UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING
PLEADINGS AND PAPERS BY ELECTRONIC MEANS
March 1, 2009
Revised December 1, 2016
GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS AND PAPERS BY
ELECTRONIC MEANS
I. THE ELECTRONIC CASE FILING SYSTEM
A. IN GENERAL
All documents submitted for filing in this District shall be filed using the Court’s Electronic
Case Filing System (“ECF”) unless ordered otherwise by the assigned judge.
1. Absent good cause shown, attorneys in good standing admitted to practice before
the Bar of this Court, including attorneys admitted pro hac vice, must file documents
electronically using ECF.
2. Attorneys shall upload the documents to ECF as Portable Document Format
(“PDF”) files. Documents in their native format such as Word or WordPerfect must
be converted into a text-searchable PDF before filing. Filers shall not print and scan
electronic documents for submission to ECF. Most word processing applications
allow publishing or converting to PDF within the application. There are also
commercial and free PDF converters available for use. Documents shall not be
scanned prior to e-filing unless the original documents are unavailable in electronic
format. Attachments not available in electronic format shall be scanned by the filer
into PDF format and then uploaded to ECF. The participant is responsible for the
legibility of the uploaded image. For assistance with conversion or scanning, filers
should contact the CM/ECF Helpdesk at 912-650-4010 or
[email protected].
3. Where it is not feasible or possible for a filer to upload a filing to ECF, the attorney
may submit the filing to the Clerk’s Office on a CD-ROM or flash drive. However,
an attorney may only use this method as a last resort and must include an
explanation of why the attorney could not upload the filing to ECF. Any attorney
presenting a CD-ROM or flash drive to be filed must also present a “Notice of
Filing of Electronic Media” signed by the party and describing the documents on the
CD-ROM or flash drive. See Form E to these Administrative Procedures.
4. Electronically filed documents may contain the following types of hyperlinks:
a) Hyperlinks to other portions of the same document or other documents filed
in the same case (using LinkBuilder); and
b) Hyperlinks to a location on the Internet that contains a source document for
a citation.
Hyperlinks to cited authority may not replace standard citation format. Complete
citations must be included in the text of the filed document. Neither a hyperlink, nor
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any site to which it refers, shall be considered part of the record. Hyperlinks are simply
convenient mechanisms for accessing material cited in a filed document.
The Court accepts no responsibility for, and does not endorse, any product,
organization, or content at any hyperlinked site, or at any site to which that site may be
linked. The Court accepts no responsibility for the availability or functionality of
any hyperlink.
5. A party proceeding pro se, unless that party is an attorney in good standing and
admitted to practice before the Bar of this Court, shall not file electronically. See
III(B) of these Administrative Procedures.
6. Sealed cases, and sealed documents in unsealed cases, will be scanned and uploaded
into ECF but will not be available for public inspection until the assigned judge orders
the case or document unsealed. The procedures for sealing documents or matters
are set forth in section III(A) of these Administrative Procedures and LR 79.7.
7. An attorney may apply to the assigned judge for permission to file documents
conventionally. Even if the assigned judge initially grants an attorney permission to
file documents conventionally, the assigned judge may withdraw that permission at any
time and require the attorney to file documents electronically using ECF.
An attorney seeking the Court’s permission to file conventionally rather than
electronically, will file a paper “Request for Leave to File Conventionally” setting forth
in detail the reasons supporting the request, together with a “Proposed Order Granting
Leave to File Conventionally.” Such requests will be provided to the judge assigned
to the filer’s case.
8. The Clerk’s Office or any judge of this Court may deviate from these Administrative
Procedures in specific cases, without prior notice, if deemed appropriate in the exercise
of discretion, considering the need for the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination
of matters pending before the Court. The Court may also amend these Administrative
Procedures at any time without prior notice.
9. Juvenile criminal matters shall not be filed electronically unless the Court rules that the
juvenile shall be tried as an adult.
