Prisoners
Absent leave of the court, all pleadings and documents filed by an unrepresented party or
prisoner, including but not limited to (a) petitions for writs of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. §§
2241 and 2254, (b) motions to vacate sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2255, (c) motions to
correct or reduce sentence pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 35, (d) petitions, motions and civil rights
complaints under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, (e) general civil complaints and
petitions, and (f) the initial responsive pleadings thereto, shall not exceed 30 pages, excluding
attachments, and shall be typed or legibly printed. Each page must include a page number.
Cover pages, tables of content and certificates of service are not counted against the applicable
page limit.
As required under Fed. R. Civ. P. 8, a pleading must contain a short and plain statement
of the claim showing the pleader is entitled to relief. Each allegation must be simple, concise,
and direct. Additionally, Fed. R. Civ. P. 10 requires that a complaint’s allegations must also be
made in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances.
Last revised 4/10/26. See Historical Notes for full revision history.
Committee Note
Failing to plead discrete claims in separate counts is a form of shotgun pleading. Shotgun
pleadings inhibit serious judicial consideration of the claims and often delay the judicial process
in contravention of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 and 10. A pleading or motion should set out the facts that
support each claim with a description of the “who, what, when, where and how” of the events at
issue.
