Short answer. It must state the full names of all parties, include the judgment or final order appealed from, and in chronological order the related pleadings, motions, and interlocutory orders, plus data showing timely perfection. If a factual issue is raised, it must reference all relevant testimonial and documentary evidence.
What the law says
The full names of all the parties to the proceedings shall be stated in the caption of the record on appeal and it shall include the judgment or final order from which the appeal is taken and, in chronological order, copies of only such pleadings, petitions, motions and all interlocutory orders as are related to the appealed judgment or final order for the proper understanding of the issue involved, together with such data as will show that the appeal was perfected on time. If an issue of fact is to be raised on appeal, the record on appeal shall include by reference all the evidence, testimonial and documentary, taken upon the issue involved. The reference shall specify the documentary evidence by the exhibit numbers or letters by which it was identified when admitted or offered at the hearing, and the testimonial evidence by the names of the corresponding witnesses. If the whole testimonial and documentary evidence in the case is to be included, a statement to that effect will be sufficient without mentioning the names of the witnesses or the numbers or letters of exhibits. Every record on appeal exceeding twenty pages must contain a subject index.
Rule 41, Section 6 — Record on appeal; form and contents thereof. Read the full provision →
Basic required contents
The record on appeal must state the full names of all the parties to the proceedings in its caption, and it must include the judgment or final order from which the appeal is taken, along with, in chronological order, only such pleadings, petitions, motions, and interlocutory orders related to that appealed judgment as are needed for a proper understanding of the issues, together with data showing that the appeal was perfected on time. This content requirement binds the appellant preparing the record; the appellee is not obligated to supply missing pleadings the appellant left out, and an incomplete record can be a ground for the appellate court to require correction before the appeal proceeds further.
Referencing evidence for factual issues, and a shortcut for including everything
If an issue of fact is going to be raised on appeal, the record must also include, by reference, all of the testimonial and documentary evidence taken on that particular issue, specifying documentary evidence by its exhibit number or letter and testimonial evidence by the names of the witnesses involved. Where the whole of the testimonial and documentary evidence is meant to be included, a simple statement to that effect is enough, without having to individually name every witness or exhibit.
The subject index requirement
Whatever the final content ends up being, every record on appeal that exceeds twenty pages must contain a subject index, so that a lengthy record remains navigable for the appellate court reviewing it. A lengthy record without an index would otherwise force the appellate court to page through the whole document just to locate a single pleading or order. This requirement binds the party preparing the record, not the appellate court itself; a party who omits the index despite exceeding twenty pages risks having the record returned for correction rather than accepted as filed, since the rule frames the index as mandatory once the page threshold is crossed, not as an optional courtesy left to the preparer's discretion.
Related provisions
- Rule 41, Section 6 — Record on appeal; form and contents thereof
- Rule 41, Section 5 — Notice of appeal
- Rule 41, Section 7 — Approval of record on appeal