B. LOGINS & PASSWORDS
Each attorney admitted to practice in the Southern District of Georgia shall be entitled to
one ECF login. The login and associated password permits the attorney to participate in the
electronic retrieval and filing of pleadings and other papers.
1. No attorney shall knowingly permit or cause to permit his or her login to be utilized by
anyone other than authorized persons within his or her firm.
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2. Once registered, the attorney bears the ultimate responsibility for all documents filed
with his or her login.
3. Registration for a login is governed by section I(C).
4. An attorney admitted pro hac vice must register for a login in accordance with these
Administrative Procedures.
C. REGISTRATION
1. Attorneys admitted to the bar of this Court, including attorneys admitted pro hac vice,
must complete and submit an Attorney Registration Form online from the Court’s web
page (www.gasd.uscourts.gov). Attorneys may also use the Registration Form
attached to these Administrative Procedures as Form A and mail or deliver the
completed Registration Form to the Clerk’s Office. The Court will issue logins and
passwords only to attorneys in good standing. To be in good standing, an attorney
must meet the requirements in LR 83. An ECF login and password will be mailed
back to the attorney and he/she may then access ECF to file pleadings electronically.
2. To ensure the Clerk’s Office has correctly entered a registering attorney’s e-mail
address in ECF, the Clerk’s Office will first send the attorney a verification e-mail
message. Upon verification of the email address by the attorney, the Clerk’s Office
will then assign and e-mail a login and password to the attorney.
3. After registering, attorneys may change their passwords. If at any time an attorney
believes that the security of an existing password has been compromised and/or that
a threat to ECF exists, the attorney must change his/her password immediately. In
addition, the attorney must immediately notify the Clerk’s Office by telephone of the
security issue.
4. An attorney whose e-mail address, mailing address, telephone, or fax number has
changed from that of the original Attorney Registration Form shall timely file a Notice
of Change of Address and serve a copy of the notice on all other parties of the cases
in which the attorney is counsel of record. The attorney is responsible for keeping
all of his/her contact information updated in ECF.
II. ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS
A. FILING
1. General Rules for All Filers
a. Attorneys shall electronically file all pleadings, motions, applications, briefs,
memoranda of law, deposition transcripts, transcripts of proceedings, or other
documents, to include attachments to the extent feasible, through ECF except
as otherwise provided by these Administrative Procedures.
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b. E-mailing a document to the Clerk’s Office or to the assigned judge shall not
constitute “filing” of the document. A document shall not be considered filed for
purposes of the Federal Rules of Civil/Criminal Procedure until the filing party
receives an ECF-generated “Notice of Electronic Filing” described in section
II(B)(1) of these Administrative Procedures.
c. The Notice of Electronic Filing reflects the date and time the electronic
transmission of a document is completed. Accordingly, a document will be
deemed timely filed if the Notice of Electronic Filing reflects a time prior to
midnight on the due date. However, the assigned judge may order that a document
be filed by a certain time, which then becomes the filing deadline.
d. If filing a document requires leave of the Court, the attorney shall attach the
proposed document as a separate attachment to the motion or request. If the
motion or request is granted, the attorney shall then file the document
electronically with the Court.
e. Attorneys shall file each exhibit to a pleading as a separate attachment to the
filing. Exhibits should not be included in the main document, and each
attachment should only contain one exhibit. Attachments and exhibits larger
than thirty megabytes (30 MB) shall be filed electronically in separate segments
of 30 MB or smaller. If the filer is unable to divide a filing into segments of 30
MB or smaller, the filer may seek leave to file in conventional format.
f. The Clerk’s Office shall not maintain a paper Court file in any case beginning after
the effective date of these Administrative Procedures except as otherwise
provided herein. The official court record shall be the electronic file
maintained by the Court. The official record shall include, however, initiating
documents and other conventional documents or exhibits filed in accordance with
these Administrative Procedures. Except as otherwise provided by these
Administrative Procedures, the Clerk may discard all original paper documents
after they have been scanned and uploaded into ECF.
g. Documents that are electronically filed and require an original signature other than
that of the filer should be maintained in paper form by the filer for at least five
(5) years after the conclusion of an appeal or the expiration of the time for filing
a timely appeal.
h. An attorney who wishes to have an original document returned after the
Clerk’s Office scans and uploads it to ECF may, prior to submitting the
document to the Clerk’s Office, seek authorization from the assigned judge for
the document’s return. If return is granted by the judge, the attorney must provide
a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of the documents.
