T]NITED STATES DISTRICT COI]RT
F'OR TIIE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
GENERAL ORDER 16-0020
GENERAL ORDER ON ELECTRONIC CASE FILING
Meeting in executive session on November 16, 2004, the Court approved the following
procedures for Electronic Case Filing (ECF). Revisions to these procedures were approved by the
Court on May 19,2005,May 21,2006, October 25,2007, April 30, 2009, July 6, 2011, March
20,2414, October 16,2014, Septenrber 22,2076, and March 22,2018.
I. Preamble
(A) Whereas:
(1) this court implerrented the Case Management/Electronic Case Filing System
in 2005;
(2) Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rules 5,77, and79, and Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure Rules 49 ard 55, now permit the creation, retention, and
storage of court records and service of notice and court orders by electronic
means; and
(3) This court has provided for the creation, retention, and storage ofcourt records
and service of notice and court orders by elechonic means;
(B) The Court hereby enters this general order which may be referred to as the "General
Order on Electronic Case Filing."
(C) This General Order shall be available through the Court Web Site. Any additional
procedures established by the Clerk of the Court pursuant to this General Order are also
available through the Court Web Site.
II. Definitions
(A) "Electronic Case Filing System" or "ECF" is the court's electonic system for
receiving, recording, docketing, filing, and retrieving pleadings and other court
documents in electronic form and for generating, recording, retrieving, and transmitting
court orders and notices in electronic form.
@) "E-Filer" is a person registered to use ECF in the Northern District of Illinois and
who has been issued a login and password.
(C) "Notice of Electronic Filing" is the notice generated by ECF upon the completion of
an electronic filing.
(D) "Court Web Site" is the official Intemet web site of the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Illinois, the present address of which is
h@ ://www. ilnd.uscourts. gov.
(E) A document is in "Compatible Format" if it is in Portable Document Format (,PDF")
created by Adobe Acrobat or another similar and compatible program, or in such other
format as the Clerk of the Court may designate and post on the Court Web Site.
(F) "Paper," when used in this General Order to describe forms, documents, etc., means a
tangible, hard copy version in contrast to elechonic versions.
III. Scope of Electronic tr'ilins
(A) (1) All civil, criminal, and admiralty cases are assigned to ECF except those
categories of cases specifically excepted below.
(2) The following categories of cases do not qualiff to be assigned to ECF:
(a) petty offenses;
(b) gand jurymatters;
(c) sealed cases, until a point in the proceedings when the case is unsealed
; and
(d) any other specific case where the court expressly orders that it not be
assigned to ECF, until a point in the proceedings that the court may order
otherwise.
(B) (1) Except as expressly provided and in exceptional circumstances preventing an
E-Filer from filing electronically, all petitions, motions, memoranda of law, or
other pleadings and documents required to be filed with the court after September
30, 2005 in connection with a case assigned to ECF shall be electronically filed.
An email or fax transmission to court staffdoes not constitute a filing.
(2) The following categories of documents are not to be filed electronically:
(a) chargrng documents in a criminal case, including superseding
indicfunents, superseding informations, and superseding
complaints;
(b) warrants for arrest and summons in sriminal cases;
(c) all documents that require the signature of a criminal defendant;
(d) sealed complaints;
(e) bonds;
(0 letters ofrequest;
(g) other designated documents in accordance with procedures
established bythe Clerk of the Court; and
(h) documents that the court expressly orders or permits to be filed in
paper form.
(3) Subject to restrictions on access approved by the Executive Committee, the
following categories of documents shall be filed electronically:
(a) administrative records;
(b) state courtrecords in ahabeas co{pus case;
(c) restricted, sealed, or in camera documents;
(d) ex parte motions;
(e) pretrial services reports and presentence reports;
(0 applications pursuant to Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties
(MLATs).
(4) As to those documents listed in $ [I(B)(2) and any other documents filed in
p4per form, the Clerk of the Court may establish procedures for creating and
storing electronic versions of such documents. Those procedures (a) may
contain provisions for creating redacted versions of documents and (b) shall not
provide for the maintenance of electonic versions of in catilera documents unless
the Clerk of the Court specifically determines that the then-current version of ECF
contains adequate protections for securing and restricting access to such
documents.
(c) Prior to filing an emergency motion or matter, as defined in Local Fiule 77.2, an
E-Filer shall contact the judge's courtoom deputy or chambers by telephone or in
person. Chambers information, including standing orders, is posted on the Court
Website.
