Application for a writ of prohibition shall be made by filing a petition in the appropriate court. The petition in prohibition shall contain a statement of the facts, the relief sought, and a statement of the reasons why the writ should issue. The petition in prohibition shall be accompanied by suggestions in support thereof. A copy any order, opinion, record or part thereof, document, or other item that may be essential to an understanding of the matters set forth in the petition in prohibition shall be attached as exhibits if not set forth therein. The pages of the exhibits shall be numbered consecutively. An index of all exhibits also shall be attached. Exhibits shall be identified in the index by number or letter and page and, in addition, shall be described so that the court can distinguish the exhibits.
Rule 97.03.Petition in Prohibition--Contents--Exhibits.
Part III · Rule 97: Prohibition · Last amended January 1, 2004 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceRule 97.03 requires a petition in prohibition to state the facts, the relief sought, and the reasons the writ should issue, to come with supporting suggestions, and to attach any essential order, opinion, record, or document as a consecutively numbered, indexed exhibit.
Full Text of Rule 97.03
Amendment History
Adopted June 5, 1980, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Amended April 25, 2003, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.
Official Comment
The source is prior Rule 97.02. Compare: Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 21(a).
Plain-English Summary
A petition in prohibition is not a bare-bones filing. Rule 97.03 asks for a complete package: the underlying facts, exactly what relief the relator wants, and the reasons the court should grant the writ. Because a prohibition case usually challenges something a lower tribunal has done or is about to do, the court hearing the petition needs the full picture up front, not a promise to supply it later.
That is why the rule pairs the petition with suggestions in support, a written explanation of the legal argument behind the request, and with exhibits. Anything essential to understanding the petition, whether it is a court order, an opinion, a record excerpt, or some other document, has to be attached if it is not already spelled out in the petition itself.
The rule is equally exacting about how those exhibits are organized. Every page must be numbered consecutively, and an index has to list each exhibit by number or letter and page, with enough description that the court can tell one exhibit from another without hunting through the file. For a court asked to intervene quickly in another tribunal's proceeding, a well-organized record is not a formality; it is what makes fast, accurate review possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a petition in prohibition contain?
A statement of the facts, the relief sought, and the reasons the writ should issue, accompanied by suggestions in support and any essential exhibits.
What are suggestions in support of a petition in prohibition?
A written statement laying out the legal reasoning behind the request, filed together with the petition itself.
Do I need to attach documents from the underlying case?
Yes, if they are essential to understanding the petition and are not already set out in the petition, they must be attached as exhibits.
How should exhibits be organized?
Pages must be numbered consecutively, and an index must identify each exhibit by number or letter and page, described so the court can distinguish between them.
Is this the same as filing an ordinary civil petition?
It shares the basic idea of stating facts and requesting relief, but Rule 97.03 adds specific requirements for supporting suggestions and indexed exhibits that an ordinary petition does not carry.
What happens if the exhibits are not indexed or numbered as required?
The rule does not spell out a specific penalty, but an unindexed or unnumbered set of exhibits works against the petition's purpose of giving the court a clear, quickly reviewable record.
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: petition in prohibition contentsMissouri Rule 97.03exhibits index civil proceduresuggestions in support of writ petitionhow to file for writ of prohibition