Rule 79.Records kept by the clerk

Current through January 1, 2025 · Last verified July 8, 2026

In one sentenceRule 79 requires the clerk to maintain a civil docket recording every filing, process, appearance, order, and judgment in chronological order by file number, keep a separate record of final judgments and property-affecting orders, prepare indexes and trial calendars, and permits digital or microphotographic recordkeeping.

Full Text of Rule 79

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(a) Civil docket.

(1) In general. The clerk shall keep a record known as the “civil docket” in the form and manner prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals. The clerk shall enter each civil action in the docket. Actions shall be assigned consecutive file numbers, which shall be noted in the docket where the first entry of the action is made.

(2) Items to be entered. The following items shall be marked with the file number and entered chronologically in the docket:

(A) documents filed with the clerk;

(B) process issued and proofs of service or other returns showing execution; and

(3) Contents of entries. Each entry shall briefly state the nature of the paper filed or writ issued, the substance of each proof of service or other return and the substance and date of entry of each order and judgment.

(4) Jury trial demanded. When a jury trial has been properly demanded or ordered, the clerk shall enter the word “jury” in the docket.

(b) Civil judgments and orders. The clerk shall keep a copy of every final judgment and appealable order; every order affecting title to or a lien on real or personal property; and of any other order that the court directs to be kept. The clerk shall keep these in the form and manner prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

(1) keep indexes of the docket and of the judgments and orders described in Rule 79(b); and

(2) prepare calendars of all actions ready for trial, distinguishing jury trials from nonjury trials.

(d) Other records. The clerk shall keep any other records required by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

(e) Recording by digital or other images. The clerk may keep any and all records and documents, otherwise required by any provision of law to be recorded in a book as described above, in microphotographic, digital, or other format which employs a process for image-storing of documents in a reduced size. The format shall conform to the applicable policy approved by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

End

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

Rule 79 is the record-keeping backbone behind every civil case. The clerk keeps a "civil docket" in the form the Supreme Court of Appeals prescribes, assigning each action its own consecutive file number and entering every document filed, every piece of process issued (with proof of service), and every appearance, order, verdict, and judgment chronologically under that number — with a brief note of what each entry is, and the word "jury" logged whenever a jury trial has been properly demanded or ordered.

Beyond the docket itself, the clerk keeps a separate copy of every final judgment and appealable order, every order affecting title to or a lien on property, and anything else the court directs preserved. Under the court's direction, the clerk also maintains indexes of the docket and those judgments and orders, and prepares trial calendars that separate jury trials from nonjury ones — plus any other records the Supreme Court of Appeals requires. All of this can be kept in digital or microphotographic form instead of a paper book, as long as the format follows the Supreme Court of Appeals' approved policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the "civil docket," and what goes in it?

The clerk's chronological record of every civil action, entered under a consecutive file number, including every document filed, process issued and its proof of service, and every appearance, order, verdict, and judgment.

Does the clerk keep records beyond the docket itself?

Yes — a separate copy of every final judgment and appealable order, every order affecting title to or a lien on property, indexes of the docket and those records, and trial calendars distinguishing jury from nonjury trials.

Can court records be kept digitally instead of on paper?

Yes. Rule 79(e) lets the clerk keep records in microphotographic, digital, or other reduced-size image format, as long as it follows the Supreme Court of Appeals' approved policy.

Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the official West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (W. Va. R. Civ. P. 79). 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: civil docketclerk's recordstrial calendar