How do you write a federal civil rights complaint?

This page is general information about how a complaint is put together. It is not legal advice about your case.

A civil rights complaint in short

• Suits against state or local officials over constitutional rights are usually brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Suits against federal officers are a different, narrower kind of claim. The Section 1983 guide explains the claim.
• Most complaints are organized in these parts: caption, parties, jurisdiction and venue, facts, claims, request for relief, and signature. Many add a jury demand.
• Rule 10 asks for numbered paragraphs, each limited “as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances.”
• Rule 11 requires a signature, and signing makes promises to the court about the facts and the law.
• The federal courts publish free fill-in forms, and some district courts have their own.

What is a complaint, and which rules shape it?

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 3 says: “A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court.” The person who files it is the plaintiff. The people being sued are the defendants. A complaint is a pleading, a paper like a complaint or an answer that states a side’s case.

What goes in each part of a civil rights complaint?

1. The caption. The court, the parties, the file number and the name of the paper.
2. The parties. Who is suing, who is being sued, and in what capacity.
3. Jurisdiction and venue. Why this court can hear the case, and why this district.
4. The facts. What happened, in numbered paragraphs.
5. The claims. Each legal basis for relief, often as a separate count.
6. The request for relief. What the court is asked to order.
7. The jury demand. A written demand, if a jury is wanted.
8. The signature. The signer’s signature and contact details.

1. The caption

The caption is the block at the top of the first page. Rule 10(a) says: “Every pleading must have a caption with the court’s name, a title, a file number, and a Rule 7(a) designation. The title of the complaint must name all the parties ...”

• The court’s name, such as “United States District Court for the ___ District of ___.”
• The title, listing every plaintiff and defendant.
• The file number, the case number the clerk assigns. A new complaint leaves it blank.
• The Rule 7(a) designation, the name of the paper. Rule 7(a) lists “a complaint” as a pleading, so it is titled “Complaint.”

2. The parties

Each party usually gets its own numbered paragraph. For each defendant, complaints give the name, job title and workplace, and whether the person is sued in an individual capacity (as a person) or an official capacity (as the office).

Court papers are public. The judiciary’s form page says “papers filed with the court should not contain anyone’s full social-security number or full birth date,” and that filings should also leave out a known minor’s name and full financial account numbers.

3. Jurisdiction and venue

Jurisdiction is a court’s power to hear a kind of case. Rule 8(a)(1) asks for “a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction ...” For a civil rights claim against state or local officials, complaints usually cite two statutes:

• 28 U.S.C. § 1331, which covers “all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.”
• 28 U.S.C. § 1343(a)(3), which covers civil actions “[t]o redress the deprivation, under color of any State law ... of any right, privilege or immunity secured by the Constitution of the United States ...”

Venue is the reason this district is the right place. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), a civil action may be brought in “a judicial district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located,” or in “a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred ...”

4. The facts

The facts come next. The section after these parts covers how much detail they need.

5. The claims

A claim (also called a cause of action) is one legal basis for asking the court for relief. Rule 8(a)(2) asks for “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief ...”

Rule 10(b) adds: “If doing so would promote clarity, each claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence ... must be stated in a separate count ...” A count is a labeled section for one claim, such as “Count I: Excessive force, against Officer Doe.” Which amendment a force claim falls under can depend on whether the person was being arrested, held before trial, or serving a sentence, and the Section 1983 guide explains the difference.

Many complaints name the right in each count, name the defendants it is against, and point back to the fact paragraphs by number. Rule 10(c) allows that: “A statement in a pleading may be adopted by reference elsewhere in the same pleading or in any other pleading or motion.”

6. The request for relief

Relief is what you ask the court to order. Rule 8(a)(3) requires “a demand for the relief sought, which may include relief in the alternative or different types of relief.” Each request often gets its own line, such as money damages, an order to stop or start doing something, and court costs.

7. The jury demand

Some complaints end with a jury demand. Rule 38(b) says a party may demand a jury trial in writing, and that the demand “may be included in a pleading ...” Rule 38(d) says “A party waives a jury trial unless its demand is properly served and filed.”

8. The signature

Rule 11(a) says every pleading “must be signed ... by a party personally if the party is unrepresented. The paper must state the signer’s address, e-mail address, and telephone number.” It also says “The court must strike an unsigned paper unless the omission is promptly corrected after being called to the attorney’s or party’s attention.”

Under Rule 11(b), signing certifies, after “an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances,” that the paper is not filed “for any improper purpose ...” It also certifies that the legal claims are “warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument” for changing it. And it certifies that “the factual contentions have evidentiary support” or, if the paper says so for a specific fact, will likely have support after discovery, the stage where each side gets evidence. Nonfrivolous means serious and in good faith. Rule 11(c) lets a court sanction (penalize) a person who breaks these promises.

Rule 11(a) also says that, unless a rule or statute says otherwise, “a pleading need not be verified or accompanied by an affidavit.” Verified means sworn to, and an affidavit is a sworn written statement.

How much detail do the facts in a complaint need?

Rule 10(b) says a party “must state its claims or defenses in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances.” Facts are usually told in time order, one event per paragraph: who did what, when and where.

Short and plain does not mean thin. In Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009), the Supreme Court said a complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” It added that “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” It also said, at 676, that a plaintiff “must plead that each Government-official defendant, through the official’s own individual actions, has violated the Constitution.”

Compare “The officer violated my rights” with “On March 3, at about 9 p.m., at the corner of Main and 4th, Officer Doe took my phone and deleted my video after I said I was recording.” The first is a conclusion. The second is a set of facts. (Both are made-up examples.)

What is different on the prisoner complaint form?

The national prisoner form, Pro Se 14, Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights (Prisoner), has more sections than the parts above. It also asks about prisoner status, injuries, “Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies” and “Previous Lawsuits.” Its statement of claim asks the filer to “Describe how each defendant was personally involved in the alleged wrongful action,” and its relief section says “Do not cite any cases or statutes.”

A prisoner’s complaint is also reviewed early. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), “The court shall review, before docketing, if feasible or, in any event, as soon as practicable after docketing,” a prisoner’s complaint against a government entity, officer or employee. The prisoner civil rights guide explains the grievance rule and this review.

The non-prisoner form is Pro Se 15, and the general form is Pro Se 1, Complaint for a Civil Case. The Section 1983 guide’s form section links to Pro Se 14, Pro Se 15 and the judiciary’s full list of civil forms. Some district courts publish their own form, and a court’s local rules may require it.

What mistakes are common in a civil rights complaint?

• Conclusions instead of facts. Under Iqbal, “mere conclusory statements” do not suffice.
• Forgetting the contact details. Rule 11(a) asks for the signer’s “address, e-mail address, and telephone number.” The prisoner form asks for a prison ID number and prison address instead.
• Writing the complaint after the deadline. The judiciary’s form page warns that “The forms do not give any guidance on when certain kinds of pleadings or claims or defenses have to be raised ...” The Section 1983 guide explains where the time limit comes from.

After filing, the next papers are usually motions; see how to file a motion.

More questions about writing a civil rights complaint

Rules, statutes and cases cited on this page

Fed. R. Civ. P. 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 38 · 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343, 1391, 1915A · 42 U.S.C. § 1983 · Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009)

Guides related to writing a civil rights complaint

What is a Section 1983 lawsuit? · Can a person in prison file a Section 1983 lawsuit? · How do I file a motion in court? · What is a civil cover sheet? · Can’t afford a lawyer? Free legal help