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What is CM/ECF?
In January 1996, the Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts began development of the Case Management/Electronic
Case Filing (CM/ECF) system. CM/ECF is a comprehensive case management
system that will allow courts to maintain electronic case files and
offer electronic filing over the Internet. Courts can make all case
information immediately available electronically through the Internet.
Eventually, CM/ECF will replace the current case management systems
used by the federal courts across the country.
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Why
Electronic Case Files?
Judges,court
staff, and the public now have the capability to access electronic docket
information, case management data and legal research materials. As most
documents are now initially created first in electronic form, the federal
courts can further reduce the reliance on paper records by establishing
electronic case file systems. These systems should enhance the accuracy,
management and security of records, reduce delays in the flow of information
and achieve cost savings for the judiciary, the bar and litigants.
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What
are the benefits and features of using CM/ECF?
There are a number of significant benefits
and features:
Courts can allow registered attorneys
to file documents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Reduction of paper,
photocopy, postage and courier costs. Full case information is available
immediately to attorneys, parties, and the general public through the
Internet. This includes the ability to view the full text of all filed
documents. Attorneys on the system will receive email notices electronically
in CM/ECF cases. This greatly speeds delivery and eliminates the costs
to both the court and attorneys of handling and mailing paper notices.
Multiple parties can view the same case files simultaneously. Since
CM/ECF uses Internet standard software, the out-of-pocket cost of participation
for attorneys is typically very low.
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Which
courts provide a CM/ECF system?
CM/ECF is available in many district
and bankruptcy courts, although some of the district courts provide
only civil case information at this time. Currently, a version of CM/ECF
is not available for appellate cases. For a complete list of the CM/ECF
courts visit: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/announcements/general/ecfnews.html
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What is
the cost for using CM/ECF?
There is no additional fee associated
with the filing aspect of the CM/ECF system.
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Who developed
CM/ECF?
All software for the project has been
developed by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
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How
are electronic documents served?
The CM/ECF system generates a Notice
of Electronic Filing -- an email message containing a hyperlink to the
document filed -- whenever a document is filed with the court. The Northern
District of Georgia will determine if this e-mail message will suffice
as a notice of service in the promulgation of CM/ECF related policies
and procedures.
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What
constitutes a page in CM/ECF for billing purposes?
Billable pages are calculated in two ways
in CM/ECF. A formula is used to determine the number of pages for an HTML
formatted report. Any information extracted from the CM/ECF database,
such as the data used to create a docket sheet, is billed using a formula
based on the number of bytes extracted. For a PDF document, the actual
number of pages in are counted to determine the number of billable pages.
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For report data retrieved from the CM/ECF
system that is printed, the print job will not always match the number
of pages billed. The number of pages printed is dependent on individual
printer and browser settings. All users are charged equally for the
same information regardless of the browser settings or printer configurations.
A transaction receipt and the Review Billing History option are provided
in each court site for reviewing charges. Also, Review Transaction History
is available on this site in Account Information for reviewing transactions
from all courts. The transactions are updated on the PACER Web Site
by the middle of each month.
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How do
I get my free copy of newly filed documents?
Attorneys of record and parties in a
case (including pro se litigants) receive one free electronic copy of
all documents filed electronically if receipt is required by law or
directed by the filer. Attorneys and parties will receive an email message
containing a hyperlink to the document filed. Use the hyperlink to view
the document. The hyperlink will expire after the earlier of these two
events: the first use or 30 days. Any time that same hyperlink is accessed
after it has expired, the user will be asked for a PACER login and will
be charged to view the document. All users should be advised to print
or save the document during the initial viewing period in order to avoid
future charges.
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How
do I start receiving email notices from CM/ECF?
Log into the CM/ECF system with your
court-issued filing login. Your PACER login will not have sufficient
privileges to access this information. Click on ‘Utilities.' Click
on ‘Maintain Your Account.' On the screen titled Maintain User
Account, click on ‘Email Information' at the bottom of the page.
Enter your email address in the box for ‘Primary e-mail address'.