Authorization will be granted on a case-by-case basis. No standing
authorizations for the return of all original documents filed by an attorney or
office will be allowed.
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i. Official and contract court reporters will submit to the Clerk’s Office the tapes of
transcribed proceedings and original notes, if applicable. Official and contract
court reporters must also either file the certified transcript of those proceedings
electronically on ECF or submit a CD-ROM containing the certified transcript of
the proceedings in PDF to the Clerk’s Office for uploading.
2. Civil Cases
a. Attorneys must file all initial pleadings, civil cover sheets, applications to
proceed in forma pauperis, and returns of service of the summons electronically
through ECF. These documents are deemed filed at the moment that they are
received by the Court’s ECF system. They must be filed using the designated
temporary case number for that particular year. (For example, the temporary
case number for the year 2009 is 09-tc-5000, for the year 2010 it is 10-tc-5000,
etc.) Once the case is processed by the Clerk’s Office staff, it will be assigned
a permanent case number that must be used on all subsequent filings. An
attorney who is not yet registered to file through ECF at the initiation of the case
may bring any initial pleadings, civil cover sheets, and applications to proceed in
forma pauperis to the Clerk’s Office to be filed conventionally. The attorney
must then register to file and receive all subsequent pleadings through ECF.
b. The filing fee shall be paid upon the presentation of the initial pleading. See
section II(D) of these Administrative Procedures.
3. Criminal Cases
a. Charging Documents
The initial papers in a criminal case, including the complaint, information, and
indictment, must be filed conventionally in paper form, not electronically.
b. Other documents
Other documents in criminal cases exempted from the electronic filing
requirement include the following:
1. Applications and affidavits for search warrants and seizure warrants,
and related papers;
2. Appearance bonds;
3. Plea agreements and related papers;
4. Any other document containing a signature of a defendant;
5. Any results or reports of mental examinations conducted pursuant to
Fed. R. Crim. P. 12.2;
6. Petitions for violations of supervised release or probation; and
7. Any documents filed under seal or ex parte.
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c. Juvenile Matters
Juvenile criminal matters shall not be filed electronically unless the Court rules
that the juvenile shall be tried as an adult.
B. SERVICE
1. Whenever a pleading or other paper is filed electronically in accordance with these
Administrative Procedures, ECF shall generate a “Notice of Electronic Filing” to the
filing party, and any other party who is a registered user and has requested electronic
notice in that case.1
a. If the recipient is a registered participant of ECF, the “Notice of Electronic
Filing” shall constitute service under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(b)(2)(E).
b. Service of the “Notice of Electronic Filing” on a party who is not a registered
participant in ECF may be accomplished by e-mail, subject to the additional
service requirements of B(3) below.
2. When a party files a document electronically, and all other parties and recipients are
registered participants of ECF, the filing party need not prepare a separate certificate
of service. In such cases, the Notice of Electronic Filing shall serve as the
certificate of service.
3. A party who is not a registered participant of ECF is entitled to a copy of any
electronically-filed pleading, document, or order. The filing party must, therefore,
provide the non-registered party with the pleading, document, or order according to the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. When delivering copies of documents that have
been electronically filed, the filing party must include the “Notice of Electronic Filing”
to provide the recipient with proof of the filing. When any party is not a registered
participant of ECF, the filing party must file, with the pleading, order, or other
document, a certificate of service stating the manner and time in which the filing
party served any non-registered party with the filing.
