May 18, 2022
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
IN RE: )
ELECTRONIC CASE FILING RULES ) Administrative Order No. 312
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
This Administrative order supplants Administrative Order 60, dated November 14, 2012, and
its amendments dated November 14, 2012, September 9, 2010, September 17, 2007, April 25, 2006,
May 18, 2004, and January 9, 2004, and the appended revised rules dated May 2022 are adopted and
will remain applicable until further Order of this Court.
WK
Dated this ________day of May, 2022.
HONORABLE NANCY J. ROSENSTENGEL
Chief United States District Judge
ELECTRONIC CASE FILING RULES
(Revised May 2022)
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
ELECTRONIC CASE FILING RULES
RULE 1 SCOPE OF ELECTRONIC FILING
All cases, civil and criminal, are assigned to the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) system.
Attorneys must utilize the ECF system, unless specifically exempted by the court for
good cause shown. Pro se filers may (with prior Court authorization) utilize the ECF
system but are not required to. Pro se filers who do not utilize the ECF system shall file
all documents with the Clerk of Court by U.S. Mail or personal delivery to the Clerk’s
Office.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 2 ELIGIBILITY, REGISTRATION, PASSWORDS
Effective August 23, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Illinois updated its software to the Next Generation of CM/ECF or “NextGen”. To
electronically file in the Southern District, attorneys admitted to the bar of this court,
including those admitted pro hac vice or those authorized to represent the United
States or any local or state government, must have an updated, individual Public
Access to Court Electronic Records account, otherwise known as “PACER”. The
PACER username and password issued to an individual attorney, not a law firm or
administrator, must be used for the retrieval and filing of official court documents.
Please note, PACER accounts are not maintained by the court; therefore, any
changes to a username, password, firm name, address, email, or phone number
must be made through PACER. In addition, when changing any type of contact
information, the attorney must instruct PACER to share that updated information with
the court. For any assistance with an account, please contact PACER at 1-800-676-
6856 or www.pacer.gov.
If the Court permits, a party to a pending civil action who is not represented by an
attorney (also known as a pro se party), may register as a Pro Se Filing User in
the ECF system. Those granted Pro Se Filing User privileges must register for an
e-file only account via www.pacer.gov. Pro Se Filing User privileges are case
specific; pro se filers must seek prior Court approval in each unique case filed.
For more information regarding pro se filings via the ECF system, please consult
the Court’s Pro Se Litigant Guide (revised May 2022), available at:
https://www.ilsd.uscourts.gov/Forms.aspx.
No attorney or other Filing User may knowingly permit or cause to permit a filing user’s
password to be used by anyone other than an authorized agent of that Filing User. If
an attorney or Filing User comes to believe the security of their existing password has
been compromised, they should change that password immediately via www.pacer.gov
and notify the CM/ECF Help Desk at (866) 867-3169 or (866) 222-2104. Filing users
may be subject to sanctions for failure to comply with this provision.
Provided that a Filing User has an internet email address, PACER registration as a
Filing User constitutes consent to electronic service of all documents as provided in
these rules in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 3 CONSEQUENCES OF ELECTRONIC FILING
Electronic transmission of a document to the ECF system 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, 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 under Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure 58 and 79 and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 49 and 55.
When a document has been filed electronically, the official record is the electronic
recording of the document as stored by the court, and the filing party is bound by the
document as filed. Except in the case of documents first filed in paper form and
subsequently submitted electronically under Rule 1, a document filed electronically is
deemed filed at the date and time stated on the “Notice of Electronic Filing” from the
court.
Filing a document electronically does not alter the filing deadline for that document.
Filing must be completed before midnight local time where the court is located in order
to be considered timely filed that day, unless a specific time is set by the court.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(e) and Federal Rule of Criminal
Procedure 45(c), whenever something is served electronically, three days are added to
the prescribed response period.
The filer is responsible for calculating the response time under the federal and/or local
rules. The date generated by CM/ECF is a guideline only, and, if the court has
ordered the response to be filed on a date certain, the court's order governs the
response deadline.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 4 ENTRY OF COURT ORDERS
All orders, judgments, minute entries, and notices filed in accordance with these rules
will constitute entry on the docket kept by the clerk under Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure 58 and 79 and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 49 and 55. Text-only
entries on the docket, without an attached document, are official and binding. Any order
or other court-issued document filed electronically without the original signature of a
judge or clerk has the same force and effect as if the judge or clerk had signed a paper
copy of the document, and it had been entered on the docket in a conventional manner.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 5 ATTACHMENTS, EXHIBITS, AND MAXIMUM SIZE OF FILINGS
All documents must be electronically filed. If the document exceeds 35.0 Mb, then it
must be divided into segments, with the first segment being the main document and all
subsequent segments as attachments to the main document. Each segment should
not exceed 35.0 Mb.
