The AO-187 Form: Federal Court Exhibit Lists Explained

AO-187 is the federal courts' standard "Exhibit and Witness List" form. Most federal districts require it (or a local equivalent) for trial submissions, and many also require it for motions in limine, summary judgment hearings, and bench-trial exhibit binders. Here's what it is, when you need it, and the fastest way to fill one out.

What the form is

AO-187 is a one-page federal form (available on uscourts.gov) listing every exhibit a party intends to introduce. The columns:

• Plaintiff / Defendant indicator — checkbox at the top of the form. Use a separate AO-187 per party.
• Number — your exhibit number (Ex. 1, Ex. 2…). Should match the stamps on the exhibit itself.
• Description — a short, neutral description of the exhibit (e.g., "Email from John Smith dated 6/15/2023").
• Marked / Admitted — checked at trial as exhibits are formally introduced. Often filled out at the bench by the courtroom deputy.
• Witness — for deposition exhibits, the deponent; for trial, the witness expected to authenticate the exhibit.

When federal courts require it

• Trial submissions — almost universally required as part of the pretrial order or pretrial conference filings.
• Bench trials — many districts require it as part of the trial binder.
• Motions in limine — frequently required when a party is moving to exclude a specific exhibit.
• Summary judgment hearings — increasingly common, though not universal.

Local rules govern. Always check the specific district's civil local rules and the assigned judge's standing order — some districts use a modified version of AO-187 with extra columns (objection grounds, anticipated time, etc.).

The hard part: keeping it in sync

The AO-187 needs to match your exhibit stamps exactly. If Ex. 14 on the form is described as "Email from Smith (6/15)" and the actual stamped exhibit says "Email from Smith (6/16)," you'll spend the first ten minutes of direct examination explaining the discrepancy. The same goes for numbering: if you re-order exhibits at the last minute, the form has to re-order with them.

How Stampify generates it

Once you've stamped a production, Stampify can render an AO-187 directly from the exhibit list — same numbers, same descriptions, same order. No retyping. The form is generated as a fillable PDF, so the courtroom deputy can mark Admitted/Refused at trial without replacing the document.

Same workflow for the related federal forms — combined trial binders, witness lists, and exhibit logs. Read more in the trial binders guide.