Motion to Correct Clerical Mistake

Asking to correct a clerical mistake in a court order

If one or both parties believe there is a clerical mistake in a judgment or order, they can file a Motion to Correct Clerical Mistake under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 60(a).

The general process is for one party to file the motion and send a copy to the other party. If the other party disagrees with the motion, they can file a Memorandum Opposing the Motion.

If both parties agree about correcting the clerical mistake, one party may file the motion and the other party can sign a stipulation to the motion.

What is a clerical mistake?

The court can correct a clerical mistake, an oversight, or add something that was accidentally left out of an order. Examples of clerical mistakes include:

• Spelling mistakes
• Math mistakes
• Mixing up party names or designation

Asking the court to change its order for reasons other than a clerical mistake

If a party wants to ask the court to change an order for reasons other than a clerical mistake, the process depends on the situation.

Corrected order

If the judge or commissioner grants the motion to correct the clerical mistake, the court's order may require one of the parties to prepare a corrected order and to title it "Nunc Pro Tunc Corrected Order."

The corrected order must be titled this way (if ordered) so that the corrected order is effective as of the date of the original order.

The party responsible for preparing the corrected order should send it to the other party for review and approval before submitting it to the court for the judge to sign. The corrected order should be identical to the original order, except for the part(s) the judge has ordered to be corrected.

Will the motion be decided by a judge or commissioner?

Judges may rule on all motions in all types of cases. However, in Judicial Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4, commissioners are assigned to hear most matters in divorce cases and several other types of family law cases. Motions decided by a judge and motions decided by a commissioner follow different procedures.

If you are not sure whether your case is assigned to a judge or commissioner, find out. Call the court, or look at the caption of the complaint or petition. If a commissioner's name has been listed in the caption, the motion will probably be decided by a commissioner.

Motions decided by a judge are governed by URCP 7.

A judge will not rule on a motion until the time for filing an opposition to the motion has expired and a Request to Submit for Decision has been filed.

Motions decided by a commissioner are governed by URCP 101.

See our Motions web page for more information about the difference in procedures and timelines depending on who is deciding the motion.

Forms

Information about filing documents in existing cases by email

The forms you need depend on your case. What is your case about?