(D) The Clerk of Court is hereby granted the authority to authorize refunds upon
written request by a party who has inadvertently made erroneous or duplicate
payments on line. All approved refunds shall be processed through the elecfronic
credit card system. In the event that a particular attomey or law flrm continues to
make repeated mistakes when submitting fees and requesting refunds, the Clerk of
Court may request that the Court issue an order to show cause why further
requests for refunds should be considered. If a credit card transaction is invalid
for anyreason or if the credit card processing function in CIWECF is experiencing
problems, palar.ent must be made within two business days. Summons will not
be issued until the fee is paid by credit card, check, cash, or money order. If the
case is an emergency filing, the filer must bring the paper document.
IV. Elieibilitv. Resistration. and Passwords
(A) (1) Attomeys admiued to the bar of this court, including those admiued pro hac
vice, arrd attorneys representing the United States in the attorney's ofEcial
capacily, may register as E-Filers.
(2) Registration shall be in accordance with procedures established by the Clerk of
the Court and shall require that the applicant provide his or hetr name, address,
telephone number, lnternet e-mail address, and a declaration that the applicant is
admitted to the bar of this court or admitted pro hac vice. Registation also
requires that the applicant have or obtain an account on the Public Access to Court
Electronic Records ("PACER") systern.
(B) (1) A party to a pending civil action who is not rqlresorted by an attomey and
who is not under filing restrictions imposed by the Executive Committee of this
Court, may register as an E-Filer solely for purposes of the case.
(2) Registration shall be in accordance with procedures established by the Clerk of
the Court and shall require that the applicant identify the action as well as the
name, address, telephone number, and Internet e-mail address of the applicant.
Registation also requires that the applicant have or obtain an account on the
Public Access to Court Electronic Records (,PACER,) system.
(3) Parties who are in custody are not permitted to register as E-Filers. Iq
dr.rring the course of the action, aparty who is registered as an E-Filer is placed in
custody, the E-Filer shall promptly advise the Clerk of the Court to terminate the
E-Filer's registration as an E-Filer.
(4) If, during the course of the action, the party retains an attorney who appears on
the party's behatf, the attomey must advise the C1erk of the Court to terminate the
party's regishation as an E-Filer upon the attorney's appearance.
(c) Regisfuation as an E-Filer constitutes consent to electronic service of all
documents as provided in this General Order and in accordance with the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Clerk of
the Court shall use an electronic and/or paper regisffation form that contains an
express consent to service by electronic means in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P.
s(bX2XE) and Fed. R. Crim. P. 49(b).
(D) The Clerk of the Court may establish registration procedures that require an
E-Filer applicant to complete on-line and/or in-person ECF training prior to being
provided full access as an E-Filer.
(E) Once registration and/or training is completed in accordance with procedures
e.stablished by the Clerk of the Court, the Clerk of the Court shall provide the
E-Filer with notification of the E-Filer's login and password.
(F) E-Filers agree to protect the security of their passwords.
(1) An E-Filer shall immediately notift the Clerk of the Court if he or she leams
that the E-Filer's password has been compromised.
(2) Use of the login and password is limited to the E-Filer and agents
specifically authorized by the E-Filer. The E-Filer shall be responsible for all
applicable charges associated with use of the E-Filer's password, and any
documents filed by use of the password shall be deemed authorized and signed by
the E-Filer.
(3) If the clerk of the court believes that an E-Filer's password has been
compromised, the Clerk of the Court shall notifu the E-Filer. In such
instances, the Clerk of the Court may make necessary corrections to ECF and shall
issue a new password to the E-Filer.
(4) E-Filers may be subject to sanctions for failure to comply with the
provisions of this General Order or any ECF procedures established by the Clerk
of the Court.
(c) It is the responsibility of the E-Filer to maintain adequate facilities and
equipment to participate in ECF, including maintaining a current and active e-mail
address. The E-Filer shall promptly provide written notification to the Clerk of
the Court and opposing litigants in pending cases of any changes in the E-Filer's
e-mail address. An E-Filer who lacks the necessary facilities, equipment, or
active e-mail address, other than for a temporary period of limited duration, shall
promptly seek withdrawal from ECF.
(H) An E-Filer may, for cause, be terminated from using ECF. The Clerk of the
Court shall establish rules and procedwes for such tennination, which shall
provide for review by petition to the Executive Committee of the court or a
designated dishict judge or magistrate judge.
(r) (1) An E-Filer who is ffansferred to inactive status in accordance with LR 83.18 or
suspended or disbarred pursuant to the court's disciplinary procedures, LR
83.25-.31, shall have his or her registration as an E-Filer automatically terminated.
(2) Following reinstatsment under LR 83.18 or LR 83.30, a previously registered
E-Filer must request reinstatement of his or her registration as an E-Filer. Such
request must include then-current information as to the E-Filer's name, address,
telephone number, and Ilrternet e-mail address and any other inforrnation that may
be required under procedures established by the Clerk of the Court.
