Case status

Stayed, vacated and remanded explained

Q: Does filing an appeal stop a judgment?

Not by itself in England and Wales, under rule 52.16. In US federal courts a party ordinarily asks the district court first for a stay pending appeal.

Last checked 6 November 2026 · 5 sources

Short answer

A stay stops a legal proceeding or the actions of a party, usually for a time ¹. Vacate means to set aside or annul a previous judgment or order ². Remand is the act of an appellate court sending a case to a lower court for further proceedings ³. A stayed order still exists but is paused. A vacated order no longer stands. A remanded case is live again in the lower court. In England and Wales, an appeal court can affirm, set aside or vary an order, refer an issue back, or order a new trial ⁴.

Stay: Court action to stop a proceeding or a party's actions ¹
Vacate: Set aside or annul a previous judgment or order ²
Remand: Appellate court sends case to lower court ³
Reverse: Court sets aside the decision of a lower court ³
Affirmed: Lower court decision is correct and will stand ³
England and Wales powers: Affirm, set aside or vary, refer back, new trial ⁴

Stayed: paused, not cancelled

A stay is an action taken by a court to stop a legal proceeding or the actions of a party ¹. Stays are often temporary. Courts grant them when another case will affect the current one, or when a party must complete a step first ¹.

Cornell's Legal Information Institute describes three common kinds ¹.

Stay of proceedings: the court pauses the litigation, usually for a time ¹.
Stay of execution: halts the enforcement of a judgment or sentence against someone ¹.
Automatic stay: in US bankruptcy, an injunction that usually comes into force automatically when a bankruptcy case is filed ³.

Vacated: the order no longer stands

In civil and criminal proceedings, vacate means to set aside or annul a previous judgment or order ². A vacated judgment does not bind the parties as it did before. The case can still continue, for example after a remand.

The US federal courts glossary uses reverse for the act of a court setting aside the decision of a lower court ³. Courts and reporters use vacated and reversed in different ways, so read the order to see what the court did and what it sent back.

Remanded: back to the lower court

Remand is the act of an appellate court sending a case to a lower court for further proceedings ³. A remand often follows a vacated or reversed decision. The lower court then acts on the instructions in the appellate ruling.

In England and Wales, rule 52.20 of the Civil Procedure Rules gives the appeal court power to refer any claim or issue for determination by the lower court, and to order a new trial or hearing ⁴.

How the terms compare

Status	Is the decision still in force?	Where the case goes next
Stayed	Yes, but its effect or the proceeding is stopped for the stay's duration ¹	Stays where it is until the stay ends ¹
Vacated	No, it is set aside or annulled ²	Depends on the order, often a remand ³
Remanded	The lower court must deal with it again ³	The lower court, for further proceedings ³
Reversed	No, the lower decision is set aside ³	Set by the appellate court's order ³
Affirmed	Yes, it is correct and will stand ³	The appeal is over at that level ³

Stays pending appeal

Filing an appeal does not freeze a judgment on its own in England and Wales. Rule 52.16 says an appeal shall not operate as a stay of any order or decision of the lower court, save where the appeal court or lower court orders otherwise or the appeal is from the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal ⁴.

In US federal courts, Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure says a party must ordinarily move first in the district court for a stay of the judgment or order pending appeal ⁵. The same rule covers approval of a bond or other security to obtain a stay, and orders on an injunction during the appeal ⁵.

Common questions

Does a stay mean the case is over?

No. A stay stops a proceeding or a party's actions, and stays are often temporary ¹. The case resumes when the stay ends.

What is the difference between vacated and reversed?

Vacate means to set aside or annul a previous judgment or order ². The US courts glossary defines reverse as a court setting aside the decision of a lower court ³. The order itself says what follows.

What happens after a case is remanded?

The appellate court sends the case to a lower court for further proceedings ³. In England and Wales the appeal court can refer a claim or issue to the lower court or order a new trial ⁴.

Does filing an appeal stop a judgment?

Not by itself in England and Wales, under rule 52.16 ⁴. In US federal courts a party ordinarily asks the district court first for a stay pending appeal ⁵.

Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@statusofrecord.com.

Sources

Appeal pending: what it means
What appeal pending means on a court record, whether the lower court decision stays in force, and how to check an appeal in the US, UK, EU and India.
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How to check the current status of a public matter
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