AI Court Disclosure and Certification Templates
Hundreds of US court orders, local rules, and guidelines now address attorney AI use: standing orders from dozens of federal judges (Bloomberg Law's tracker identified ~39 by 2025), binding local rules in multiple districts, and a growing body of state-court orders. The Ropes & Gray AI Court Order Tracker, the RAILS AI Orders resource, and the Bloomberg Law standing orders tracker document the landscape. Requirements vary by judge: some require disclosure of any AI use, others require certification that AI-generated citations were verified, others require both, and some only caution.
Always check the Court Orders tracker for your judge's specific requirements before using these templates.
On this page
How to read a court AI order
AI orders, no matter how they're titled (standing order, general order, local rule, administrative order, individual practice), generally answer four questions. Identify each before picking a template.
- What AI is in scope? Some orders cover only "generative AI" or "large language models"; others cover "any AI tool" including spell-check or Westlaw legal- research features. The former is narrow and usually clear; the latter is broad and forces you to disclose tools you may not have considered.
- Who is required to certify? Most orders bind attorneys; some also bind pro se parties. A few exempt firm staff. Read the "applies to" clause carefully.
- What kind of certification? Three families: disclosure ("AI was used"), verification ("citations were verified"), or prohibition ("no AI was used"). Many orders combine the first two.
- When does it apply? Some orders apply to every filing in a case; some apply only to briefs; some only when AI was used. The "filings" scope matters.
When your judge has no AI order
Most federal judges still have no AI-specific standing order. That doesn't mean AI use is unregulated. The operative federal default is Fed. R. Civ. P. 11, under which counsel certifies on filing that legal contentions are warranted and factual contentions have evidentiary support. Filing AI- generated false citations violates Rule 11 regardless of whether a standing order exists.
Practical implications when no standing order applies:
- You don't need an AI disclosure on the face of the filing.
- You do still need to verify every cited authority before signing the filing.
- Internal verification logs (see the checklist) remain the firm's defensive evidence if a Rule 11 challenge is brought.
- Be aware: chambers practices and individual rules may add disclosure requirements not captured in district-wide orders. Check the assigned judge's webpage at the start of every matter.
Template 1: AI use disclosure (no content-level certification)
Use when the judge requires disclosure of AI tool use but does not require certification that specific content (e.g., citations) was independently verified.
Maps to: most "disclosure-only" standing orders. See for example N.D. Cal.: Cisneros and similar.
Template 2: citation verification certification
Use when the judge requires certification that any AI-generated citations have been independently verified against authoritative sources.
Maps to: orders following the Mata v. Avianca line and most post-2024 standing orders. See for example N.D. Tex. Local Civil Rule 7.2(f).
Template 3: no-AI certification
Use when the judge's standing order requires affirmative certification that no generative AI was used. This is the strictest variant.
Maps to: a small number of judge-specific orders that prohibit any AI use in filings.
Template 4: cautioned use (no required certification)
Use when the judge's order cautions against AI use and warns of Rule 11 consequences but does not require an affirmative certification on the filing itself. Many "AI notice" orders take this form. The text is for internal verification records, not the filing.
Maps to: notice-style orders. See for example D. Conn. AI notice.
Where to find your judge's order
Walk through these in order until you have the operative text:
- Search this site's Court Orders tracker by jurisdiction or judge name. Each entry links to the primary source.
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Check the assigned judge's chambers page on the court's website. Most courts post
individual practices, standing orders, and procedural orders here. Common URL patterns:
www.[district].uscourts.gov/judges/[lastname]or...judges/individual-practices. - Check the court's local rules and general orders page. Standing orders that bind the entire district (vs. one judge) live there.
- Pull the docket for an analogous recent matter. Some judges issue an AI order at case initiation rather than as a chambers-wide standing order; that pattern only shows up on individual dockets.
- When in doubt, file a routine pro hac vice or scheduling-conference document and ask the courtroom deputy whether AI disclosure is required for substantive filings. Treat the answer as informational, not binding.
Templates reviewed 2026-04-23. Verify against current standing orders before use.