You can send additional notices to other email addresses by checking
the box ‘to these additional addresses' and listing other email
addresses in the box to the right. You can receive notices in other
cases by checking the box ‘Send notices in these additional cases'
and listing the case numbers in the box to the right. You can choose
to receive an individual notice for each filing or a summary notice
with all the filings each day. Either the individual or the summary
notice will contain hyperlinks back to the documents. You can choose
to receive the email notices in HTML or text format. You should choose
the format based on the type of email program you use on your end. After
completing the information requested on the screen, click on "Return
to Account Screen." Click on ‘Submit.' Then, click on ‘Submit'
again. You should receive a confirmation message on the screen that
your email preferences were successfully updated. Make sure you keep
your email address current, so you don't miss notices.
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The
electronic notice I received has a link to the docket sheet. Am I charged
to view the docket sheet?
The fee is applied for accessing a docket
sheet and any documents accessed from the link on the docket sheet.
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Can the general
public view CM/ECF cases and the documents in those cases?
Yes, the public can access case data
in CM/ECF unless it has been sealed by the court. The public access
component of CM/ECF will require a user to enter a PACER login and password.
Because the PACER login and CM/ECF filing login will be different, a
filing attorney will need both. Established PACER users will automatically
have access to these sites; a new account does not need to be created.
For those currently not registered with PACER, a PACER account may be
obtained at: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/register.html
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Can
any member of the public use CM/ECF to file documents with the court?
No. Access to the filing portion of
CM/ECF is available to authorized attorneys only. Authorization and
training is provided by the practicing CM/ECF court.
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How
does an attorney become an authorized CM/ECF user?
In order for an attorney to be authorized
to file documents electronically and to receive e-mail notices of documents
that are filed, he/she must be admitted to practice and be registered
to file electronically within the specific court providing the CM/ECF
system. Each court will have its own requirements and procedures for
registering. Upon registration with the court, attorneys will be provided
with an identification name and password that will allow access for
the filing aspect of the system. Attorneys will also need to register
with the PACER Service Center to obtain a login and password for the
querying component of the system. Visit http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/announcements/general/ecfnews.html
for a complete list of the courts that offer CM/ECF and to learn more
about their systems, including filing requirements and procedures, manuals,
and other pertinent information.
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What
are the rules and procedures regarding filing electronically?
The Northern District of Georgia will
announce its own requirements for filing electronically prior to the
initiation of CM/ECF.
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What
type of training will be available?
Contact us at www.gand.uscourts.gov
to see what training sessions may be offered. This court offers a CM/ECF
on-line tutorial, training database and FAQs. Participants should use
the training database to practice filing before filing a document in
the "live" database.
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My
firm already has a PACER login and password. Do I need to establish
a separate PACER account, or can I use the firm account?
The firm PACER account can be used for
the query component of CM/ECF. However, if you would like to keep the
billing separate from the firm's, you will need to establish a new PACER
account. A PACER account may be obtained at: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/register.html
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I
am changing firms. Do I need to establish a new e-filing login and password?
You do not need to register for CM/ECF
more than once. Even if you change firms, your login remains valid.
However, you must update your address and e-mail information in the
"Utilities" option of the CM/ECF. It will also be necessary
to establish a new PACER login and password. A PACER account may be
obtained at: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/register.html
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How
do I change my address with the Court?
In CM/ECF, click on "Utilities",
"Maintain Your CM/ECF account." You can change your address,
phone, email preferences, login and password on these screens. Local
rules at each court may require that you continue to send a paper notice
of any address changes as well. Change the billing address for PACER
in the Account Information section of this web site.
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How
do I change my CM/ECF password?
Once logged in, go to "Utilities"
on the dark blue tool bar.
Click on "Maintain Your Account" in the "Your Account"
section.
Click on the "More User Information" button at the bottom
of the screen.
Highlight the row of asterisks in the password box and type your new
password in their place.
Click on "Return to Account screen" at the bottom of the page.
Click on "Submit" at the bottom of the page.
Change your PACER password in the Account
Information section of this web site.
