Rule 78.07.After-Trial Motion--Allegations of Error Required.
Part I · Rule 78: New Trials—After-Trial Motions—Preservation of Error · Last amended July 1, 2017 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceRule 78.07 spells out what a party must include in a motion for new trial or a motion to amend the judgment to preserve an allegation of error for appellate review, with different requirements for jury cases, court-tried cases, and errors about the judgment's form or missing findings.
(a)In jury tried cases, except as otherwise provided in this Rule 78.07, allegations of error must be included in a motion for a new trial in order to be preserved for appellate review. The following matters need not be included in such motion to preserve the allegations of error:
(1)Questions of jurisdiction over the subject matter;
(2)Questions presented in motions for judgment under Rule 72.01(b); and
(3)Questions relating to motions for directed verdict that are granted at trial. Where definite objections or requests were made during the trial in accordance with Rule 78.09, including specific objections to instructions, a general statement in the motion of any allegations of error based thereon is sufficient. Allegations of error based on matters occurring or becoming known after final submission to the court or jury shall be stated specifically.
(b)Except as otherwise provided in Rule 78.07(c), in cases tried without a jury or with an advisory jury, neither a motion for a new trial nor a motion to amend the judgment or opinion is necessary to preserve any matter for appellate review if the matter was previously presented to the trial court.
(c)In all cases, allegations of error relating to the form or language of the judgment, including the failure to make statutorily required findings, must be raised in a motion to amend the judgment in order to be preserved for appellate review.
(d)The trial court may amend or modify any judgment in accordance with Rule 75.01 or upon motion by any party. Unless an amended judgment shall otherwise specify, an amended judgment shall be deemed a new judgment for all purposes.
Amendment History
Adopted April 10, 1974, eff. Jan. 1, 1975. Amended June 1, 1993, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Amended May 27, 1999, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Amended June 25, 2001, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; Amended June 17, 2004, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Amended June 28, 2011, eff. Jan. 1, 2012; Amended Dec. 27, 2016, eff. July 1, 2017.
Official Comment
(Repealed June 1, 1993, effective Jan. 1, 1994.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 78.07 is the rule that decides whether an argument survives to be heard on appeal. Missouri requires that most allegations of error be raised in the trial court first, and this rule sets out exactly how and when that has to happen depending on how the case was tried.
In jury-tried cases, subsection (a) requires that allegations of error generally be included in a motion for new trial to be preserved. Three categories are carved out from that requirement: questions of subject-matter jurisdiction, questions already presented in a motion for judgment under Rule 72.01(b), and questions relating to a directed verdict granted at trial. Where a party made definite objections or requests during trial under Rule 78.09, including specific objections to jury instructions, the rule allows the motion to state the resulting allegations of error in general terms instead of repeating every detail. Errors based on matters that only arose or became known after the case was submitted to the court or jury must be stated specifically, since there was no earlier opportunity to object to them.
Subsection (b) takes a different approach for cases tried without a jury or with only an advisory jury. There, neither a motion for new trial nor a motion to amend the judgment is required to preserve a matter for appeal, as long as the matter was already presented to the trial court at some point. Subsection (c) then carves an exception back into that leniency: allegations of error about the form or language of the judgment — including a failure to make statutorily required findings — must be raised in a motion to amend the judgment to be preserved, regardless of whether the case was tried to a jury.
Subsection (d) rounds out the rule by confirming the trial court's authority to amend or modify a judgment under Rule 75.01 or on a party's motion, and it states that, unless the amended judgment says otherwise, it is treated as a new judgment for all purposes. That matters for calculating deadlines and for determining what has and has not been preserved going forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do jury-tried cases require a motion for new trial to preserve most errors?
Yes, subsection (a) generally requires allegations of error to be included in a motion for new trial, subject to the three listed exceptions.
What allegations of error are excused from that requirement in jury cases?
Questions of subject-matter jurisdiction, questions already presented in a motion for judgment under Rule 72.01(b), and questions relating to a directed verdict granted at trial.
Is a motion for new trial required in a case tried without a jury?
Generally no, under subsection (b), as long as the matter was previously presented to the trial court — except for the form-of-judgment issues addressed in subsection (c).
What must always be raised in a motion to amend the judgment, regardless of trial type?
Allegations of error relating to the form or language of the judgment, including a failure to make statutorily required findings, under subsection (c).
Can a general statement in the new-trial motion be enough to preserve an issue?
Yes, where definite objections or requests were made during trial under Rule 78.09, including instruction objections, a general statement of the resulting allegations is sufficient.
What is the effect of an amended judgment under subsection (d)?
Unless the amended judgment specifies otherwise, it is deemed a new judgment for all purposes.
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:preserving error for appeal Missourimotion for new trial requiredallegations of error rulepreservation of error civil proceduremotion to amend judgment preserve error