V. Consequences of Electronic Filing
(A) Elechonic transmission of a document to ECF consistent with these rules,
together with the transmission of a Notice of Electronic Filing from the court,
constitutes filing of the document for all purposes of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the local rules of this
court, and constitutes entry of the document on the docket kept by the Clerk of the
Court under Fed. R. Civ. P. 58 and 79 and Fed. R. Crim. P. 49 and 55.
(B) When a document has been filed electronically or created by the court
electronically, the official record is the electronic recording of the document as
stored by the courfi
(c) Where the Clerk determines that a legible scanned image cannot be produced of a
document filed in paper form, the paper document shall be maintained as the
official record of the court except as provided for in sections v(D) and v(E)
below.
(D) Where a document filed in paper form is suitable for scanning, but one or more
exhibits attached to the document cannot be readily scarured due to the quality of
text or images included in the exhibit, the clerk may scan the document as
provided for in section (B)(1) above and retain the exhibit in paper form.
(E) The filing party is bound by the document as filed. The clerk of court may,
where necessary and appropriate, modiff the docket to comply with quality
control standards.
(F) Except in the case of documents first filed in paper form and subsequently
submitted elechonically under S III(B)(4), a document filed electronically is
deemed filed at the date and time stated on the Notice of Electronic Filing from
the court.
(G) Filing a document electronically does not alter the filing deadline for that
document. Filing must be completed before midnight Cenhal Time in the
Northern District of Illinois in order to be considered timely filed that day. To
the extent local rule or an order of the court requires filing with the court or
service on an opposing party by a specific time of day, the document must be filed
or served by that time of day to be timely and a courtesy copy submitted to the
court within one business day.
VI. Entrv of Court Orders
(A) (1) A11 orders, decrees, judgments, and proceedings of the court will be filed in
accordance with this General Order which will constitute entry on the docket kept
by the Clerk of the Court under Fed. R. Civ. P. 58 and 79 and Fed. R. Crim. P. 49
and 55. A11 signed orders will be filed electronically by the court or court
personnel. Any order filed eleckonically by the court or court personnel without
the original signature of a judge (or, where applicable, the Clerk of the Court) has
the same force and effect as if the judge or Clerk of the Court had affixed the
judge's or Clerk of the Court's signature to a paper copy of the order and it had
been entered on the docket in the manner otherwise provided.
(2) The Clerk of the Court may establish additional procedures for filing,
creating, and storing electonic versions of orders, decrees, and judgments.
(B) An E-Filer submitting a document electronically that requires a judge's signature
must promptly deliver the document in such form as the judge requires.
VII. Documents. Attachments. and Exhibits
(A) E-Filers must file all documents in electronic form, except where this General
Order or the court permits otherwise. All electronic documents must be
submitted in Compatible Format. Each document filed electronically must be
titled using one of the categories contained in ECF.
(B) Each exhibit or attachment must be filed as a separate document within the same
entry.
(C) Individual documents filed electronically must not exceed 35 megabyes in size.
Any document that exceeds the 35 megable limit must be broken into multiple
PDF files. The 35 megabyte limitation applies to each individual component of
the filing. For example, if a motion is filed with three related exhibits as
attachments in one entry, each of the four files may be up to 35 megabytes in size.
There is no limit to the aggregate total for multiple attachments within one filing.
(D) E-Filers may be excused from filing a particular component electonically under
certain limited circumstances, such as when the component cannot be reduced to
an electronic format. Such component shall not be fi1ed electronically, but
instead shall be filed with the Clerk of the Court and served upon the parties in
accordance with the applicable Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Federal Rules
of Criminal Procedure and the local rules for filing and service of paper
documents. E-Filers filing a paper component shall file electronically a Notice
of Paper Filing setting forth the reason(s) why the component cannot be filed
electronically.
(E) An E-Filer, unless otherwise inskucted by the court, may submit as exhibits or
attachments only those excerpts of the referenced documents that are directly
gennane to the matter under consideration by the court. Excerpted material must
be clearly and prominently identified as such. E-Filers who file excerpts of
documents as exhibits or attachments under this rule do so without prejudice to
their right to timely file additional excerpts or the complete document.
Responding parties may timely file additional excerpts or the complete document
that theybelieve are directly germane.
(F) (1) Nothing in section VII of this General Order shall override the local rules
regarding page limitations on specific types of documents. The pages of
electronic documents should substantially comply with the page limitations
contained in LR 5.2. Absent leave of court, the page limitations set forth in LR
7.1 applyto briefs filed in elecfronic form.
(2) Nothing in section VII of this General Order shall prevent the court from
ordering that other rules will apply in a particular case.