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Why do I
get a second login screen after I've already logged into ECF?
This login prompt is requesting your
PACER login and password, which is required whenever you request a report
or document from a case. In order to bypass this login prompt in the
future, click the box that says ‘make this my default login' after
entering the PACER login and password. Your CM/ECF login and password
will still need to be entered each time the ECF site is visited.
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Why am I getting
an invalid login message?
Look for a few of these common problems:
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Both the login and password should be
entered in lower case letters.
Make sure the proper login and password are being used for the proper
database. (PACER login for querying; CM/ECF login for filing)
Verify that the recommended browser is being used – Netscape Navigator
version 4.6 or 4.7, IE 5.5, or any other compatiable browser. The CM/ECF
technical staff is currently testing Netscape version 7.02 and Internet
Explorer version 6.0 to certify its compatibility with the Bankruptcy
and District CM/ECF systems. However, users are currently accessing
the system using Netscape version 7.02 and Internet Explorer version
6.0 with positive results. In either case, the browser must be JavaScript-enabled.
Check the location of the web site in the location window of Netscape.
The training database is located at: https://ecf-train.COURT.uscourts.gov
while the live database is at: https://ecf.COURT.uscourts.gov (without
the train) where COURT is the code for the particular court.
Netscape needs to be set to accept all cookies.
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Why do I
get an invalid login message once I have already logged into the court
and I am retrieving a docket or document?
Verify that the recommended browser
is being used (Netscape Navigator version 4.6 or 4.7, and IE 5.5 were
the only browsers tested). Make sure to set you PC to accept all cookies.
If the problem persists, delete your existing cookie files. Cookies
are stored within the Program Files of your computer. Once in Program
Files, go into the browser folder. Within one of the folders will be
a cookie file. To delete the cookie file, right click on the icon and
select delete.
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Why
can I get a docket sheet, but not any of the documents provided?
This may occur if you are using an incompatiable
browser. Check your browser setting. Another problem may be that you
do not need Acrobat software (ie Adobe Reader) to view a docket sheet,
but you do need it to view documents. You might have Acrobat PDF on
your machine but have not connected it to browser. The solution for
Netscape--open Netscape: Options, General Preferences, and in the dialog
box add application/pdf; extension pdf and indicate the path to the
Acrobat.exe file.
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What
should we do when an attorney leaves the firm?
When an attorney leaves a firm, both
the attorney and the firm need to consider the implications to the CM/ECF
noticing system. If cases will move with the attorney, all the attorney
needs to do is to change his/her e-mail notification set up and submit
a change of address to the Clerk's Office. If cases will remain with
the firm, the firm will need to ensure that the Court docket accurately
reflects the proper attorney of record and that the new attorney of
record is properly set up to receive e-mail notification. Law firms
may also wish to consider the best method of handling e-mail addressed
to the firm for the departed attorney. Summarily removing the attorney
from the firm's e-mail system with no further action, may result in
notifications being missed. Firms may wish to consider whether their
own e-mail systems should forward such e-mails to the attorney at his/her
new address, or to another attorney within the firm.
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Can
I have the same filing login for all courts I practice in?
Since each court assigns the filing
login for filing privileges in the CM/ECF system, it is not possible
to obtain a universal filing login.
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How
do I change my default PACER login?
Once you are logged in as a CM/ECF filer,
click on ‘Utilities.' In Utilities, click on ‘Change Your
PACER Login.' Enter a new PACER login and password. You can change the
default PACER login by checking the box ‘Make this my default PACER
login.' Once you associate a PACER login and a filer login, there is
no way to un-associate the two without making another PACER login the
default.
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I am currently receiving electronic
notification of filings in CM/ECF. How do I stop electronic noticing and
receive my notices in paper?
As provided in the administrative rules
governing CM/ECF, registration for a CM/ECF login and password constitute
an agreement to receive electronic notices. Consequently, to cease receiving
electronic notices, you must de-register from CM/ECF.
To de-register, you must send a written
request for termination of your CM/ECF account to the Administration Office.
