A mistake, neglect or omission of the clerk shall not be ground of error, until the same has been presented and acted upon in the court in which the mistake, neglect or omission occurred.
§ 979.Neglect of Clerk Not Error
Chapter 15: Appeal and Error · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 979 bars a party from raising a clerk's mistake, neglect, or omission as ground for appellate error until that problem has first been presented to, and ruled on by, the court where it happened.
Full Text of § 979
Amendment History
R.L. 1910, § 5262.
Plain-English Summary
A clerk's slip-up — a mistake, an omission, some piece of neglect — isn't automatically a ground for reversing a case on appeal. Section 979 requires the complaining party to raise the problem in the trial court first and get a ruling on it there.
Only after that has happened can the clerical error become part of an appeal. Skip that step, and the appellate court has nothing to review on the point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I appeal based on a mistake the court clerk made?
Only after you've presented the mistake, neglect, or omission to the trial court and gotten a ruling on it there.
What if I raise a clerk's error for the first time on appeal?
The section says it isn't a ground of error until it's been presented and acted on in the court where it occurred, so raising it for the first time on appeal comes too late.
Does this section apply to judicial errors, not just clerical ones?
No, by its terms it covers a mistake, neglect, or omission of the clerk.
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: clerk error not grounds for appeal Oklahoma12 O.S. § 979clerical mistake must be raised in trial court firstneglect of clerk Oklahoma appeal statute