Definition
To annul, cancel, or set aside a legal proceeding, order, judgment, or entry so that it has no further legal force or effect. Courts vacate prior rulings when they were entered unlawfully, improvidently, through fraud, or in the absence of jurisdiction. The term also applies to vacating a record entry, a commission, or any other official act.
Three distinct legal uses appear across contexts:
1. Vacating a judgment or order: A court sets aside its own prior ruling, or an appellate court nullifies a lower court's decision. The vacated judgment is rendered void — it no longer operates as res judicata and cannot be enforced.
2. Vacating a record entry: A court strikes or cancels an entry improperly or fraudulently made in the official record, restoring the proceeding to its prior state.
3. Vacating a conviction (criminal context): A court sets aside a criminal conviction, often on post-conviction review, collateral attack, or motion for new trial. Distinct from expungement, which seals or destroys the record; vacatur renders the conviction legally void.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): To move out of a dwelling or property; to leave an office or position; to leave an area by order of authorities.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): To make vacant; to leave empty; to cease from filling or occupying — as a tenant vacating a house or a monarch vacating a throne. Also, to annul or make void.
The gap between common and legal meaning is meaningful but partial. Both common and legal usage share the annulment sense, and ordinary speakers use "vacate" to mean "leave." In legal contexts, however, vacating is not merely departure — it is a formal act of nullification by a court or authorized body. A party does not vacate a judgment by ignoring it; only a court with proper authority can do so. Researchers encountering "vacated" in historical records should not read it as simple abandonment.
Common Confusion
Vacate vs. Reverse: Both result in a prior judgment losing effect, but the terms are not interchangeable. Reversal occurs when an appellate court disagrees with the lower court on the merits and substitutes a different outcome. Vacatur may occur without any ruling on the merits — for example, when a judgment is procedurally defective, entered without jurisdiction, or rendered moot. A vacated judgment is nullified; a reversed judgment is replaced.
Vacate vs. Expunge: Vacating a conviction renders it legally void but typically leaves the record intact or visible with a notation. Expungement goes further by sealing or destroying the record. Some jurisdictions use the terms interchangeably in colloquial practice, but the legal effect differs. Researchers working in criminal record contexts should verify which remedy is actually at issue.
Vacate vs. Dismiss: To dismiss a case terminates the proceeding without a decision on the merits. To vacate a prior judgment or order is an act taken after a ruling has already been entered. These are sequential, not synonymous, procedural events.
Why It Matters in Research
Historical sources use "vacate" with reasonable consistency, but the range of things that can be vacated has expanded significantly. Early sources focus on vacating entries and judgments within active proceedings. Modern practice adds post-conviction vacatur, vacating arbitration awards, and vacating administrative orders — categories absent from the historical dictionaries. Researchers working in post-conviction law, administrative law, or alternative dispute resolution should not assume the historical definitions fully cover their context.
The distinction between vacatur and reversal is especially important when tracking appellate outcomes. Court reporters and legal databases may use "vacated and remanded," "reversed and remanded," or "vacated and dismissed" to describe materially different outcomes. Treating these as interchangeable produces research errors.
In property law contexts, the common meaning (vacating premises) appears frequently in landlord-tenant materials, lease agreements, and eviction records. Researchers must read closely: a landlord's notice to vacate and a court's order vacating a judgment are entirely different instruments.
Criminal record research presents compounding complexity. Whether a vacated conviction can be considered in subsequent proceedings, used for impeachment, or reported by background check services varies substantially by jurisdiction and by the ground on which vacatur was granted.
Historical Dictionary Support
The four source dictionaries are in close agreement on the core meaning: to annul, make void, or cancel a legal act. Burrill is the most instructive, noting that courts vacate proceedings when a judgment has been "illegally entered" or an order "improvidently granted" — language that reflects the equitable and supervisory grounds for vacatur still recognized today. Bouvier adds the fraud and surprise rationale, consistent with the continuing use of Rule 60(b)-type motions in modern civil procedure.
None of the historical dictionaries address vacating criminal convictions as a distinct category, nor do they address vacating arbitration awards — both significant modern applications. Black's (both editions) and Burrill focus exclusively on court proceedings and record entries. Researchers should treat the historical definitions as capturing the procedural core while remaining alert to the expanded scope of the term in modern practice.
Webster's 1913 is notable for including the political usage — Parliament vacating the throne — which illustrates that "vacate" once carried a broader constitutional and political register beyond judicial proceedings. That usage has largely receded from legal discourse but may appear in historical constitutional materials.
Jurisdictional Note
The procedural mechanics and grounds for vacating judgments vary across federal and state systems. Federal practice under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides specific grounds. State rules differ in nomenclature, time limits, and available grounds. In criminal contexts, some states use "vacate" as a term of art for post-conviction relief while others use "set aside" or "nullify" with equivalent effect.