Formal exceptions to rulings or orders of the court are unnecessary.
Rule 46.Exceptions Unnecessary
Last amended July 1, 1991 · Last verified July 2, 2026
In one sentenceRule 46 does away with the need to take a formal exception to a court’s ruling or order, so long as the party made its position or objection — and the reasons for it, if the court asks — known at the time of the ruling.
Full Text of Rule 46
Advisory Commission Comments
Amendment History
- As amended by orders entered January 20 and 24, 1989, effective August 1, 1989, and by order entered January 25, 1991, effective July 1, 1991.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 46 is a single sentence eliminating an old formality: a party no longer has to take a separate, formal exception to preserve its objection to a ruling or order for appeal. What still matters is substance — the party has to make known, at the time the court rules, what action it wants the court to take or what it is objecting to, and, if the court asks, why. Once that is on the record, nothing more is required to preserve the point.
The rule reflects a broader theme running through Tennessee’s civil procedure rules: form should not stand in the way of a party being heard on the merits of its objection. Before rules like this one, failing to observe a technical step — like announcing a formal exception — could cost a party appellate review of an otherwise valid objection, regardless of how clearly the objection itself had been made.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to say “I except” after a judge rules against me to preserve the issue for appeal?
No. Rule 46 abolished the need for a formal exception. You preserve the point by making your objection, or the action you want the court to take, known at the time of the ruling.
What do I need to do to preserve an objection under Rule 46?
State what you want the court to do or what you are objecting to at the time of the ruling, and give your reasons if the court asks. That is all the rule requires.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Commission Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
official Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure (Tenn. R. Civ. P. 46). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 16-3-402 to 16-3-407, 16-3-601). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 2, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: formal exceptions abolishedpreserving objections for appeal
Advisory Commission Comments.
This Rule makes formal exceptions to all rulings and orders unnecessary, provided that the aggrieved party, at the time of the adverse ruling or order, makes known the action which he desires or his objections and, on request of the court, his grounds therefor.