VIII. Retention Requirements for Documents with Signatures of Persons Other Than
E-tr'ilers
(A) Documents that are electronically filed and require original signatures other than
that of the E-Filer, e.g, affidaits, declarations, must be maintained in paper
fonn by the E-Filer until 4 years after all time periods for appeals expire.
(B) On request of the court, the E-Filer must provide original documents for review.
IX. Signatures of E-Filers
(A) The user login and password required to transmit documents to ECF serve as the
E-Filer's signature on all elechonic documents filed with the court. They also
serve as a signature for purposes of Fed. R. Civ. P. 11, the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the local rules of this court,
and.any other purpose for which a signature is required in connection with
proceedings before the court. Each document filed electronically must, if possible,
indicate that it has been electronically filed. Electronically filed documents must
include a signature block and must set forth the name, address, telephone number
and the attorney's bar registration nurnber, if applicable. Lr addition, the name of
the E-Filer under whose login and password the document is submitted must be
preceded by an "/s/" and typed in the space where the signature would otherwise
appear.
(B) No E-Filer or other person may knowingly penrrit or cause to permit an E-Filer's
password to be used by anyone other than an authorized agent of the E-Filer.
Elecfronic filing may be delegated to an authoized agufi, who may use the login
and password to transmit a filing. However, use of the login and password to
transmit the filing constitutes a signature by the E-Filer, even when the E-Filer
does not perform the physical act of filing.
(C) In cases assigned to ECF, documents requiring signatures of more than one party
must be electonically filed either by: (1) fransmitting a scanned document
containing all necessary signatures; (2) representing the consent of the other
parties on the document; (3) identifring on the document the parties whose
signatures are required and by the submission of a notice of endorsement by the
other parties no later than three court days after filing; or (4) h any other manner
approved by the court.
X. Service of Documents by Electronic Means
(A) All E-Filers shall maintain a curre,nt and active e-mail address to receive Notices
of Electronic Filing through ECF.
(B) When a pleading or other document is filed electonically in a case assigned to
ECF, ECF will automaiically generate a Notice of Electronic Filing which will
automaticallybe transmitted by e-mail to all E-Filers in the case.
(C) Except where sealed documents are filed electronically, subject to the provisions
of Fed. R. Civ. P. 5OX3), the Notice of Electronic Filing constitutes service under
Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(bX2)(E) and Fed. R. Crim. P. 49O) as to all E-Filers in a case
assigned to ECF.
(D) Parties to a case assigned to ECF, who are not E-Filers or represented by an
E-Filer and who have not otherwise consented to service by electronic means
under Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(bX2XD), are entitled to receive a paper copy of any
elechonically filed document. Service of such paper copy must be made in
accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure, and the local rules of this court.
(E) Where service is made as to any party who is not an E-Filer or is represented by
an E-Filer, a certificate or affidavit of service must be included with all
documents filed electronically. Such certificate or affidavit shall comply with LR
5.5 Such certificate or affidavit is not required as to any party who is an E-filer
or is represented by an E-filer.
XI. Notice of Court Orders and Judgments
(A) Immediately upon the enty of an order or judgment in a case assigned to ECF, the
Clerk of the Court will kansmit to E-Filers in the case, in electronic form, a
Notice of Electronic Filing. Elecfronic transmission of the Notice of Electronic
Filing constitutes the notice required by Fed. R. Civ. P.77(d) and Fed. R. Crim. p.
a9@). The Clerk of the Court must give notice in paper form to a person who is
not an E-Filer or represented by an E-Filer in accordance with the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the local rules of
this court.
XII. Technical F'ailures
(A) An E-Filer whose filing is made untimely as a result of a technical failure may
seek appropriate relief from the court.
(B) Any difficulty connecting to ECF and any other technical failure experienced
should be immediatelyreported to the ECF Help Desk. The Court Web Site shall
provide information as to how to contact the ECF Help Desk.
(c) Any court record, lost or destoyed, whether elechonically filed or in paper
format, willbe restored pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S1735 and 51734.
XI[. Public Access
(A) Anyone desiring to view documents and court records maintained on ECF from a
location other than the ofEce of the Clerk of the Court, must have an account on
the Public Access to court Eleckonic Records ("PACER') system. Information
about PACER, including applicable fees and how to register for it, may be found
on the Court Web Site.
(B) The public will have electronic access to ECF at the ofHces of the Clerk of the
Court for viewing during regular business hours. The offices of the Clerk of the
Court are located at 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604 ard 327 s.
Church Street, Rockford, IL 61 101.
(c) Paper copies and certified copies of the eleckonically maintained documents on
ECF may be purchased at the offices of the Clerk of the Court. The fees for
copyrng and certifuing will be in accordance with 28 U.S.C. S 1930.
9
ENTER:
FOR THE COURT
Chief Judge
Dated at Chicago, Illinois this z f ?ay of March, 2018
