Best examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format

Quick examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format

Let’s start the way practitioners actually think: with concrete examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format. Then we’ll reverse‑engineer the pattern.

Here are several core patterns you’ll use constantly:

• Federal rule, no date needed
  Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).

• Federal appellate rule
  Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A).

• Federal evidence rule
  Fed. R. Evid. 403.

• State supreme court rules (Illinois)
  Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 341(h)(7).

• State rules of civil procedure (Texas)
  Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c).

• State rules of appellate procedure (Washington)
  Wash. R. App. P. 2.2(a)(1).

• Local federal district rule
  D. Mass. Local R. 56.1.

Each of these is a clean, Bluebook‑style example of court rule citation in Bluebook format. Now let’s break down how to build them, and then layer in trickier situations like online sources, historical versions, and unofficial compilations.

Core Bluebook rules for citing court rules

The Bluebook’s guidance for court rules sits mainly in Rule 12 (statutes and similar materials) and Table T1 (jurisdiction‑specific abbreviations). Even though court rules are not statutes, the Bluebook treats them similarly in structure.

At a high level, a standard court rule citation follows this pattern:

[Abbreviated name of rule set] rule number ([year, if needed]).

You’ve already seen an example of that pattern:

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).

Breaking that down:

• Fed. = Federal
• R. = Rule(s)
• Civ. P. = Civil Procedure
• 12 = rule number
• (b)(6) = subdivisions

Most modern rule sets are cited without a year unless you’re citing a historical version or a rule that has changed in a way that matters to your argument.

When in doubt, check Table T1 in the current (21st) edition of The Bluebook for the exact abbreviation for your jurisdiction’s rules. The table is updated regularly, and law schools and courts are still aligning with the 2021–2024 tweaks.

Federal rules: best examples and common patterns

Federal rules are where most students first encounter examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format. The structure is very consistent, which is nice.

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Federal civil rules follow this pattern:

Fed. R. Civ. P. [rule number]([subsection]).

Real examples include:

• Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2)
  (short and plain statement of the claim)

• Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b)(3)
  (factual contentions and evidentiary support)

• Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a)
  (summary judgment standard)

No publisher, edition, or year is required for current rules unless you’re distinguishing between different historical versions.

Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure

Same idea, different abbreviation:

Fed. R. Crim. P. [rule number]([subsection]).

For example:

• Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(1)(G).
• Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(i)(3)(B).

Again, these are straightforward examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format that you can reuse as a template.

Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure

Cited as:

Fed. R. App. P. [rule number]([subsection]).

Useful real examples:

• Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A)
  (time to file a notice of appeal in civil cases)

• Fed. R. App. P. 28(a)(8)(A)
  (argument section requirements)

These show how deep you can go with nested subsections. Just keep the sequence in order and don’t add extra punctuation.

Federal Rules of Evidence

Evidence rules are cited as:

Fed. R. Evid. [rule number].

Typical examples include:

• Fed. R. Evid. 401.
• Fed. R. Evid. 403.
• Fed. R. Evid. 801(c).

Notice that even with a single subsection, like (c), you keep the parentheses.

For the official text of these rules, you can consult the U.S. Courts website, which maintains current versions:

• Federal rules overview: https://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/current-rules-practice-procedure

State rules: real examples and tricky abbreviations

Once you leave the federal world, the abbreviations get messier. This is where the best examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format become invaluable.

State rules of civil and criminal procedure

Each state has its own naming convention. A few real examples:

• Texas Rules of Civil Procedure
  Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c).

• Florida Rules of Civil Procedure
  Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(a).

• New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (technically a statute)
  N.Y. C.P.L.R. 3211(a)(7) (McKinney 2024).

  New York’s CPLR is in statutory form, so it uses a statutory citation format with publisher and year. It still functions like a rule set, which is why students often look for an example of how to cite it.

• California Rules of Court
  Cal. R. Ct. 8.204(a)(1)(C).

  Here, R. Ct. stands for Rules of Court. California is a good reminder that you should always verify abbreviations in Table T1 rather than guessing.

State supreme court and appellate rules

Many states have separate rules for their highest courts or appellate procedure. Some examples include:

• Illinois Supreme Court Rules
  Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 341(h)(7).

• Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure
  Pa. R. App. P. 1925(b).

• Washington Rules of Appellate Procedure
  Wash. R. App. P. 2.2(a)(1).

All of these are solid examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format because they show:

• The jurisdiction abbreviation (Ill., Pa., Wash.)
• The court or subject (Sup. Ct., R. App. P.)
• The rule number and subdivisions

For official state rule texts, state court websites are your best source. For instance, the Illinois Courts site hosts its Supreme Court Rules:

• Illinois Supreme Court Rules: https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/supreme-court-rules

Local rules: district courts, circuits, and beyond

Local rules can feel like the Wild West, but the Bluebook still expects a consistent structure. You identify:

• The court (usually abbreviated by district or circuit)
• The type of rule (Local R., LR, LCrR, etc.)
• The rule number

A few real‑world examples:

• District of Massachusetts Local Rules
  D. Mass. Local R. 56.1.

• Northern District of California Civil Local Rules
  N.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. 7-2.

• Southern District of New York Local Civil Rules
  S.D.N.Y. Local Civ. R. 6.1.

• Fifth Circuit Local Rules
  5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.

These are all valid examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format. The abbreviations for the courts themselves come from Table T7 (court names) and Table T1 (jurisdictions).

