(a) Form of Reproduction; Size; Paper; Binding. 1. Briefs and appendices shall be reproduced by any method that produces a permanent, legible, black image on white paper. Paper shall be of a quality approved by the chief administrator of the courts. 2. Briefs and appendices shall be on white paper eleven inches along the bound edge by eight and one-half inches. 3. An appellate court may by rule applicable to practice therein prescribe the size of margins and type of briefs and appendices and the line spacing and the length of briefs.
R 5529.Form of briefs and appendices.
Article 55. Appeals Generally · Last amended 2003 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 5529 sets the physical formatting rules for briefs and appendices -- paper size, page numbering, page headings, treatment of quoted excerpts, and citation form -- that New York appellate courts expect parties to follow.
Full Text of CPLR 5529
(b) Numbering. Pages of briefs shall be numbered consecutively. Pages of appendices shall be separately numbered consecutively, each number preceded by the letter A.
(c) Page Headings. The subject matter of each page of the appendix shall be stated at the top thereof, except that in the case of papers other than testimony, the subject matter of the paper may be stated at the top of the first page of each paper, together with the page numbers of the first and last pages thereof. In the case of testimony, the name of the witness, by whom he was called and whether the testimony is direct, cross, redirect or recross examination shall be stated at the top of each page.
(d) Quotations. Asterisks or other appropriate means shall be used to indicate omissions in quoted excerpts. Reference shall be made to the source of the excerpts quoted. Where an excerpt in the appendix is testimony of a witness quoted from the record the beginning of each page of the transcript shall be indicated by parenthetical insertion of the transcript page number.
(e) Citations of Decisions. New York decisions shall be cited from the official reports, if any. All other decisions shall be cited from the official reports, if any, and also from the National Reporter System if they are there reported. Decisions not reported officially or in the National Reporter System shall be cited from the most available source.
(f) Questions and Answers. The answer to a question in the appendix shall not begin a new paragraph.
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 5529(a) requires briefs and appendices to be reproduced by any method that leaves a permanent, legible black image on approved white paper, sized at eleven inches along the bound edge by eight and one-half inches, while letting individual appellate courts set additional rules on margins, type, spacing, and length. Subdivision (b) requires brief pages to be numbered consecutively and appendix pages to carry their own consecutive numbering, each preceded by the letter A.
Subdivision (c) requires each appendix page (or, for non-testimony papers, each paper) to state its subject matter at the top, with testimony pages additionally identifying the witness, the calling party, and the type of examination. Subdivision (d) requires excerpts quoted in the appendix to mark omissions with asterisks or similar means, cite their source, and, for testimony quoted from the record, indicate transcript page breaks parenthetically. Subdivision (e) sets citation rules, requiring New York decisions to be cited from the official reports and other decisions from official reports and the National Reporter System where available. Subdivision (f) keeps a question-and-answer pair from being split across a paragraph break in the appendix.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper size and formatting do New York appellate briefs need to use?
CPLR 5529(a) requires briefs and appendices on white paper measuring eleven inches by eight and one-half inches, reproduced in a permanent, legible black image, subject to any additional rules an appellate court sets on margins, type, and length.
How should I cite New York case law in an appellate brief?
CPLR 5529(e) requires New York decisions to be cited from the official reports where available, and other decisions from the official reports and the National Reporter System, or the most available source if neither exists.
How are appendix pages numbered differently from brief pages?
Brief pages are numbered consecutively on their own, while appendix pages carry a separate consecutive numbering, with each appendix page number preceded by the letter A.
Do I need to mark omissions in quoted excerpts within my appendix?
Yes. CPLR 5529(d) requires asterisks or similar means to indicate omissions, along with a citation to the source and, for quoted testimony, the transcript page number where each page begins.
Can a question-and-answer excerpt in the appendix be split across a paragraph break?
No. CPLR 5529(f) requires that the answer to a question in the appendix not begin a new paragraph.
Advisory Committee Notes
This rule replaces many of the provisions relating to form which were found in parts of RCP 232 and 235.
Subd (a) of this rule provides for an increase in the size of the printed portion of the page in printed briefs and appendices from seven inches by three and one-half inches to seven and one-sixth inches by four and one-sixth inches and a decrease in the overall size of the page from ten and one-half inches by eight inches to nine and one-quarter inches by six and one-eighth inches. These measurements are the same size as used in briefs and appendices in the Federal courts. See 11 NY Jud Council Rep 432–33 (1945). Under former law, type must have been of eleven-point size. This rule sets this as a minimum, but permits the use of type of greater size. Reproduction of briefs and appendices by offset printing, mimeographing or any other method of reproduction approved by the state administrator is permitted as an alternative. This provision is similar to subdivision (c) of New Jersey rule 1:7-10. Experience in the Appellate Division, Third Department, has shown that offset printing and mimeographing produce legible reproductions and are somewhat cheaper than printing. Both the overall size and the printed portion of the page are larger because some mimeograph machines do not work properly with paper which is only as wide as that prescribed for printing.
Under subd (b), the pages in an appendix are separately numbered and designated with the letter A; the appendix may therefore be printed or reproduced before the brief is completed and reference to it may be conveniently made from page proof while the brief is being prepared.
Page headings required by subd (c) were formerly required by RCP 235.
Subd (d) is based upon part of New Jersey rule 1:7-1(f).
Subd (e) retains the requirement found in RCP 235 that New York decisions be cited from the official reports and also prescribes the manner of citing decisions of other jurisdictions.
Subd (f) is a space-saving device taken from part of rule 232.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 2002, ch 595, § 1, eff Jan 1, 2003.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: brief formatting rules New York appealappendix format requirements CPLRciting cases in New York appellate briefCPLR 5529 form of briefs