Following the issuance of an arbitration award, a successful party generally starts to consider the filing of a motion to confirm, while the unsuccessful party reviews whether to file a motion to vacate.

Interestingly, however, the time limits within which such motions may be filed differ under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Motions to confirm must be filed within a year after the award is made, whereas motions to vacate, must be filed within three months. See 9 U.S.C. Sections 9 and 12. Accordingly, if the losing party fails to move to vacate timely, it cannot object to a later motion for confirmation based on any of the grounds in the FAA.