4. The three-day rule of Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(d) and Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(c) for additional
time to respond after certain kinds of service shall not apply to service through ECF. 2
5. A filer who is permitted to file conventionally or to bring a document to the Clerk’s
Office for scanning and uploading to ECF must serve conventional copies on all
1
To determine whether another party is a registered user, the filer can select ECF’s “Utilities” category,
then click on “Mailings” on the pull-down menu, and then “Mailing Information for a Case”. The filer then
enters the case number and the ECF information will appear, stating whether or not the filer must mail a
copy or if ECF will electronically generate one.
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Attorneys should be aware that the submission due date, which appears when either electronically filing a
motion or querying deadlines, is for Court use only and should not be relied upon as an accurate
computation of the response date.
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non-registered parties to the case and should expect some delay in the uploading
and subsequent electronic noticing of the document.
C. SIGNATURES
1. Attorney Signature
A pleading or other document requiring an attorney’s signature shall be signed in the
following manner, whether filed electronically or submitted on CD-ROM to the
Clerk’s Office: “s/ (attorney name).” The correct format for an attorney signature
is as follows:
s/ John Doe, Esq.
Attorney Bar Number: xxxxxx
Attorney for (Party Name) ABC Law Firm
123 South Street
Savannah, Georgia 31403
Telephone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx
E-Mail: john
[email protected]
a. Any party challenging the authenticity of an electronically-filed document or the
attorney’s signature on that document must file an objection to the document
within seven (7) days of receiving the Notice of Electronic Filing.
2. Multiple Signatures
a. The filer of any document requiring more than one signature must list thereon all
the names of other signatories, preceded by “s/” in the space where the signature
would otherwise appear, e.g., “s/ Jane Doe,” “s/ John Doe,” etc. The correct
format for each signature is as follows:
s/ Jane Doe, Esq.
Attorney Bar Number: xxxxxx
Attorney for (Party name) ABC Law Firm
123 South Street
Savannah, Georgia 31403
Telephone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx
E-Mail:
[email protected]
b. By submitting such a document, the filing attorney certifies that each of the other
signatories has expressly agreed to the form and substance of the document and
that the filing attorney has their actual authority to submit the document
electronically. The filing attorney shall retain any records evidencing this
concurrence for future production, if necessary, until two (2) years after the
expiration of the time for filing a timely appeal.
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c. A non-filing signatory or party who disputes their acceptance of the contents of
the document, the authenticity of an electronically-filed document containing
multiple signatures, or the authenticity of the signatures themselves must file an
objection to the document within seven (7) days of receiving the Notice of
Electronic Filing.
3. Non-Attorney Signature
a. If the original document requires the signature of a non-attorney, the filing party
or the Clerk’s Office shall scan the original document, then electronically file it
on ECF.
b. The electronically-filed document as maintained by the Court shall constitute the
official court record. See section II(A)(1)(f) of these Administrative Procedures.
c. A non-filing signatory or party who disputes the authenticity of an electronically-
filed document with a non-attorney signature or the authenticity of the signature
on that document must file an objection to the document within seven ( 7 )
days of receiving the Notice of Electronic Filing.
D. FEES PAYABLE TO THE CLERK
Any fee required for filing a pleading or paper in District Court is payable to the Clerk of
the Court by cash, check, U.S. Postal money order, cashier’s check, or certain credit/debit cards
approved by the Court. Checks, money orders and cashier checks are to be made payable to
"Clerk, United States Courts". A law firm check will be accepted for payment by attorneys. The
Clerk's Office will note the receipt of fees on the docket. The Court will not maintain electronic
billing or debit accounts for attorneys or law firms.
E. ORDERS
1. The assigned judge or the Clerk’s Office shall electronically file all orders. Any order
entered electronically has the same force and effect as if the judge had affixed his/her
signature to a paper copy of the order and it had been entered on the docket
conventionally.
