Federal Court Rules for iPhone and iPad
All five sets of the Federal Rules on your phone or tablet, ready to read and search whether or not you have a signal.
Free to download and free for 7 days, then $4.99 a year.
Get it on the App StoreNeeds iOS 16.4 or later. There is no Android version.
A look inside
What's included
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP)
- Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE)
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (FRCrP)
- Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (FRBP)
- Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP)
That is 537 rules in all. Each has its full text, its amendment history, and the committee notes: the explanations the drafters wrote when the rule was adopted or changed.
What it does
Works without a connection
The rules are saved on your device the first time you open the app, so they are there in a courthouse basement, on a plane, or anywhere else the signal doesn't reach.
Search every rule
Search every word of all five sets at once, even offline. Look up a rule by its number, find the rules that discuss a term, or find a word inside the rule you're reading and its notes.
Laid out the way rules are read
Subdivisions keep their structure, so (a), (a)(1), and (a)(1)(A) are as clear on a phone as on the page. When one rule cites another, the citation is a link, even across rule sets: a civil rule that refers to an evidence rule takes you there in one tap.
Highlights, bookmarks, and notes
Highlight a passage, bookmark a rule, and write yourself a note about why it matters. They follow you to your other Apple devices through your own iCloud account. There is no account to create, and we can't see any of it.
Ask a question (experimental)
Ask a question in plain English, such as how long a defendant has to answer a complaint, and get a short answer with links to the parts of the rules it comes from. The answer is written on your device by Apple Intelligence, Apple's built-in AI, and your question never leaves the device. Answers can be wrong or incomplete, so read the rule before relying on one. Fifty-two common questions have answers checked by our editors. Ask needs an iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence, running iOS 26 or later.
Made for iPhone and iPad
On iPad, the list of rules stays beside the rule you're reading. Text follows your device's text-size setting, and the app works in light or dark mode.
Always current
Changes to the Federal Rules take effect on December 1 each year. The app checks for them and updates itself, so there is no new edition to buy.
Price
The download is free, and so are the first 7 days. After that, reading the rules takes a subscription of $4.99 a year (the App Store shows the price in your own currency). Everything on this page is included, and there is nothing else to buy.
The subscription renews each year unless you cancel at least 24 hours before it ends. Cancel any time in your App Store account settings. Canceling during the free week costs nothing.
Questions
Do I need an account?
No. The App Store handles the subscription, and your notes are kept in your own iCloud.
How do I cancel?
On your iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, and choose Federal Court Rules.
I'd rather have a book.
We publish the same rules in print, updated every year. See our Federal Court Rules books.
What about my privacy?
The app has no ads, no tracking, and no account. What you read and search stays on your device, and so do your questions to Ask. Our privacy policy has the details.
Something not working?
Contact us and tell us which device you're using.