Rule 46 Clerical Mistakes

If a court order, judgment, opinion, or other document has a small clerical error, like a typo or a minor mistake that happened because something was accidentally left out or overlooked, the appellate court can fix it. This only covers small, non-substantive mistakes, not errors that would change the actual outcome or legal reasoning of the case.

The court can fix these mistakes on its own, without anyone having to ask. It can also fix them if someone files a motion asking for the correction. Either way, the court decides how and when to make the fix.

This rule exists so small errors do not cause confusion or problems later. It keeps the official record accurate without requiring a full appeal or a major legal fight over something minor like a wrong date, a misspelled name, or a typo in a citation.