Service shall comport with Electronic Case Filing Rule 9.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 6 SEALED DOCUMENTS
When the court has ordered or otherwise allowed a document to be filed under seal, or
when the law requires a document to be sealed (e.g., 18 U.S.C. §3509(d); Fed. R. Crim.
P. 6(e)), the document shall be electronically filed. The sealed PDF document must be
attached to the event. Filing Users must bear ultimate responsibility for ensuring that
information is properly redacted and/or sealed.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 7 RETENTION REQUIREMENTS
Manually signed original documents scanned into the system by the attorney or party
must be maintained by the filer for 5 years after final resolution of the action, including
final disposition of all appeals. The original hard copy must be produced at any time
when ordered by the court.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 8 SIGNATURE
Upon registration, Filing Users automatically endorse their electronic signature for
purposes of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 specifically, the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure generally, and the local
rules. The Filing User’s electronic signature also serves as a valid signature for
purposes of unsworn declarations pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, service and filing
pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5 and Federal Rule of Criminal
Procedure 49 and establishing perjury pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 1621-1623. The “s/”
name on the document and the filer’s login id must be the same or the document will
be stricken.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 9 SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS BY ELECTRONIC MEANS
All electronically filed documents, attachments, and exhibits should include a certificate
of service in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure, and local rules. Electronic service of the “Notice of Electronic Filing”
constitutes service of the filed document and satisfies the certificate of service
requirement, unless the filing party has actual knowledge of a technical failure resulting
in non-receipt of a document.
A paper copy of any electronically filed document should be served upon attorneys who
are exempted from utilizing the E system, as set out in Electronic Case Filing Rule 1,
and pro se users not registered for electronic service. Service of any conventionally
filed document must be made according to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and local rules, and a certificate of service must
be included on the document, indicating the manner in which each party was served.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 10 NOTICE OF COURT ORDERS AND JUDGMENTS
Immediately upon the entry of an order, judgment, minute entry, or notice in an action
assigned to the ECF system, the clerk will transmit to Filing Users in the case, in
electronic form, a “Notice of Electronic Filing.” Electronic transmission of the “Notice of
Electronic Filing” constitutes the notice required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
77(d) and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49(c).
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 11 TECHNICAL FAILURES
A Filing User whose filing is made untimely as the result of a technical failure may move
for appropriate relief from the court. Technical failures cannot extend jurisdictional
deadlines. Problems on the filer’s end such as phone line problems, problems with the
filer’s Internet Service Provider (ISP), or hardware/software problems do not constitute a
technical failure or excuse an untimely filing. If a party misses a filing deadline because
of such problems, a motion for leave to file instanter, accompanied by a signed
Declaration stating the reason for missing the deadline, must be filed no later than 12:00
noon of the first day on which the court is open for business following the original filing
deadline. The court will consider the matters stated in the declaration and order
appropriate relief.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 12 PUBLIC ACCESS AND FEES
A person may review at the Clerk’s Office filings that have not been sealed by the court.
A person may also access the ECF system at the court’s Internet site
https://www.ilsd.uscourts.gov/cmecf by obtaining a PACER login and password. A
person who has PACER access may retrieve docket sheets in civil and criminal cases
and documents in all civil cases except social security cases and sealed cases. Only
counsel of record may retrieve documents in social security cases and sealed cases.
Upon receipt of a “Notice of Electronic Filing,” any Filing User will have one opportunity
by way of a hyperlink to view and either print or download the document for free. Filing
Users who already have electronically accessed a document once will be charged a per
page fee from Pacer.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
RULE 13 HYPERLINKS
Electronically filed documents may contain the following types of hyperlinks:
1. Hyperlinks to other portions of the same document; and
2. Hyperlinks to a location on the Internet that contains a source document for
citation.
Hyperlinks to cited authority may not replace standard citation format. Complete
citations must be included in the text of the filed document. Neither hyperlinks, nor any
site to which it refers, shall be considered part of the record. Hyperlinks are simply
convenient mechanics 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 of any hyperlink.
Electronic Case Filing Rules
Revised May 2022
