(A) “Case Management/Electronic Case Filing System,” also referred to as “the System”
or “CM/ECF,” means the Internet-based system for filing documents and maintaining
Court files in the District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
(B) “Conventional filing” means submitting a paper to the Clerk in a non-electronic,
tangible format. The Clerk will scan the paper submitted conventionally and file it
with CM/ECF.
(C) “Non-registered pro se party” means a person who is not registered to file papers
or receive notices by way of CM/ECF.
(D) “Electronic filing” means uploading a paper directly from the registered user’s
computer in Adobe PDF format, using CM/ECF, to file that paper in the Court’s
case file.
(E) The “Notice of Electronic Filing” (“NEF”) that is generated automatically by
the CM/ECF System at the time a paper is filed with the System, setting forth the
time of filing, the name of the party and attorney filing the paper, the type of paper,
the text of the docket entry, and an electronic link (hyperlink) to the filed paper,
which allows recipients to retrieve the document automatically.
(F) “PACER” (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) is the automated system that
allows an individual to view, print, and download Court docket information via the
Internet.
(G) “PDF” refers to a paper that exists in Portable Document Format. A document created
with a word processor, or a paper document that has been scanned, must first be
converted to portable document format before it can be electronically filed.
Converted files contain the extension “.pdf.”
Revised 9/2024
Committee Comments:
September 19, 2024
The Committee amended sections (B), (D), (E), and (G) of the Rule to improve clarity and section (C) to
define “non-registered pro se party.”