Local rules are updated frequently, especially for electronic filing and page limits. For current texts, the U.S. Courts system again provides consolidated access:

• Local rules by court: https://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/local-rules-and-forms

Online and electronic sources: citing court rules from the web

In 2024 and 2025, almost nobody is pulling court rules from a printed volume. You are likely using:

• Official court websites
• Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg Law
• Free services like Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (LII)

The Bluebook has shifted toward citation to official or authenticated online sources when available. The core rule citation usually looks the same, but you may need to:

• Add a parenthetical date if you’re citing a version as of a specific time.
• Include a URL if there is no standard print or official citation.

For example, if an online‑only local rule is available only on a court site and has no print citation, you might use:

D. Idaho Civ. R. 7.1(b) (effective Dec. 1, 2023), https://www.id.uscourts.gov/

That’s a realistic example of court rule citation in Bluebook format for a purely electronic rule. Notice the structure:

• Rule citation first
• Parenthetical with effective date
• URL last

For federal rules that have both official print and official online versions, you generally cite them in the standard short form (Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).) and skip the URL, because the rule set is well known and easily accessible.

For guidance on authenticated online legal materials, the Law Library of Congress and state government sites are useful references, even if you don’t cite them in your paper:

• Law Library of Congress digital resources: https://www.loc.gov/law/

Historical versions and date parentheticals

Sometimes your argument turns on which version of a rule applied at a particular time. In that case, the examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format you’ve seen so far need one more piece: a date.

Two common approaches:

• Year only, when a rule is cited as it appeared in a particular edition:
  Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) (2010).

• Full effective date, when the precise change date matters:
  Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(1)(A) (amended Dec. 1, 2014).

You use these formats when:

• The rule has been significantly amended.
• The case you’re discussing applied an older version.
• You’re tracing doctrinal change over time.

This is a classic example of court rule citation in Bluebook format being used strategically, not just mechanically.

To verify historical rule versions, the U.S. Courts site and federal rulemaking archives are your friends, along with historical print or PDF compilations.

Short forms and cross‑references

Once you’ve given a full citation, you can usually switch to a short form. For court rules, the Bluebook allows you to use a shortened reference as long as it’s clear.

For example:

• Full: Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).
• Short form later in the piece: Rule 56(a).

Or:

• Full: Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 341(h)(7).
• Short form: Ill. S. Ct. R. 341(h)(7). or simply Rule 341(h)(7) if your context is clearly limited to Illinois.

When you write something like, “Under Rule 11(b)(3), counsel must certify that…,” the reader will connect that back to your earlier full citation to Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b)(3).

The Bluebook’s short‑form principle is simple: use enough information that a careful reader can identify the source without confusion. That’s why solid, early examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format make the rest of your short forms easy.

Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

After editing far too many law review notes and seminar papers, I see the same errors over and over. Here are the big ones, paired with better examples.

Mistake 1: Inventing abbreviations
Students often write things like Fed. R. Civ. Proc. or Federal R. Civ. P. Neither matches Bluebook style.

• Wrong: Federal R. Civ. Proc. 12(b)(6)
• Right: Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).

Mistake 2: Omitting the court level for state rules
You’ll see Ill. R. 341(h)(7) instead of specifying that it’s a Supreme Court rule.

• Wrong: Ill. R. 341(h)(7)
• Right: Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 341(h)(7).

Mistake 3: Treating local rules like generic statutes
Local rules need the court identifier.

• Wrong: Local Rule 56.1 (in a footnote with no context)
• Right: D. Mass. Local R. 56.1.

Mistake 4: Random capitalization
Stick to the abbreviations and capitalization in Table T1 and T7. Don’t improvise with Rules vs. R. or Court vs. Ct.

If you’re ever unsure whether your draft looks right, compare it to the examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format in this guide and to citations in recent law review articles from reputable journals (Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc.). They’re usually meticulous about Bluebook style.

FAQ: examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format

Q: Can you give another example of citing a state appellate rule in Bluebook format?
Yes. Suppose you’re citing an Arizona appellate rule on the record on appeal. A proper citation would look like:

Ariz. R. Civ. App. P. 11(c)(1).

This follows the pattern you’ve seen in other examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format: jurisdiction, rule set, rule number, and subdivisions.

Q: Do I ever include a publisher, like West or Lexis, for court rules?
Generally, no. For rules that exist as standalone rule sets (federal rules, state rules of court), you cite the rule set itself, not the commercial publisher. You might include a publisher and year when the rule is codified in a statutory compilation, like N.Y. C.P.L.R. 3211(a)(7) (McKinney 2024).

Q: What’s an example of citing a rule that only exists online?
If a municipal or specialty court posts its rules only on its website, and there’s no standard citation, you combine a descriptive title with a URL and date:

Small Claims Court Local Rule 5(b) (City of Springfield, effective Jan. 1, 2024), https://www.springfieldcourts.gov/local-rules.

This is a realistic example of court rule citation in Bluebook format for a purely online, local rule.

Q: Do I need to include an access date for online court rules?
Usually not, if the source is stable and official (for example, a state court’s PDF of its rules). The Bluebook prefers access dates only when the source is likely to change or lacks a clear publication or effective date. When in doubt, include an effective date for the rule rather than an access date for you.

Q: How do law reviews handle changes to the Bluebook’s rule‑citation guidance?
Most journals adopt the latest edition of the Bluebook but may have their own style quirks. The overall pattern for court rules has been stable through the 21st edition, so the best examples of court rule citation in Bluebook format from recent articles (2022–2024) should still be safe models. Always check your journal’s internal style guide if you’re on law review.

If you bookmark anything from this page, make it the patterns in the federal and state examples. Once those are second nature, every new rule citation you encounter becomes a quick plug‑and‑play job instead of a late‑night Bluebook panic.