Please include your login to ensure positive identification within CM/ECF.
For security reasons, please DO NOT include your password. Upon receipt
of your written request, your account will be terminated and electronic
notification of filings will halt.
Please note that removing your email address
from your CM/ECF profile will prevent you from receiving electronic notices,
but will NOT result in your receiving paper notices. Only a written request
for an account termination of your CM/ECF account will return you to paper
noticing.
Termination of your account will also
prevent you from e-filing. Also, please note that
e-filing will be mandatory for all but pro se filers beginning July 15,
2005 and notices to all but pro se filers will be made electronically.
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What
is a PDF document?
Documents in Portable Document File
(PDF) format do not require a copy of the word processing program used
to create them in order to be viewed. They can be viewed by anyone with
a free Acrobat Reader, a product of Adobe Systems, Inc. In addition
to its cross platform advantage, a PDF document matches very closely
the format of the original document in which the PDF document was created.
All of the pleadings in the CM/ECF system are stored in PDF format.
To view PDF files, you must have a copy of Acrobat Reader software,
which you may download free from the Adobe Systems Internet website
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
You will view PDF documents the way they were created, and you may save
and print them in that format.
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What is Adobe Acrobat?
Adobe Acrobat is a commercial software
product from Adobe that allows you to save documents in PDF (portable
document format). All documents filed in CM/ECF must be in PDF format.
The most recent version, 5.0, is available for approximately $220-250.
There may be volume discounts for multiple orders.
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How do I make a PDF
document with Adobe Acrobat?
A. When creating a new document to be
filed, before writing the document, first change the print driver from
the default printer (e.g., HP5Si) to "Acrobat PDFWriter" by
selecting "File"/"Print" and then selecting "Acrobat
PDFWriter" as the current printer.
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B. Write your document and when finished,
select "File"/"Print". Ensure that "Acrobat
PDFWriter" is selected as the printer and then name your file (and
place it in the proper directory) and click OK. The file will be created
with a .pdf extension. In doing this, you are not actually printing
your document to a printer; instead you are saving it to a file. To
print a physical copy of the document, open the newly-created .pdf file
and print to your local printer. Always print from this PDF file, rather
than the word-processed file that created it to ensure that the paper
and electronic versions are consistent. Alternatively, you can set the
printer to "Acrobat PDFWriter" after the document has been
created to save it to a PDF file, but there is a possibility of introducing
a formatting discrepancy, if, for instance, a page break is not the
same in the PDF file as it was in the word-processed file. Adobe Acrobat
5.0 was tested for its ability to maintain font integrity through conversions
to PDF of documents created in WordPerfect version 8 and Microsoft Word
97. All of the 32 fonts tested were done with a 12 point size. The results
show that while characteristics of some fonts were lost in the conversion
(e.g., they appeared smaller), every font conversion produced legible
results and none produced a problem with either character spacing or
character overlap (superimposition).
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Why
do I have missing pages when I convert my documents to PDF?
If WordPerfect 5.1 or 7.0 is used to
write the document, and the document is more than three pages, Adobe
Acrobat will not convert all pages to the PDF format. As a result, the
converted document will have missing pages. Use Adobe Exchange to ensure
the integrity of the converted PDF document.
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I
tried to scan my document into PDF but a lot of errors appeared.
You are probably trying to scan the
document using optical character recognition (OCR)--don't do this. PDF
can handle both text and scanned documents. It can also take scanned
documents and perform OCR on them, turning the image back into editable
text. However, this process has many problems and should not be done
before e-filing them. It is permissible to perform OCR on PDF documents
after they are in the e-filing system, since any OCR errors will not
be placed in the official documents at the court.
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How
do you start the Adobe Acrobat Reader program in order to view a PDF
document on a website?
Adobe Acrobat Reader is a plugin that
Netscape will automatically launch when you try to access a document
stored in PDF format. If you do not have the Adobe Reader, your computer
will show you a set of applications from which to choose a program that
will read the file. None of them will work, which is why you must download
the Adobe Reader from Adobe Systems' website. To download a free copy
of Acrobat Reader, click on
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html .
