Part II · Rule 84: Procedure in All Appellate Courts · Last amended January 1, 2018 · Last verified July 22, 2026
(a) Contents. The brief for appellant shall contain:
(1) A detailed table of contents, with page references, and a table of cases (alphabetically arranged), statutes, and other authorities cited, with reference to the pages of the brief where they are cited;
(2) A concise statement of the grounds on which jurisdiction of the review court is invoked;
(3) A statement of facts;
(4) The points relied on;
(5) An argument, which shall substantially follow the order of the points relied on; and
(6) A short conclusion stating the precise relief sought.
(b) Jurisdictional Statement. Bare recitals that jurisdiction is invoked “on the ground that the case involves the validity of a statute” or similar statements or conclusions are insufficient as jurisdictional statements. The jurisdictional statement shall set forth sufficient factual data to demonstrate the applicability of the particular provision or provisions of article V, section 3, of the Constitution upon which jurisdiction is sought to be predicated. For example: “The action is one involving the question of whether the respondent’s machinery and equipment used in its operations in removing rock from the ground are exempt from the state sales tax law as being machinery and equipment falling within the exemption provided by section 144.030.3(4), RSMo, and, hence, involves the construction of a revenue law of this state.”
(c) Statement of Facts. The statement of facts shall be a fair and concise statement of the facts relevant to the questions presented for determination without argument. All statements of facts shall have specific page references to the relevant portion of the record on appeal, i.e., legal file, transcript, or exhibits. If the citation is to the system-generated legal file, it shall include the system-generated appeal document number and page number (e.g., D6 p. 7). If the portion cited is contained in the appendix, a page reference to the appendix shall also be included (e.g., D6 p. 7; App 9).
(1) Where the appellate court reviews the decision of a trial court, each point shall:
(A) Identify the trial court ruling or action that the appellant challenges;
(B) State concisely the legal reasons for the appellant’s claim of reversible error; and
(C) Explain in summary fashion why, in the context of the case, those legal reasons support the claim of reversible error.
(2) Where the appellate court reviews the decision of an administrative agency, rather than a trial court, each point shall:
(A) Identify the administrative ruling or action the appellant challenges;
(B) State concisely the legal reasons for the appellant’s claim of reversible error; and
(C) Explain in summary fashion why, in the context of the case, those legal reasons support the claim of reversible error.
(3) In an original writ proceeding, each point shall:
(A) State what relief the petitioner or relator seeks from the appellate court;
(B) Identify the action that the petitioner or relator challenges;
(C) State concisely the legal reasons for the challenge to respondent’s action; and
(D) Explain in summary fashion why, in the context of the case, those legal reasons support the challenge.
(4) Abstract statements of law, standing alone, do not comply with this rule. Any reference to the record shall be limited to the ultimate facts necessary to inform the appellate court and the other parties of the issues. Detailed evidentiary facts shall not be included.
(5) Immediately following each “Point Relied On,” the appellant, relator, or petitioner shall include a list of cases, not to exceed four, and the constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions or other authority upon which that party principally relies.
(6) If a party asserts error relating to damages, the party may assert its material effect on the judgment, including that the judgment is inadequate or excessive, in the same “Point Relied On.” The point shall be in substantially the following form: “The trial court erred in [identify the challenged ruling or action], because [state the legal reasons for the claim of reversible error], in that [explain why the legal reasons, in the context of the case, support the claim of reversible error].” The point shall be in substantially the following form: “The [name of agency] erred in [identify the challenged ruling or action], because [state the legal reasons for the claim of reversible error, including the reference to the applicable statute authorizing review], in that [explain why, in the context of the case, the legal reasons support the claim of reversible error].” For an action in prohibition, the point shall be in substantially the following form: “Relator is entitled to an order prohibiting Respondent from [describe challenged action], because [state the legal reasons for the challenge], in that [explain why, in the context of the case, the legal reasons support the challenge].” For other remedial writs, the introductory language should be altered appropriately.
(e) Argument. The argument shall substantially follow the order of ‘Points Relied On.‘ The point relied on shall be restated at the beginning of the section of the argument discussing that point. The argument shall be limited to those errors included in the “Points Relied On.” For each claim of error, the argument shall also include a concise statement describing whether the error was preserved for appellate review; if so, how it was preserved; and the applicable standard of review.
If a point relates to the giving, refusal or modification of an instruction, such instruction shall be set forth in full in the argument portion of the brief.
Long quotations from cases and long lists of citations should not be included.
All factual assertions in the argument shall have specific page references to the relevant portion of the record on appeal, i.e., legal file, transcript, or exhibits. If the citation is to the system-generated legal file, it shall include the system-generated appeal document number and page number (e.g., D6 p. 7). If the portion cited is contained in the appendix, a page reference to the appendix shall also be included (e.g., D6 p. 7; App 9).
(f) Respondent’s Brief. The respondent’s brief shall include a detailed table of contents, a detailed table of authorities, and an argument in conformity with this Rule 84.04.
If the respondent is dissatisfied with the accuracy or completeness of the jurisdictional statement or statement of facts in the appellant’s brief, the respondent’s brief may include a jurisdictional statement or statement of facts.
