How to Write a Legal Caption

At the top of every complaint - and many other pleadings - is something called a caption. A caption lists the plaintiff's name, the defendant's name, the name of the document, the court where the matter was filed, and the docket number. It sometimes includes the name and the firm of the attorneys handling the matter, as well. If you are writing your own complaint, you will need to create your own legal caption for any documents you submit that require one. Follow these steps to learn how to write a legal caption:

Instructions

1. 

   Create a Shell for Your Caption

   Most every caption uses a similar looking "shell" for displaying the information. It's a good idea to create a blank shell that you can copy and paste to fill in for every pleading you draft during the course of the matter. Below is a typical blank shell that you can copy and paste into a new document using your favorite text editor (Word and WordPerfect are the most popular):

   UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
   (district name) DISTRICT OF (state)
   __________________________________________________________
   )
   (Name of Plaintiff), ) Civil Action No.: __________
   Plaintiff, )
   )
   v. ) (Name of Pleading)
   )
   (Name of Defendant), )
   Defendant )
   )
   ____________________________)______________________________

2. 

   Fill in the Blanks

   To complete your caption, simply fill in the necessary information. Once the shell is pasted into a new document, you need to fill in the district court and the state where the court is situated, the first and last name of the plaintiff, the first and last name of the defendant, and the name of the pleading. For example, when writing a complaint, (Name of Pleading) would be replaced with "Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial," or simply "Complaint."

   Keep in mind, you may need to change the entire top of the caption - replacing "DISTRICT OF" with whatever court you are filing with. You can contact the clerk of the court to find out exactly what should be listed at the top of your caption.

   You can also expand your caption to include additional plaintiffs and/or defendants, if necessary. Each name or entity should be separated by a comma, and follow the same format as the caption example above.

   If you are writing this caption for a complaint, you will obviously not know the civil action number - also known as a docket number - because you haven't been assigned one yet. You can leave this line blank for now, but it must be included; when you file the complaint with the court, the clerk will fill in the docket number for you. Once you have a docket number, you must fill in this number for every pleading you submit after the complaint.

3. 

   Add the Caption to Your Pleading

   Now that your caption is complete, it needs to be added to the very top of your pleading. Some courts have guidelines for how many spaces the caption must be from the top of the page, while other courts require the caption to be at the top of every page. The general rule of thumb is that the caption is only displayed on the first page of the pleading, 5 spaces down from the top of the page. Contact the clerk of the court for your court's specific guidelines; some courts will reject your pleading if it does not meet their formatting guidelines exactly, so it is always better to err on the side of caution.

4. 

   Sample of a Completed Caption

   Below is a sample of a completed caption. This is a guideline for what your completed caption should resemble:

   UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
   CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT
   __________________________________________________________
   )
   Joseph A. Smith, ) Civil Action No.: AA-110001-S
   Plaintiff, )
   )
   v. ) COMPLAINT AND
   ) DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
   Mary J. Johnson, )
   Defendant )
   )
   ____________________________)______________________________

   Remember, you can expand your caption to include additional plaintiffs and defendants. You may also need to change the entire top of the caption ("UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, etc) depending on which court you are filing with. You can refer to your guidelines or contact the clerk of the court for help with determining what should be listed at the top of your caption.