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Is
it possible to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader open in a separate window,
one not a part of Netscape Navigator, or, alternatively, if the Adobe
Reader opens on my PC as a separate Window, is it possible to make it
open within the browser?
The answer to both question is "yes."
In Adobe Acrobat or the Adobe Reader, click on "File", then
"Preferences", then "General". In the Options section
at the bottom of the window labeled "General Preferences,"
check the box (by clicking on it if it is blank) beside "Web Browser
Integration" to make a PDF document open within the browser. Uncheck
that box (by clicking on it if it is checked) to cause Acrobat or the
Adobe Reader to open in a separate window. In most instances, a user
will prefer the Adobe program to open in its own window. This allows
access to the Adobe banner menu across the top of the screen and many
more lines of the document will be displayed than if the document were
displayed in the browser. Alternatively, one can make Acrobat or the
Reader display PDF files in a separate window by moving a plug-in file
called Nppdf32.dll from the Netscape\Navigator\Programs\Plugins directory
or the Netscape\Communicator\Program\Plugins directory to the Acrobat\Reader\Browser
or Acrobat\Exchange\Browser directory. To cause the Reader to open in
Netscape, put a copy of Nppdf32.dll in both plug-in directories. Exit
the browser and recall it for the change to take effect.
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Is the optimum way of
viewing PDF files within Netscape Navigator or in a separate window?
This is more of a matter of personal
preference. Some of the functionality of the Reader is lost when the
PDF document is opened in a browser window. For example, in the browser
window, you do not have the Adobe Reader menu line and cannot use control
+ various keys to operate the Reader software. Additionally, direct
connection to Adobe's online help is not available when the Reader opens
within the browser. Nonetheless, most of the functions accessible either
using the menu or shortcuts when the Reader opens in its own window
can be accessed using the various button icons that remain available
when the Reader is opened within the browser. To save a PDF file opened
in the browser window, click on the browser file menu at the top of
the screen and then on "Save Frame As."
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When I print an image
from CM/ECF, the right edge gets cut off.
After you click the print icon, click
the ‘shrink to fit' box on the printer setup screen. Once the setting
has been changed, it should remain this way for all PDF documents.
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How do I copy a PDF
text file to my word processor?
If a PDF document contains text, as
opposed to an image, you can select text and do a normal copy and paste.
Using the Acrobat Reader, one can select no more than a page at a time.
To copy a large text file in PDF format, it may be easier to use Adobe
Acrobat to save the PDF document to a file. (If the Adobe Reader is
embedded in Netscape so that it opens up within Netscape instead of
a separate window, use the Save Frame option under File. You may also
save a PDF document by right-clicking on the link to that document and
then clicking on "Save Link As."). After noting or choosing
the directory in which you save the PDF file, open the document in Acrobat.
Under "Edit", there is a menu pick called "Copy To Clipboard".
Once the document is copied to the Windows Clipboard, open your word
processing program and paste the document in a new document. You can
select, copy and paste text in Acrobat, but you must first select the
text tool (look for the T on the toolbar) instead of the hand. Then
select the text, and either right-click and choose copy, or use the
Acrobat copy icon (to the left of the Text tool on the Acrobat toolbar.
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Can
I use Adobe Acrobat 5.0?
Adobe Corporation recently released
a new version (Version 5) of its Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF)
conversion software. The Administrative Office(AO) of the United States
Courts' CM/ECF Development Team extensively tested and evaluated the
capabilities and compatibility of the newest version with the CM/ECF
service. These test results indicate that court personnel and lawyers
can use Version 5 PDF documents without any adverse effects to CM/ECF.
For those attempting to review and store PDF documents, Versions 3.x,
4.x and 5 are both downward and upward compatible – i.e., a PDF
document created with Version 5 can be reviewed with a Version 4.x reader
and a Version 4.x document can be reviewed with a Version 5 reader.
