JS 44 nature of suit codes, every one.

The code list

The table has every row of the federal judiciary's "Civil Nature of Suit Code Descriptions" (Rev. 06/26, version 3.2, June 2026): 93 codes in 14 categories. The titles are copied from that document, including its parentheticals, and the categories follow its headings. Type a code or a word in the filter above to narrow it.

How the codes are organised

The first digit roughly groups the codes. 1xx is contract, 2xx real property, 3xx torts and personal injury, 4xx a mix of civil rights, immigration, bankruptcy-related and statutory actions, 5xx prisoner petitions, 6xx forfeiture and penalty, 7xx labor, 8xx property rights, social security, tax and further statutes, and 9xx constitutionality of state statutes. The document's category headings are the better guide where a code does not follow the pattern: for example 375 False Claims Act sits under Other Statutes although it starts with 3, and 463 Alien (Immigration) Detainee sits with the prisoner habeas codes.

Worked example (hypothetical)

A clerk is opening cases from six cover sheets. A non-union employee who says overtime was not paid files under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which the document describes under 710 (overtime pay is named in its description). A worker alleging discrimination under Title VII is 442 Employment. Someone suing over unwanted automated texts relies on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227, which is 485. A credit reporting dispute under the Fair Credit Reporting Act or a debt collection claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is 480 Consumer Credit. A trademark claim is 840. A claim that fits no listed statute might fall to 890 Other Statutory Actions. These are only illustrations of how the published descriptions read; a real filing should follow the filer's own reading of the instructions.

Edge cases and common mistakes

• Using the catch-alls too early. 190 Other Contract, 360 Other Personal Injury, 890 Other Statutory Actions and 290 All Other Real Property are defined as for matters that cannot be classified elsewhere.
• Product liability sits in two places. Code 195 Contract Product Liability is for claims based mainly on contract or warranty. Its entry says actions primarily alleging personal injury or property damage from a defective product belong under the torts codes.
• Lending and fraud. Under 371 Truth in Lending, the document says actions about fraud or misrepresentation in a real property transfer belong under 290, or 220 Foreclosure if foreclosure is involved.
• Examples are not a complete list. The document notes that the statutes listed in descriptions are examples, not all-inclusive.
• Old copies. Cover-sheet copies posted on court sites may carry earlier revisions. The code in the case you are reading is what the court recorded, whatever the current list says.

Who this is for

Pro se filers completing a civil cover sheet, paralegals, researchers sorting docket data by case subject, and anyone who has seen a number such as "NOS 442" on a docket and wants to know what it means.

What this does not cover

This is a lookup of code and title. It does not reproduce the official one-paragraph descriptions, does not advise which code fits a real claim, and does not cover criminal case statistical codes, bankruptcy nature of suit codes, state court case types, or the cause of action (statute) field that appears beside the nature of suit on a docket. The rest of the cover sheet, including jurisdiction basis and the origin box, is not covered either. To decode the number that identifies a case, see the federal case number decoder; for bankruptcy see the bankruptcy case number decoder.

FAQ

What is a nature of suit code?

A three-digit code that classifies the kind of civil case on the JS 44 civil cover sheet. The Southern District of New York manual explains that cover sheet data is entered when a case is opened and stored for statistical reporting.

Where do I find the list of JS 44 nature of suit codes?

The federal judiciary publishes "Civil Nature of Suit Code Descriptions" next to the civil cover sheet on uscourts.gov. This page reproduces the code and title of every row in the Rev. 06/26 edition and links to that document for the full descriptions.

Which nature of suit code is used for employment discrimination?

Code 442, Employment, whose official description cites the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (Title VII). Disability discrimination in the workplace is separate, code 445.

What is nature of suit 890?

Other Statutory Actions. The official description says it is for actions based on statutes that cannot be classified under any other nature of suit, and it lists examples. It is a catch-all, so try the narrower statute codes first.

Does the nature of suit code appear in the case number?

No. The case number holds an office digit, year, case type, sequence and judge initials. The nature of suit code is a separate field on the docket and the cover sheet.

Can a case have more than one nature of suit code?

The cover sheet takes one. This page does not say how a court treats a case that fits several codes; the instructions and the court's clerk are the authority on that.

Have the codes changed recently?

The document's revision history shows version 3.0 in December 2024 retitled code 370 to "Other Fraud (Includes any property that is not real property)", and version 3.2 in June 2026 changed the prisoner litigation descriptions. The code list itself is otherwise as shown here.

Is the civil cover sheet the same in every court?

The JS 44 is a national form, but districts may post their own copies and add local instructions. Use the current version from your court or uscourts.gov, and check with the clerk if a court asks for something different.

Sources

Retrieved 2026-10-20. Each link was opened and the statement next to it was checked against the text.

• U.S. Courts: Civil Cover Sheet (JS 44), with the link to the Nature of Suit Code Descriptions
• U.S. Courts: Civil Nature of Suit Code Descriptions (Rev. 06/26), version 3.2
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York: Civil Statistical Case Opening Codes Manual (May 12, 2015), on how cover sheet data is used