A. After the granting of a judgment, decree or appealable order, it shall be reduced to writing in conformance with Section 696.3 of this title, signed by the court, and filed with the court clerk. The court may direct counsel for any party to the action to prepare a draft for the signature of the court, in which event, the court may prescribe procedures for the preparation and timely filing of the judgment, decree or appealable order, including, but not limited to, the time within which it is to be submitted to the court. If a written judgment, decree or appealable order is not submitted to the court by the party directed to do so within the time prescribed by the court, then any other party may reduce it to writing and submit it to the court.
§ 696.2.Preparation, Service, and Filing of Judgments, Decrees and Appealable Orders
Chapter 12: Judgment · Last amended November 1, 2007 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 696.2 requires every judgment, decree, or appealable order to be reduced to writing, signed by the court, filed with the clerk, and served on all parties within three days, and makes that filing the jurisdictional prerequisite for starting an appeal.
Full Text of § 696.2
B. A file-stamped copy of every judgment, decree, or appealable order shall be served upon all parties, including those parties who are in default for failure to appear in the action, by the counsel for a party or party who prepared it, or by a person designated by the trial court, promptly and no later than three (3) days after it is filed. The service shall be done in the manner provided in Section 2005 of this title for the service of papers, and a certificate of service must be filed with the court clerk. If the judgment, decree or appealable order was prepared by the court, the court may direct a bailiff, court clerk or party to perform the service and certificate of service required by this subsection. In cases in which a party has failed to appear in the action, it shall be sufficient to mail a file-stamped copy of the judgment, decree or appealable order by first-class mail to the party's last-known address, or if the service of process was on a registered agent, to the address of the registered agent. No mailing is required to a party who has failed to appear in the action if that party was served by publication.
C. In any probate, guardianship, or conservatorship proceeding commenced on or after October 1, 1996, where a party, heir, devisee, legatee, or other interested party or representative of a party has received notice of a hearing which resulted in the issuance of a judgment, decree, or appealable order and did not file an entry of appearance, no further service of any judgment, decree, or appealable order shall be required to be sent to such party, heir, devisee, legatee, or other interested party or representative of a party, unless otherwise specifically required by law. No certificate of service shall be required to be filed where no party, heir, devisee, legatee, or other interested party, or representative of a party has filed an entry of appearance.
D. The filing with the court clerk of a written judgment, decree or appealable order, prepared in conformance with Section 696.3 of this title and signed by the court, shall be a jurisdictional prerequisite to the commencement of an appeal. The following shall not constitute a judgment, decree or appealable order: A minute entry; verdict; informal statement of the proceedings and relief awarded, including, but not limited to, a letter to a party or parties indicating the ruling or instructions for preparing the judgment, decree or appealable order.
E. A judgment, decree or appealable order, whether interlocutory or final, shall not be enforceable in whole or in part unless or until it is signed by the court and filed; except that the adjudication of any issue shall be enforceable when pronounced by the court in the following actions: divorce; separate maintenance; annulment; post-decree matrimonial proceedings; paternity; custody; adoption; termination of parental rights; mental health; guardianship; juvenile matters; habeas corpus proceedings; or proceedings for temporary restraining orders, temporary injunctions, permanent injunctions, conservatorship, probate proceedings, special executions in foreclosure actions, quiet title actions, partition proceedings or contempt citations. The time for appeal shall not begin to run until a written judgment, decree or appealable order, prepared in conformance with Section 696.3 of this title, is filed with the court clerk, regardless of whether the judgment, decree, or appealable order is effective when pronounced or when it is filed.
F. The preparation of orders, decisions and the taking of appeals from the Office of Administrative Hearings: Child Support shall be governed by the provisions of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
G. The preparation of orders, decisions and awards and the taking of appeals in workers' compensation cases shall be governed by the provisions of Title 85 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
Amendment History
Added by Laws 1993, HB 1468, c. 351, § 9, October 1, 1993; Amended by Laws 1997, HB 1778, c. 102, § 2, emerg. eff. 5/1/1997; Amended by Laws 1997, HB 1588, c. 239, § 4, emerg. eff. 5/23/1997; Amended by Laws 2007, SB 634, c. 12, §2, eff. 11/1/2007; Amended by Laws 2007, SB 944, c. 41, §1, eff. 11/1/2007.
Plain-English Summary
A ruling from the bench isn't a judgment until it's written down and signed. Section 696.2 requires every judgment, decree, or appealable order to be prepared in writing, following the contents rules in Section 696.3, signed by the court, and filed with the court clerk. The court can order a specific party's counsel to draft it and set a deadline; if that party misses the deadline, any other party can step in and prepare it instead.
Once filed, a file-stamped copy has to go out to every party — including parties in default — within three days, using the same service method as any other court paper. Defaulted parties who never appeared can usually get a mailed copy at their last-known address, unless they were served only by publication, in which case no mailing is required at all. Subsection D spells out what does not count as a judgment: a minute entry, a verdict, or an informal note like a letter telling a party how to prepare the order. And subsection E ties the appeal clock to this filing — with a list of exceptions for family, probate, guardianship, and similar matters where the ruling takes effect as soon as it's pronounced — so an appeal can't get moving until the written, signed, filed version exists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a judge's oral ruling from the bench a final judgment?
No, Section 696.2(D) says a minute entry, verdict, or informal statement like a letter doesn't count as a judgment, decree, or appealable order; it has to be reduced to writing and signed by the court.
How quickly must I be served with a copy of the judgment?
A file-stamped copy must be served on all parties, including those in default, no later than three days after it's filed.
What if the party who's supposed to prepare the judgment doesn't do it in time?
Any other party may reduce the judgment to writing and submit it to the court instead.
When does the deadline to appeal start running?
It doesn't start until the written judgment, decree, or appealable order is filed with the court clerk, regardless of whether the ruling is effective when pronounced.
Are there rulings that take effect immediately, before they're even signed and filed?
Yes, Section 696.2(E) lists exceptions, including divorce, custody, adoption, guardianship, probate, and injunction matters, where the adjudication is enforceable as soon as the court pronounces it.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: Oklahoma judgment filing requirements12 O.S. § 696.2when is a judgment appealable Oklahomaservice of judgment three days Oklahoma