2. A party submitting a proposed order with an electronic filing shall include the proposed
order as a separate PDF attachment to the filing. See LR 7. Upon the Court’s request,
the party shall also e-mail the proposed order as a MS Word document to the e-
mail address specified below which corresponds to the court division where the
case is pending. The subject line of the e-mail shall reflect the case number, the
docket entry number of the motion to which the proposed order pertains, and a
brief description of the motion.
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Division No. Division Name E-Mail Address
1 Augusta
[email protected]
2 Brunswick proposedorders
[email protected]
3 Dublin proposedorders
[email protected]
4 Savannah proposedorders
[email protected]
5 Waycross
[email protected]
6 Statesboro
[email protected]
The above e-mail addresses shall be used exclusively for the submission of proposed
orders, and the e-mail shall not include any comment, inquiry, or other communication
to the Court.
3. When mailing paper copies of an electronically-filed order to a party who is not a
registered participant of ECF, the Clerk’s Office will include the Notice of Electronic
Filing.
4. The assigned judge or the Clerk’s Office, if appropriate, may grant routine orders by
a text-only entry upon the docket. In such cases, no PDF document will be issued; the
text-only entry shall constitute the Court’s only order on the matter and will have the
same force and effect as if the judge had issued a conventional paper order. ECF will
generate a “Notice of Electronic Filing” as described in section II(B)(1) of these
Administrative Procedures.
F. TITLE OF DOCKET ENTRIES
The party electronically filing a pleading or other document shall be responsible for
designating a docket entry title for the document by using one of the docket event categories
prescribed by the Court.3
G. CORRECTING DOCKET ENTRIES
1. Once a document is submitted and becomes part of the case docket, corrections to the
docket may be made only by the Clerk’s Office. ECF will not permit the filing
party to make changes to the document(s) or docket entry once the transaction has
been accepted.
2. A document incorrectly filed in a case may be the result of posting the wrong PDF file
to a docket entry, selecting the wrong document type from the menu, or entering the
wrong case number and not detecting the error before the transaction is completed.
The filing party should not attempt to refile the document.
3. As soon as possible after an error is discovered, the filing party should contact the
Clerk’s Office with the case number and document number for which the correction
is being requested. In the event that the document incorrectly attached contains
3
Filers may view the “CM/ECF Attorney Users Manual” on the Court’s website, www.gas.uscourts.gov.
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sensitive information, the filing party may request that electronic access to the
information be limited to Court personnel until he or she can petition the presiding
judge for deletion of the document or other relief as appropriate. The Clerk’s Office
at its discretion may also limit access to documents that were incorrectly filed that may
contain sensitive information. In those instances when the Clerk’s Office exercises its
discretion, the filing party will be notified immediately to confirm that the document
was filed incorrectly and that the party desires that the limited access continue so
that he or she may seek appropriate relief from the Court. If appropriate, the Court
will make a corrective entry indicating the original error. If the docket entry is
correct, but the document filed is incorrect, the filing party will be advised to refile
the document electronically. Refiling the document does not entitle the filer to an
extension of filing deadlines. If the docket entry is incorrect, but the attached
document is correct, the Clerk’s office may make the appropriate corrective changes
to the docket entry consistent with Clerk’s Office internal procedures. No
substitution of documents by Clerk’s Office staff is permissible.
H. TECHNICAL FAILURES
The Clerk’s Office shall deem the Southern District of Georgia ECF site to be subject to
a technical failure on a given day if the site is unable to accept filings continuously or
intermittently over the course of any period of time greater than one hour after 10:00 a.m. that day.
Known system outages will be posted on the web site, if possible. An attorney may file a
declaration seeking relief from the Court for not meeting the deadline as a result of a technical
failure. (Form C).
“Technical failure” is defined as a malfunction of Court owned/leased hardware, software,
and/or telecommunications facility which results in the inability of a filer to submit a
document electronically. Problems on the filer’s end, such as telephone line problems, problems
with the filer’s Internet Service Provider (ISP), or hardware or software problems, will not
constitute a technical failure under these Administrative Procedures nor excuse an untimely filing.
