed them in their respective courts for similar services. All costs incurred in a reference shall be taxed in the pending case in circuit court.
(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.
(4) Depositions. Depositions of witnesses or parties taken in the action may be read in evidence before the master as in cases of trials before the court.
(g) Report.
(1) Contents and Filing. The master shall prepare a report upon the matters submitted by the order of reference and if required to make findings of fact and conclusions of law shall set them forth in the report. He shall file the report with the clerk of the court together with a transcript of the proceedings including the evidence and exhibits, if any. The clerk shall forthwith mail to all parties notice of the filing and a copy of the master’s report.(2) Objections. Any party within thirty days after being served with notice of the filing of the master’s report may file written objections thereto and serve them upon the other parties.
(3) Action on Report and Use in Jury Trials. If no objections are filed, the court may adopt the report. If objections are filed, or the court proposes action other than adoption of the report, the court, after hearing, may adopt the report or may modify it or may reject it in whole or in part or may receive further evidence or may recommit it with instructions. If issues are to be tried by a jury, the master’s findings on the issues submitted to the master may be reported to the jury as having been determined and only fact issues other than those determined by the master shall be submitted to or determined by the jury.
(4) Stipulation as to Findings. If the parties stipulate that a master’s findings of fact shall be final and binding upon them, only questions of law arising upon the master’s report shall thereafter be considered.
(5) Draft Report. Before filing the report a master may submit a draft thereof to counsel for all parties for the purpose of receiving their suggestions.
(h) Masters for Depositions. The court, upon motion, may appoint a master to preside at the taking of a deposition. The master shall be a member of The Missouri Bar.
The master, in addition to the authority conferred on officers to take depositions, shall have the authority to determine all objections to evidence and to exclude evidence that is not within the scope of discovery as defined in Rule 56.01(b).
Upon request of a party, the master shall report a ruling or rulings on evidence to the court either during or after the completion of the taking of a deposition. Within 30 days after being served with a copy of the master’s report, any party may file written objections thereto and serve them on the other parties. If objections are filed, the court shall issue an order sustaining or overruling the objections.
Amendment History
Adopted Feb. 1, 1972, eff. Sept. 1, 1972. Amended June 1, 1993, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Amended Sept. 28, 1993, eff. Jan. 1, 1994. Amended June 26, 2007, eff. Jan. 1, 2008; Amended Dec. 18, 2007, eff. July 1, 2008.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 68.01 lets a circuit court hand off part of a pending case to a master — someone appointed to hear evidence, make findings, or perform particular tasks the court specifies. The rule is careful to keep this the exception, not the rule: in jury cases, a reference happens only when the issues are complicated, and in bench trials, only when there's an exceptional condition, apart from matters of accounting or difficult damage computations.
The rule builds in safeguards. No one related to a party or interested in the outcome can serve as master. Before hearing any testimony, the master must take an oath to hear and examine the matters at issue impartially and to make a true report. The order of reference can limit or expand the master's powers, but subject to those limits, the master runs the hearing, rules on evidence, puts witnesses under oath, and can require production of evidence.
The rule then walks through the mechanics: the master must set an initial meeting within thirty days of the reference, parties can subpoena witnesses through the appointing court's clerk, accounting matters can be proven through a certified public accountant's statement, and depositions already taken in the case can be read into evidence before the master. Once the master files a report — with findings of fact and conclusions of law if required — parties have thirty days to object, and the court can adopt, modify, reject, or send the report back with instructions. If issues go to a jury, the master's resolved findings go to the jury as settled, leaving only the remaining fact issues for the jury to decide. Separately, the rule lets a court appoint a master, who must be a member of The Missouri Bar, to preside over a deposition and rule on evidentiary objections there.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will a circuit court appoint a master instead of deciding the case itself?
Only as an exception — in jury cases when the issues are complicated, and in non-jury cases when an exceptional condition requires it, apart from matters of accounting or difficult damage computation.
Who pays a master's compensation?
The court directs that compensation be charged against the parties or paid out of a fund or subject matter in the court's custody or control.
Can a master preside over a deposition and rule on evidence objections there?
Yes — a court may appoint a master, who must be a member of The Missouri Bar, to preside at a deposition and determine objections to evidence, subject to a party's right to object to the master's rulings.
What happens to a master's report if no one objects?
The court may adopt it; if objections are filed, or the court proposes something other than adoption, the court may adopt, modify, reject, take further evidence, or send it back with instructions.
Can the jury hear about the master's findings?
Yes, when issues are tried by a jury, the master's findings on the referred issues can be reported to the jury as determined, leaving only the remaining fact issues for the jury.
Who can't serve as a master under this rule?
Anyone who is of kin to either party or interested in the outcome of the action.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Missouri State & Federal Court Rules, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Missouri. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: appointing a masterreference to a mastermaster's report objectionsmaster presiding at a deposition