Recent and Proposed Amendments to Federal Rules – Annual Report 2025

New and Amended Federal Rules and Official Bankruptcy Forms

On April 23, 2025, the Supreme Court adopted a new rule and several rule amendments and transmitted them to Congress. Congress took no action to modify or reject them, and they took effect on December 1, 2025. 

New and amended Official Bankruptcy Forms, approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States at its 2024 and 2025 sessions, also took effect on December 1, 2025. The new and amended rules and forms are as follows:

• Appellate Rules 6 and 39. The amendments clarify the procedure for certain bankruptcy appeals and codify the holding in City of San Antonio v. Hotels.com, 141 S. Ct. 1628 (2021) regarding costs on appeal.
• Bankruptcy Rules 3002.1 and 8006. The amendments establish a procedure in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases for review of the status of a mortgage claim by the debtor or case trustee.
• New Official Bankruptcy Forms 410C13-M1, 410C13-M1R, 410C13-N, 410C13-NR, 410C13-M2, and 410C13-M2R and Amended Official Bankruptcy Form 410S1. The amended and new forms reflect changes to Rule 3002.1 regarding determining mortgage claim status and payment adjustments to a home equity line of credit over the course of a bankruptcy case.
• Civil Rules 16, 16.1, and 26. New Rule 16.1 establishes a framework for a transferee judge’s initial management of multidistrict litigation proceedings. The amendments to Rules 16 and 26 provide for early development of a method for the parties to comply with the requirement that producing parties describe discovery materials withheld on grounds of privilege or as trial-preparation materials.  

Pending Amendments to Rules and Forms

At its September 2025 session, the Judicial Conference approved several amendments to the rules and one form, and one new rule, that will take effect on December 1, 2026, if approved by the Supreme Court and if Congress takes no action to the contrary. Those rules and the form are as follows:  

• Appellate Rules 29 and 32, Appendix of Length Limits, and Appellate Form 4
• Bankruptcy Rules 1007, 3018, 5009, 9006, 9014, 9017, and new Rule 7043
• Evidence Rule 801 

The amendments, upon becoming effective, primarily will do the following: 

• Expand the disclosure rules related to filing an amicus brief and simplify the form for requesting in forma pauperis status in appellate cases.
• Change the standard for allowing remote testimony in a bankruptcy contested matter by removing the “compelling circumstances” standard borrowed from Civil Rule 43(a) (though the amended rule would still require a finding of cause and appropriate safeguards before allowing remote testimony).
• Provide that all prior inconsistent statements admissible for impeachment are also admissible as substantive evidence. 

Proposed Amendments Published for Public Comment

In August 2025, proposed new and amended rules and forms were published for public comment from the bench, bar, and public. Those rules and forms are as follows: 

• Appellate Rule 15
• Bankruptcy Rule 2002, Official Forms 101 and 106C
• Civil Rules 7.1, 26, 41, 45, and 81
• Criminal Rule 17
• Evidence Rule 609 and new Rule 707 

The proposed amendments would, among other changes, do the following: 

• In appellate cases, address issues that may arise when a petition for review or enforcement of an agency decision is filed prematurely.
• In bankruptcy cases, simplify captions in notices given in bankruptcy proceedings, clarify the appropriate Employer Identification Number to use on official forms, and simplify reporting of property interests in which the debtor claims exemptions.
• In civil cases, expand disclosures required of corporate parties to assist judges in evaluating if recusal is appropriate, clarify that a plaintiff may obtain a voluntary dismissal of one or more claims, clarify the rules for service of subpoenas for testimony (including subpoenas for remote testimony), and update the procedures for making a jury demand after removal.
• In criminal cases, clarify that third-party subpoenas for production may be issued for criminal proceedings in addition to trial.
• For evidentiary issues, address the standard under which evidence of prior convictions not based on falsity may be introduced to attack a testifying criminal defendant’s character for truthfulness, and propose standards for the admissibility of machine-generated evidence that would be subject to Rule 702’s expert-testimony requirements if testified to by a witness.