A filer who cannot file a document electronically because of a problem on the filer’s end must
seek leave to file the document conventionally.
I. PRIVACY
1. Redacted Documents
Pursuant to the E-Government Act of 2002, the policy of the Judicial Conference of the
United States, and LR 8, parties are required to omit, or where inclusion is necessary, partially
redact the following personal data identifiers from all pleadings or documents, whether filed
electronically or conventionally, unless otherwise ordered by the Court:
a. Minor’s names: use minor’s initials;
b. Financial account numbers: identify the name or type of account and financial
institution where maintained, but use only the last four numbers of the account
number;
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c. Social Security numbers or taxpayer identification numbers: use only the last
four numbers;
d. Dates of birth: use only the year;
e. Addresses: in criminal cases, use only city and state.
A party wishing to file a document containing the personal data identifiers specified above
may file conventionally under seal either an unredacted version of the document or a reference
list containing the complete personal data identifiers. See LR 8. A party must, however,
electronically file a redacted copy for the public file.
The responsibility for redacting these personal identifiers rests solely with counsel and the
filing party or person. The Clerk will not review documents for compliance with this rule, or redact
documents, whether filed electronically or in paper form.
2. Other Sensitive Information
Counsel and parties are reminded that all documents filed with the Court, whether filed
electronically or conventionally in paper form, will be electronically available over the Internet
unless that document is placed under seal. Counsel and parties are further reminded that in addition
to the personal data identifiers listed above, other sensitive information implicating not only
privacy but also personal security concerns may be prohibited or restricted from disclosure by
federal or state statutes or by rule. Counsel and parties, therefore, must exercise caution when
filing documents that contain the following information:
a. Records of medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment or diagnosis;
b. A personal identifying number, such as a driver’s license number;
c. Employment history;
d. Individual financial account identifiers;
e. Proprietary or trade secret information;
f. Information regarding an individual’s cooperation with the government;
g. Information regarding the victim of any criminal activity;
h. National security information; and
i. Sensitive security information as described in 49 U.S.C. § 114(s).
Where the inclusion of such sensitive information is relevant and necessary to the case,
counsel and the filing party should redact such information before submitting the document for the
public file.
3. Transcript Redaction
The filer’s obligation to redact the personal identifiers specified in LR 8 and other sensitive
information prohibited or restricted from disclosure by law applies to any transcript submitted
as an exhibit or attachment to any filing.
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III. CONVENTIONAL FILING OF DOCUMENTS
The following procedures govern documents filed conventionally. The Court, upon
application, may also authorize conventional filing of other documents otherwise subject to these
Administrative Procedures. Paper documents should be printed on only one side of an 8 ½” by 11”
page.
When a document has been filed conventionally, a “Notice of Manual Filing” (Form D)
should be electronically filed, naming the document that was filed conventionally and stating the
reason for conventional (rather than electronic) filing. (In the event that a party cannot file the
requisite Notice of Manual Filing electronically, the party must file the Notice conventionally.)
A. DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL
All documents, both criminal and civil, that are required or sought to be filed under seal
must be filed conventionally in paper form, not electronically. Parties should carefully review LR
79.7 before seeking to file any document under seal.
B. PRO SE FILERS
Pro se filers shall file paper originals of all complaints, pleadings, motions, affidavits,
briefs, and other documents. The Clerk’s Office will scan these original documents and upload
them into ECF. Once documents are scanned into the system, the electronic version will become the
official record.
IV. EXHIBITS
A. EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF OR IN OPPOSITION TO A MOTION
In general, evidence in support of or in opposition to a motion should be filed
electronically, rather than conventionally. (Exhibits that are not filed, but are submitted in
conventional form during a hearing, will be maintained by the Clerk’s office in conventional
format.)
