Short answer. Not automatically. Within fifteen days from notice that the petition was given due course, the Court of Appeals may require the agency to transmit the original or a certified copy of the entire record, though the parties may agree to abridge what is transmitted.
What the law says
Within fifteen days from notice that the petition has been given due course, the Court of Appeals may require the court or agency concerned to transmit the original or a legible certified true copy of the entire record of the proceeding under review.
Rule 43, Section 11 — Transmittal of record. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The record to be transmitted may be abridged by agreement of all parties to the proceeding.
Rule 43, Section 11 — Transmittal of record. Read the full provision →
Transmittal is discretionary, not automatic
Giving a petition due course does not by itself move the agency's file to the Court of Appeals. Section 11 gives the court a fifteen-day window, from notice of due course, within which it may require the court or agency concerned to transmit the original or a legible certified true copy of the entire record of the proceeding under review — the word 'may' keeps this a discretionary step, not an automatic one, leaving the court free to proceed without the full record where it is unnecessary. The Court of Appeals might, for example, decide the petition and comment already give it enough to work with, without needing the complete underlying agency file.
Parties can agree to a shorter record
Full agency records can be voluminous, and Rule 43 allows for a practical shortcut: the record to be transmitted may be abridged by agreement of all parties to the proceeding. Where both sides agree that only certain portions matter for the appeal, they can spare themselves and the court the burden of processing the entire file, which speeds up the appeal for everyone involved in the case. Such agreements are especially useful in cases where only a narrow legal issue is being appealed and most of the agency record is simply not in dispute.
Correction and supplementation of the record
Rule 43 also lets the Court of Appeals require or permit later correction of or additions to the transmitted record, recognizing that a first transmittal may not always be perfectly complete. Parties should not assume that whatever first arrives at the Court of Appeals is necessarily the final and complete record for the appeal, since gaps or errors can still be addressed after the initial transmittal takes place. A party who spots a gap in the transmitted record should raise it promptly rather than waiting until briefing or oral argument to point out the omission.
Related provisions
- Rule 43, Section 11 — Transmittal of record
- Rule 43, Section 10 — Due course
- Rule 43, Section 13 — Submission for decision