There are a few precautions that should be taken when installing and
using Version 5 with CM/ECF. Adobe Acrobat Version 5 offers two packages
("drivers"), Acrobat 5 Distiller and Acrobat 5 Writer, for
converting documents into PDF. While Adobe's standard installation procedures
automatically install the Distiller package, the AO strongly recommends
that all CM/ECF users "Custom" install and normally use the
Adobe Writer 5 driver software. The PDF Writer version converts files
into PDF significantly faster and produces significantly smaller PDF
files than the Adobe Distiller version.
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If using Adobe 5
There needs to be a change in his Adobe Setup.If
the user is using Adobe Acrobat 5, have them go to
Edit - Preferences - General - Options . On the right will be several check
boxes. Insure that the first box, Display PDF in browser, is UNchecked.
Also, the third box, Allow FastWeb view, should be UNchecked.
If the user is using Adobe Reader 5, have them go to Edit - Preferences
- Options. On the right will be several check boxes. Insure that the first
box, Display PDF in browser, is UNchecked. Also, the third box, Allow FastWeb
view, should be UNchecked.
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If using Adobe 6
If the user is using Adobe Acrobat 6,
have them go to Edit - Preferences - Internet. On the right will be several
check boxes. Insure that the first box, Display PDF in browser, is UNchecked.
Also, the third box, Allow FastWeb view, should be UNchecked.
If the user is using Adobe Reader 6, have
them go to Edit - Preferences - Internet - Options. On the right will
be several check boxes. Insure that the first box, Display PDF in browser,
is UNchecked. Also, the third box, Allow FastWeb view, should be UNchecked.
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If using Adobe version 4
You will be unable to view the document
properly using version 4, please upgrade to Adobe version 5 or 6 by clicking
on the link below.
www.adobe.com
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ERROR: Document contains code which may cause an external action....
Remote Approach has developed a PDF Tracking software program that performs document distribution management of PDF files. The software enables document distributors to add special tags to their PDF documents to determine if PDF cuments are being read, downloaded, forwarded as well as which documents are not viewed. Each time a document is viewed, the document distributor receives notification.
CM/ECF will not accept documents with PDF Tracking information embedded. Recreate the document with software that does not embed tracking information.
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is the maximum file size that can be uploaded to CM/ECF?
Maximum file size is 5 megabytes.
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How do I pay on line using pay.gov?
Registered Users may now pay appeal fees electronically through CM/ECF. This may be done in two ways: 1) at the time of filing the Notice of Appeal in CM/ECF, and 2) after the Notice of Appeal has been filed in a separate transaction.
If paying the fee concurrent with the filing of the Notice of Appeal, select the Appeal Document events Notice of Appeal, Notice of Cross Appeal, or Notice of Interlocutory Appeal, and proceed through the event. After attaching the Notice of Appeal, you will be prompted to answer the following question: “Do you want to pay your Appeal fees now via Credit Card(Y/N)”. If you answer “Y”, you will see a credit card processing screen. Note: After payment of the filing fee, you MUST continue with the docket transaction until its completion. Failure to continue will result in the credit card being charged with no record of your entry on the docket. If you do not wish to pay the appeal fee at the time the Notice of Appeal is filed, answer “N”, and complete the e-filing of your Notice of Appeal.
Payment of the appeal fee after filing of the Notice of Appeal may also be accomplished. Select the Appeal Document event Payment of Appeal Fees. This event will require you to select the appeal that corresponds to the fee being paid before generating the credit card processing screen. On completion of the event, you will receive a Notice of Electronic Filing indicating the fee payment and receipt number for your payment.
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How do I get a refund if I make a mistake?
There are only two instances which allow
for refund of an appeal fee – duplicate payment, and payment in the
incorrect case. If you are seeking an allowable refund, obtain and
complete the form "Application for Refund of Fees Paid Electronically
Through Pay.Gov". This application should be filed electronically
through CM/ECF using the Other Document event "Application for Refund
of Fees Paid Online". The Clerk’s action on your application will
be indicated in a Notice of Electronic Filing. If approved, the fee will
be refunded to your credit card. If denied, you may motion the Court for
further action.
See
Standing Order 07-03
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