Rule 32. Form of Briefs, Appendices, and Other Papers

(a) Format. Briefs, appendices, and other papers must be printed or typewritten, and may be produced by any copying process that produces a clear black image on white opaque paper, and onion skin paper is not permitted except for papers sent by international mail. Pages must be letter size (8½ by 11 inches), with margins at least one inch wide from all edges, and with type or print on only one side of the page.

(b) Type; Spacing. The type or print must be at least 11 points with horizontal spacing (pitch) of no more than 11 characters per inch, for both text and footnotes. Text must be double spaced, with no more than three lines of type per inch, but quotations more than two lines long and footnotes may be single spaced. The parties may not use photo reproduction that reduces print size smaller than the size required by this rule. This subsection does not apply to pages of an appendix that are legible, unreduced photocopies of documents of record.

(c) Covers. Covers are not required on briefs or appendices but, if used, they should be blue for the appellant, red for the Secretary, green for an amicus curiae or an intervenor, gray for any reply brief and white for an appendix if separate from the brief. See Form 2 (Sample Brief Cover).

(d) Binding. All papers, other than the record on appeal, must be attached at the upper left-hand corner. The record on appeal must be bound at the top.

(e) Caption. A paper addressed to the Court must contain a caption setting forth the name of this Court, the Court's case number when assigned, the title of the case, the Department of Veterans Affairs claims file number, and a brief title indicating the purpose of the paper.

(f) Page Numbers. Pages must be numbered in the center of the bottom margin, using Arabic numerals for the pages subject to the page limitation and lower case Roman numerals for the table of contents, tables of citations, and any appendix containing statutes, rules, and regulations.

(g) Page Limits. Except by permission of the Court, or as limited by Rule 47, principal briefs may not exceed 25 pages and reply briefs may not exceed 15 pages, not counting the table of contents; the table of cases, statutes, and other authorities; and any appendix containing statutes, rules, regulations, etc.

(h) Identification of Proponent. The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all representatives and of all parties without representatives must appear on briefs or other documents being filed with the Clerk.

(As amended June 14, 1994, eff. Aug. 1, 1994.)