Credit

What credit means

In practice, you will see credit in pleadings, motions, orders and court rules. The definition above explains the general meaning. Even so, the meaning can shift with context. Therefore, always read it alongside the rule or document where it appears.

Where credit comes up

The term is used across many kinds of cases. For example, you may see it in pleadings, motions and court orders. To see it in context, browse the motions and procedures library or the Learn the Law topics.

How to research the term

To research credit, begin with the rule, statute or contract where the word is used. Each one can give it a slightly different meaning. Then compare that text with how courts in your area have applied it. Also check the local rules of your court, since they can add requirements. If your case is in state court, the state rules control. So start with our state procedures guide to find them. In the end, always confirm that the source you rely on is current.

You can read the current federal court rules online for free.

Related legal terms

• Court: a government body with authority to decide legal disputes and administer justice, or the judge or judges who sit in it. Courts are organized by level, such as trial courts, intermediate appellate courts and a highest court, and by jurisdiction, such as federal or state.
• Court Registry Investment System: the program, administered by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, through which federal courts invest money deposited into a court's registry, for example under Fed. R. Civ. P. 67 and 28 U.S.C. § 2041. Money in the registry may be withdrawn only by order of the court (28 U.S.C. § 2042). Abbreviated CRIS.
• Coverture: the common-law doctrine under which a married woman's legal existence was merged into her husband's while the marriage lasted.
• Creature: in legal writing, something that exists only because the law created it. Courts often call a corporation a "creature of the state" or an agency a "creature of statute," meaning it has only the powers that the law creating it gives it. For example, a federal agency can act only within the authority Congress granted.

Why precise terms matter

Legal words often look like everyday words, but they can carry a precise meaning. Because of that, a small misreading can change how you understand a deadline, a duty or a right. Our glossary keeps each definition short and links it to the procedures where it matters.