1. A party electronically submitting evidentiary materials to the Clerk’s Office in support
of or in opposition to a motion shall also file electronically a document indexing each
item of evidence being filed. Each item of evidence should be filed as a separate
attachment to the motion to which it relates.
2. Whenever feasible, a filing party must scan a non-electronic or paper exhibit and
submit the exhibit as a PDF file. Electronic exhibits must be converted to a PDF file
and submitted as a PDF file. Filing parties must electronically file an exhibit greater
than 30 MB as separate attachments of 30 MB or smaller whenever feasible. Only
when division of the document into separate attachments is not feasible may the party
file the document in conventional format.
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3. Filers submitting scanned documents must configure their scanners to scan documents
at no lower than 300 dpi.
4. The filing party is required to verify the readability of scanned documents before filing
them electronically with the Court. (Similar to the copy process, images of scanned
documents could contain pages which skewed during scanning or were omitted
altogether. The filing party must correct such errors before filing.)
5. A party submitting evidentiary materials in conventional format shall also file in
conventional format an index of evidence listing each item of evidence being filed and
identifying the motion to which it relates.
6. Copies of conventionally-filed supporting materials shall be served on other parties
pursuant to section II(B)(3) of these Administrative Procedures governing service of
conventional documents.
B. EVIDENCE NOT IN SUPPORT OF OR IN OPPOSITION TO A MOTION
1. Whenever feasible a filing party must scan a non-electronic or paper exhibit and
submit the exhibit as a PDF file. Electronic exhibits must be converted to a PDF file
and submitted as a PDF file. Filing parties must electronically file an exhibit greater
than 30 MB as separate attachments of 30 MB or smaller whenever feasible. Only
when division of the document into separate attachments is not feasible may the party
file the document in conventional format.
2. A party may conventionally submit exhibits which are not available i n electronic
format and which cannot be converted into electronic format. The Clerk’s Office
will note on the docket its receipt of the document(s) or exhibit(s) with a text-only
entry. Any exhibit filed conventionally will be noted in a Notice of Manual Filing.
3. Filers submitting scanned documents must configure their scanners to scan documents
at no lower than 300 dpi.
4. The filing party is required to verify the readability of scanned documents before filing
them electronically with the Court. (Similar to the copy process, images of scanned
documents could contain pages which skewed during scanning or were omitted
altogether. The filing party must correct such errors before filing.)
5. Exhibits submitted conventionally shall be served on other parties pursuant to section
II(B)(3) of these Administrative Procedures governing service of conventional
documents. Exhibits filed conventionally will be listed in an electronically-filed Notice
of Manual Filing.
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V. PUBLIC ACCESS TO CM/ECF
A. PUBLIC ACCESS AT THE COURT
Access to the electronic docket and documents filed in ECF is available to the public at
no charge at the Clerk’s Office during regular business hours. A copy fee for an electronic
reproduction is required in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1914.
Conventional copies and certified copies of electronically-filed documents may be purchased
at the Clerk’s Office. The fee for copying and certifying will be in accordance with 28 U.S.C.
§ 1914.
B. INTERNET ACCESS
Remote electronic access to ECF for viewing purposes is limited to subscribers to the
Public Access to Court Electronic Records (“PACER”) system. The Judicial Conference of the
United States has determined that a user fee will be charged for remotely accessing certain detailed
case information, such as filed documents and docket sheets in civil cases, but excluding review of
calendars and similar general information. 4
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The Administrative Office of the United States Courts establishes and periodically adjusts the fees that
CM/ECF users will be charged to remotely access electronic data such as docket sheets and case
documents through the PACER system. The access fee does not apply to the initial access to a document
by official recipients of electronic documents (i.e., parties legally required to receive service or to whom
service is directed by the filer). An official recipient will receive the initial electronic copy of a document
free to download as the recipient sees fit. However, if the official recipient remotely accesses the
document through PACER again, the recipient will be charged an access fee.
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