The Federal Reporter is the West reporter series that publishes decisions from the United States Courts of Appeals (circuit courts). The series has progressed through four iterations: F. (1880--1924), F.2d (1924--1993), F.3d (1993--2021), and F.4th (2021--present). Under Bluebook Rule 10.4, each citation must include the correct series designation based on the date of the decision.
Unlike Supreme Court citations, Federal Reporter citations require you to identify the deciding court in the date parenthetical. The Bluebook abbreviation for each circuit appears in Table T1 — for example, the Second Circuit is abbreviated "2d Cir." and the Ninth Circuit is "9th Cir." The D.C. Circuit is abbreviated "D.C. Cir." and the Federal Circuit is "Fed. Cir."
Getting the circuit abbreviation right is critical because it tells the reader which court decided the case, which affects the precedential weight of the decision. Always verify the correct series (F., F.2d, F.3d, or F.4th) by checking the date of the decision against the transition years for each series.
F.4th (Current)
Smith v. Jones, 45 F.4th 231 (2d Cir. 2022)
F.3d
United States v. Booker, 375 F.3d 508 (7th Cir. 2004)
F.2d
United States v. Carroll Towing Co., 159 F.2d 169 (2d Cir. 1947)
D.C. Circuit
Heller v. District of Columbia, 670 F.3d 1244 (D.C. Cir. 2011)
The transition from F.3d to F.4th occurred in 2021, beginning with volume 1 F.4th. Cases decided before that cutoff should still be cited to F.3d.
Use ordinal abbreviations: 1st Cir., 2d Cir., 3d Cir., 4th Cir., 5th Cir., 6th Cir., 7th Cir., 8th Cir., 9th Cir., 10th Cir., 11th Cir. The D.C. Circuit is D.C. Cir. and the Federal Circuit is Fed. Cir.
Unpublished opinions may appear in the Federal Appendix (F. App'x). Check your jurisdiction's rules on citing unpublished opinions. In the Bluebook, cite to F. App'x with the circuit and year in parentheses.
Stop formatting citations by hand. Use Briefly's AI-powered Bluebook Citation Generator to get full citations, short forms, and Id. format in seconds.
Explore more Bluebook citation guides for other reporters.
Master Bluebook citation format for cases reported in U.S. Reports, the official reporter of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Format citations for state court decisions from Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Format citations for state court decisions from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Format citations for state court decisions from Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.
Format citations for state court decisions from Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Format citations for state court decisions from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Format citations for state court decisions from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Format citations for state court decisions from Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio.
Format citations for decisions from all levels of the New York state court system, including the Court of Appeals, Appellate Division, and Supreme Court.
Format citations for California Court of Appeal and Supreme Court decisions published in the California Reporter series.
Disclaimer: While this guide follows Bluebook 21st edition rules, always verify citations with official Bluebook resources or your institution's requirements. This content is for educational assistance only.