Where possible, errors in perfecting an appeal must be raised promptly in the trial court, and errors in perfecting an appeal that could have been raised in the trial court may not be raised for the first time in the appellate court. The parties may waive any defect or error in perfecting an appeal except the timely filing of a petition in error as prescribed in Section 15 of this act, and of a petition to review a certified interlocutory order under paragraph 3 of subsection (b) of Section 952 of this title.
§ 992.Errors In Perfecting Appeals - Raising - Waiver
Chapter 15: Appeal and Error · Last amended June 1, 1991 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 992 requires errors in perfecting an appeal to be raised in the trial court first where possible, and lets parties waive any such defect except the timely filing of a petition in error or of a petition to review a certified interlocutory order.
Full Text of § 992
Amendment History
Amended by Laws 1990, SB 881, c. 251, §13, eff. 1/1/1991; Amended by Laws 1991, SB 24, c. 251, §16, emerg. eff. 6/1/1991.
Plain-English Summary
Perfecting an appeal — completing all the procedural steps correctly — can go wrong in small ways, and this section says those problems belong in the trial court first. Where it's possible to do so, a party must raise an error in perfecting the appeal there, and can't save it up to raise for the first time before the appellate court.
Parties can also waive most of these defects. The one exception: nobody can waive the timely filing of a petition in error, the document that starts the appeal under Section 990A, or the timely filing of a petition to review a certified interlocutory order under Section 952(b)(3). Those two filings stay jurisdictional no matter what the parties agree to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I wait and raise a procedural defect in my appeal for the first time before the appellate court?
Not if it could have been raised in the trial court — the section requires raising errors in perfecting an appeal there first, where possible.
Can the parties agree to waive a defect in how an appeal was perfected?
Generally yes, except for the timely filing of a petition in error and the timely filing of a petition to review a certified interlocutory order under Section 952(b)(3), which can't be waived.
Why can't the deadline to file a petition in error be waived?
The section carves it out by name as one of two filings that stay mandatory regardless of what the parties agree to.
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: waiver of appeal defects Oklahoma12 O.S. § 992jurisdictional requirement petition in error Oklahomaerrors in perfecting appeal raised in trial court