The argument portion of the respondent’s brief shall contain headings identifying the points relied on contained in the appellant’s brief to which each such argument responds. The respondent’s brief may also include additional arguments in support of the judgment that are not raised by the points relied on in the appellant’s brief.
(g) Reply Briefs. The appellant may file a reply brief but shall not reargue points covered in the appellant’s initial brief.
(h) Appendix. A party’s brief shall be accompanied by a separate appendix containing the following materials, unless the material has been included in a previously filed appendix:
(1) The judgment, order, or decision in question, including the relevant findings of fact and conclusions of law filed in a judge-tried case or by an administrative agency;
(2) The complete text of all statutes, ordinances, rules of court, or agency rules claimed to be controlling as to a point on appeal; and
(3) The complete text of any instruction to which a point relied on relates.
An appendix also may set forth matters pertinent to the issues discussed in the brief such as copies of exhibits, excerpts from the written record, and copies of new cases or other pertinent authorities.
The appendix shall have a separate table of contents.
The pages in the appendix shall be numbered consecutively beginning with page A1. The inclusion of any matter in an appendix does not satisfy any requirement to set out such matter in a particular section of the brief.
An appendix to a brief on appeal, regardless of the number of pages it contains, shall be filed as a separate document.
(i) Cross Appeals. If a cross appeal is filed, the plaintiff in the court below shall be deemed the appellant for purposes of this Rule 84.04, unless the parties otherwise agree or the court otherwise orders. The appellant’s initial brief shall be filed as otherwise provided in this Rule 84.04 and Rule 84.05. The respondent’s initial brief shall contain the issues and argument involved in the respondent’s appeal and the response to the brief of the appellant. The appellant may file a second brief in response to the respondent’s brief setting forth respondent’s appeal and in reply to the respondent’s brief opposing appellant’s appeal. The respondent may file a reply brief in reply to appellant’s response to the issues presented by respondent’s appeal. The briefs otherwise shall comply with Rule 84.06. No further briefs shall be filed without leave of the court.
Adopted June 13, 1979, eff. Jan. 1, 1980. Amended July 27, 1979; Amended June 1, 1993, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Amended Sept. 28, 1993, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Amended May 15, 1998, eff. Jan. 1, 1999; Amended May 27, 1999, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Amended May 26, 2000, eff. Jan. 1, 2001; Amended Dec. 15, 2000, eff. July 1, 2001; Amended May 16, 2001, eff. July 1, 2001; Amened May 23, 2001, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; Amended Jan. 28, 2002, eff. Jan. 1, 2003; Amended June 21, 2005, eff. eff. Jan. 1, 2006. Amended, eff. Jan. 1, 2008; Amended June 28, 2011, eff. Jan. 1, 2012; Amended May 30, 2012, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; Amended May 19, 2016, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; Amended Jan. 1, 2018.
Rule 84.04 is the blueprint for an appellant’s brief. It must contain, in order, a detailed table of contents and table of authorities; a jurisdictional statement; a statement of facts; the points relied on; an argument that substantially follows the order of those points; and a short conclusion stating the precise relief sought. The jurisdictional statement has to do real work — a bare recital that the case “involves the validity of a statute” or similar boilerplate isn’t enough. It must lay out the facts that connect the case to the specific constitutional provision invoked, and the rule offers a model example built around a sales-tax exemption question to show what that looks like in practice.
The statement of facts has to be fair, concise, and free of argument, and every factual assertion needs a specific page reference to the record — the legal file, transcript, or exhibits, including the system-generated document and page number, plus an appendix page reference if the material also appears there.
The points relied on are where most of the rule’s detail lives. Each point must identify the specific ruling or action being challenged, state concisely the legal reasons the appellant claims it was reversible error, and explain — in the context of the case — why those reasons support that claim. That same three-part structure applies whether the appeal reviews a trial court or an administrative agency. An original writ proceeding adds a fourth element: the point must first state what relief the petitioner or relator seeks from the appellate court, then identify the challenged action, then state the legal reasons for the challenge, then explain why those reasons support it. Abstract statements of law standing alone don’t satisfy the rule, and any reference to the record has to stay limited to the ultimate facts the court needs, not a recitation of the evidence. Immediately after each point, the appellant, relator, or petitioner must list no more than four supporting cases along with the constitutional, statutory, or regulatory provisions relied on, and the rule supplies template language — “The trial court erred in … because … in that …” — for how the point itself should read.
The argument section has to track the order of the points, restate each point at the start of the section addressing it, and stay within the errors the points raise. For every claim of error, the argument must also address whether and how the error was preserved for review and what standard of review applies. A challenged jury instruction must be set out in full where it’s discussed. The respondent’s brief follows the same structural rules, must respond point by point, and may add independent arguments supporting the judgment beyond what the appellant’s points require. A reply brief cannot reargue what the opening brief already covered. Every brief must come with a separately paginated, separately filed appendix containing the judgment or order with findings and conclusions, the full text of controlling statutes, rules, or ordinances, and the full text of any instruction a point relates to. Cross appeals follow a modified sequence of briefs but otherwise comply with this rule and Rule 84.06.