Subject to the provisions of Rule 54(b), the court shall promptly settle or approve the form of the judgment and sign it as authority for entry by the clerk. The clerk, forthwith upon receipt of the signed judgment, shall enter it in the civil docket as provided by Rule 79(a). The notation of a judgment in the civil docket as provided by Rule 79(a) constitutes the entry of the judgment; and the judgment is not effective before such entry. The entry of judgment shall not be delayed for the taxing of costs or to permit a motion for a new trial or any other motion permitted by these rules.
Rule 58.Entry of judgments
Current through January 1, 2025 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 58 requires the court to settle and sign the form of judgment, has the clerk enter it in the civil docket -- the act that makes the judgment effective -- and bars delaying that entry to tax costs or to allow post-trial motions.
Full Text of Rule 58
Amendment History
The current West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure took effect January 1, 2025, as part of a rewrite that modernized the rules’ numbering and structure. West Virginia does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own January 1, 2025 update; for the underlying adopting order and any later amendments, see the West Virginia Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
A judgment isn't effective the moment a judge decides a case — it becomes effective when it's entered. Rule 58 requires the court, subject to Rule 54(b)'s rules on partial judgments, to promptly settle or approve the judgment's form and sign it, after which the clerk enters it in the civil docket under Rule 79(a). That docket notation is the entry of judgment, and nothing before it counts.
Rule 58 also keeps entry from getting bogged down: it can't be delayed to tax costs, or to wait for a motion for a new trial or any other post-trial motion these rules allow. Judgment gets entered promptly, and whatever else needs sorting out — costs, post-trial motions — happens on its own track afterward.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a judgment take effect?
When the clerk enters it in the civil docket under Rule 79(a) — not when the court decides the case or signs the judgment. The judgment isn't effective before that entry.
Can entry of judgment be delayed to resolve costs or a post-trial motion?
No. Rule 58 expressly says entry of judgment can't be delayed for taxing costs or to permit a motion for a new trial or any other motion these rules allow.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (W. Va. R. Civ. P. 58). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (W. Va. Const. art. VIII, § 3). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: entry of judgmentwhen is a judgment effectivecivil docket