How to Obtain a Stay of Execution of Judgment

To obtain a stay of execution of judgment, you file a motion in the court that entered the judgment, ask the judge to halt all collection activity while you pursue post-trial motions or an appeal, and in almost every case post a supersedeas bond covering the judgment plus interest. In federal court you already have a 30-day automatic pause under Rule 62(a) to get this done; miss that window and the judgment creditor can start garnishing wages, levying accounts, and seizing property.¹

The 30-Day Head Start You Already Have

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 62(a) automatically stays enforcement of a money judgment for 30 days after entry. You don’t have to ask for it. Most state courts have a comparable grace period, though the length varies. Use those days. They exist so you can prepare post-trial motions or an appeal without the other side draining your accounts in the meantime.

One boundary worth knowing: the automatic pause covers money judgments, but injunctions, receiverships, and certain patent accounting orders can be enforced immediately, even during an appeal.¹ If the judgment against you includes non-monetary relief, don’t assume the 30-day rule protects that piece.

Filing the Motion

To keep the pause in place past 30 days, file a written motion with the clerk of the court that entered the judgment. Include the case name and number, the date the judgment was entered, the amount of the judgment, and your legal grounds for the stay. Address the factors the court will weigh, with supporting evidence, rather than filing a bare request.

Serve a copy on the judgment creditor or their attorney. This is not optional. The creditor has the right to oppose. The court will typically set a hearing, though some judges rule on the papers when the issues are straightforward.

If the judge grants a stay conditioned on a bond, the stay does not actually take effect until you post the approved bond with the clerk.¹ Any gap between the expiration of the automatic stay and the posting of your bond is a window where the creditor can legally begin collecting. Line up your surety before the hearing.

The Bond That Usually Seals It

A supersedeas bond is a financial guarantee, posted with the court, promising the creditor will be paid if you lose the appeal.² It exists to protect the creditor from the risk that you’ll spend or hide assets while the appeal drags on. Post one that fully covers the judgment plus estimated interest and costs, and most courts will grant the stay without deeply scrutinizing the merits of your appeal. The bond takes the creditor’s risk off the table, which is what the court cares about most.

What It Costs

You don’t front the full bond amount. A surety company issues the bond, and you pay an annual premium, typically ranging from about 1% to 4% of the total bond amount. Your creditworthiness, the size of the judgment, and whether you can offer collateral all affect the rate. On a $500,000 judgment, that translates to roughly $5,000 to $20,000 per year in premiums. If your credit is weak or the judgment is large, the surety may require cash, real estate, or a letter of credit as collateral before issuing the bond.

The bond amount itself is set to cover the judgment plus estimated post-judgment interest and court costs. In federal court, post-judgment interest accrues daily at a rate tied to the one-year Treasury yield for the week before entry of judgment, compounded annually.³ Since appeals often run a year or more, the interest component adds up.

Alternatives to a Traditional Surety Bond

Rule 62(b) allows a stay on “a bond or other security.”¹ That flexibility matters. Depending on the jurisdiction and circumstances, courts may accept a cash deposit with the clerk, an irrevocable letter of credit from a bank, a lien on real property with sufficient equity, or a stipulated escrow agreement between the parties. If you can’t secure a surety bond, raise these options in your motion.

When a Full Bond Might Be Waived or Reduced

Courts occasionally grant stays without requiring a full bond, but the bar is high. Judges weighing an unbonded stay look at the complexity of collecting the judgment, whether the debtor clearly has enough assets to pay later, and whether forcing a bond would harm other creditors.

Pleading poverty tends to backfire. Courts in multiple circuits have held that an inability to pay a bond suggests the creditor’s recovery is at risk, which is the exact situation the bond exists to prevent. If you genuinely cannot post any form of security, raise it and explain the finances, but expect an uphill fight.

The Four Factors If a Bond Isn’t Enough

When you’re asking for a stay without full security, or when the creditor is contesting the stay, courts across the country apply a four-factor test drawn from Hilton v. Braunskill and Nken v. Holder:⁴

Likelihood of success on the merits. Identify the specific legal error the trial court made and explain why the appellate court is likely to agree. General dissatisfaction with the verdict won’t do.
Irreparable harm without a stay. Show that enforcement now would cause damage that can’t be undone later, such as the forced sale of a home or a business pushed into insolvency.
Harm to the other side. The court considers whether pausing collection would unfairly injure the creditor. A creditor in financial distress who needs the money now weighs against a stay.
Public interest. In government enforcement actions this factor matters more than in ordinary private disputes.

The first two carry the most weight. A strong appeal paired with clear irreparable harm can carry the day even when the other factors are neutral.

If the Trial Judge Says No

A denial isn’t the end. Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 8, you can ask the appellate court for a stay if the trial court denied your motion or didn’t act quickly enough.⁵ Your motion must explain that you already went to the trial court and were turned down, including the reasons given, and it must include the factual basis and the relevant portions of the trial record.

A panel of appellate judges normally decides these motions, but in urgent situations a single judge can act. The appellate court can also condition relief on you posting a bond in the trial court, so the bond issue does not necessarily disappear by moving up.⁵

What the Stay Actually Freezes

Once in effect, a stay bars the creditor from taking any action to collect. No wage garnishment, no bank levies, no seizure of personal property, no new liens against real estate.¹ If enforcement has already started, the stay halts further steps, but it may not automatically undo what has already happened, like a lien that’s already been recorded. You may need a separate order to unwind those pre-stay actions.

A stay tied to an appeal lasts until the appellate court rules. Win, and the creditor has nothing to collect. Lose, and the stay lifts immediately; the bond you posted becomes available to satisfy the judgment, including interest and costs accrued during the appeal.

Interest Keeps Running

A stay does not freeze the interest clock. In federal court, interest on a money judgment begins accruing the day the judgment is entered and continues through the appeal regardless of any stay.³ State courts use their own rates, which can be higher. Factor this in. A two-year appeal on a $200,000 judgment can add tens of thousands in interest.

Bankruptcy Is a Different Path

Filing for bankruptcy triggers a broader automatic stay than anything available through a civil motion. Under federal bankruptcy law, the moment the petition is filed, nearly all collection activity against the debtor stops, including enforcement of existing judgments, wage garnishment, property seizures, and creditor calls.⁶

It has limits. Criminal proceedings continue. Certain tax obligations may not be fully protected. Creditors can move to lift the stay for cause. And bankruptcy carries long-term financial consequences well beyond pausing a single judgment. It is not a tactical substitute for a supersedeas bond, but for a debtor facing genuine financial collapse it may be the only realistic way to halt enforcement while restructuring debts.

Mistakes That Get Stays Denied

Waiting too long is the most common one. File after the 30-day automatic stay lapses and the creditor may already have a writ of execution. Courts are far less sympathetic to a stay request when enforcement is underway and collection costs have started to mount.

The second is filing a motion that reads like a bare request. Address the four-factor test directly, with evidence. “I plan to appeal and I think I’ll win” is not a showing of likelihood of success. Name the legal error and explain why the appellate court is likely to agree.

The third is treating the bond as an afterthought. A stay conditioned on a bond doesn’t exist until the bond is posted and approved. Line up a surety company before the hearing so you can post immediately once the court signs off. That preparation is the difference between continuous protection and a dangerous gap the creditor can walk right through.

1
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 62 – Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment
2
Legal Information Institute. Stay of Execution
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1961 – Interest
4
Legal Information Institute. Nken v. Holder
5
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 8 – Stay or Injunction Pending Appeal
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay