9 U.S.C. § 16
Section 16 · Appeals
This is the Federal Arbitration Act
Amended 2 times on record
The circuits are split over this section — Whether the filing of an interlocutory appeal under Section 16(a) of the Federal Arbitration Act automatically divests the district court of jurisdiction to proceed with the litigation pending resolution of the appeal.; Whether a court of appeals has appellate jurisdiction under FAA § 16(a)(1)(A) or (B) to review an order denying a motion to stay litigation or compel arbitration
Applied in 1,190 court decisions — leading case First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Kaplan (1995)
Most recently applied in 2025 Ark. App. 597 - Progressive Eldercare Services, Inc. v. Campbell (December 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (82 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 9 U.S.C. § 2 · 9 U.S.C. § 1 · 9 U.S.C. § 3
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) An appeal may be taken from—
(1) an order—
(A) refusing a stay of any action under section 3 of this title,
(B) denying a petition under section 4 of this title to order arbitration to proceed,
(C) denying an application under section 206 of this title to compel arbitration,
(D) confirming or denying confirmation of an award or partial award, or
(E) modifying, correcting, or vacating an award;
(2) an interlocutory order granting, continuing, or modifying an injunction against an arbitration that is subject to this title; or
(3) a final decision with respect to an arbitration that is subject to this title.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in section 1292(b) of title 28, an appeal may not be taken from an interlocutory order—
(1) granting a stay of any action under section 3 of this title;
(2) directing arbitration to proceed under section 4 of this title;
(3) compelling arbitration under section 206 of this title; or
(4) refusing to enjoin an arbitration that is subject to this title.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1990—Pub. L. 101–650 renumbered the second section 15 of this title as this section.