Tuesday, December 3, 2024


Civil e-Filing FAQ

Home > Civil > Civil Electronic Filing (e-Filing) > Civil e-Filing FAQ

1. How does e-Filing work?

Electronic filing of court documents occurs through a certified Electronic Filing Service Provider, or EFSP. The filing party creates an account with the certified EFSP of their choice, uploads filing documents, and pays any court fees and specific service or convenience fees to the EFSP. The EFSP transmits documents and fees to the Court. Once reviewed and processed by the Court, the documents will be accepted for filing or rejected. Endorsed copies of documents are returned to the filer through the EFSP.

Visit the Electronic Filing Service Providers webpage for a current list of certified EFSPs.

Self-represented litigants are not required to file documents electronically, though they are encouraged to do so. The Court will no longer make e-Filing mandatory for litigants represented by attorneys on July 1, 2024 and will delay mandatory e-Filing to a future date. The Court will publish a Public Notice 30 days before e-Filing becomes mandatory.

The Judicial Council has mandated that all Courts accepting electronically filed documents use independent, certified EFSPs.

You may use any EFSP that is listed on the Court's website. The list of EFSPs can be found on the Electronic Filing Service Providers webpage.

You may choose a different service provider at any time. Selecting and using an EFSP is similar to using an "attorney service" for filings, except the types of filings processed are electronic.

  • Documents submitted by Arbitrators, Mediators, Discovery Referees, Receivers and Special Masters.
  • Transfer-In Documents.
  • Peremptory Challenges (170.1/170.3/170.6).
  • Out-of-County/Foreign Abstracts of Judgment.
  • Gun Violence Restraining Order documents.
  • Bonds/Undertakings.
  • Mandatory Settlement Conference documents for Department 59 including: Mandatory Settlement Conference Statements, Notice of Remote Appearance (RA-010), Requests to Appear Remotely in letter format, and Requests to Continue or Vacate Mandatory Settlement Conference.
  • Bench Warrants and Returns.
  • Documents submitted conditionally under seal. The actual motion must be e-Filed. However, the documents the party seeks to file under seal must be submitted by conventional means with a conformed copy of the e-Filed motion attached.
  • Documents attached to a Notice of Lodging. The actual Notice of Lodging must be e-Filed. However, the documents to be lodged must be submitted by conventional means with a conformed copy of the Notice of Lodging attached.

Documents exempt from e-Filing must be submitted in person at the Clerk's office, by drop box, or by mail. For more information, refer to the Civil Filing Guidelines for Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse and the Hall of Justice Building.

Yes, unless you have an approved fee waiver or valid government exemption (see Government Code Section 6103 - external link). The EFSP will charge you the filing fee(s) for the documents and any EFSP-specific service or convenience fees. All fees are collected by the EFSP when the filing is submitted, but only the filing fees will be transmitted to the Court.

See the most current Statewide Civil Fee Schedule.

Please check with the EFSP of your choice for specific information regarding payment types.

Yes, the initiating document and fee waiver application will be processed at the same time. These documents must be submitted in the same transaction. The FW-003 Order on Court Fee Waiver (Superior Court) is not eligible to be e-Filed and should not be submitted.

Acceptance of a fee waiver means that the document was filed in the case. You will receive an order from the Court granting or denying your request for a fee waiver.

You may submit your filings electronically 24 hours a day. Any documents received electronically by the Court between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on any court day are deemed filed that same day if accepted. Any documents received electronically on a non-court day (i.e., weekend or holiday) are deemed filed on the next court day if accepted.

Local rules about the cutoff time for filing ex parte documents are still in effect.

Documents submitted through e-Filing must be in PDF format, text searchable, and viewable on any standard PDF viewer.

Refer to your EFSP's technical requirements for guidance.

An electronic envelope is a transaction containing one or more PDF documents on the same case number submitted through the EFSP. For example, if filing an Ex Parte Application and Proposed Order, you would submit them as separate PDF documents in the same electronic envelope.

Your EFSP will provide the transaction number, which will also be noted on your confirmation or rejection notice.

A filing document name is the type of filing you are submitting, such as a petition, answer, motion, stipulation, etc. The EFSP uses it to describe the document for which is being submitted. The correct filing document name is extremely important as it determines the appropriate fee and court workflow. The Court's Civil e-Filing Document Names web page contains a list of filing document names that are available to be e-Filed.

If the document you are filing is not specified in the list of document names, you must use the name of the document that most closely describes your filing. You may also use a generic document name with a name extension and fill in the name extension field. Please note: Using an incorrect document name or name extension can result in either a rejected filing or the incorrect routing of your document.

The lead document is the most important document in the electronic envelope, as it affects the priority and timing for processing by the Court and ensures that the document is directed to the appropriate workflow. The lead document can be a case-initiating document (e.g., complaint or petition), a moving document (e.g., motion), or a responsive document (e.g., answer or response). Only one lead document can be submitted in each electronic envelope. Refer to the Civil e-Filing Document Names web page for assistance determining which documents are considered "lead" documents.

Processing time will depend on the type of document filed. The Court strives to review and process all documents submitted via e-Filing within three business days. Some documents require further review and/or further action by the Court and may take longer than three days to process.

Endorsed or received documents will be electronically transmitted back to the submitting party by the EFSP.

Once a proposed order is reviewed and signed by a judicial officer, the signed and filed order will be transmitted back to the filer by the EFSP.

If the judicial officer chooses to manually revise the submitted proposed order, create a new order or sign the proposed order by hand, it will not be returned electronically through the EFSP. Instead, it will be mailed to the party that submitted the proposed order.

No. For hearings held in the law and motion departments, Department 53 and Department 54, hearing dates are reserved through the Court Reservation System (CRS) in the online public portal. For courtrooms that do not use CRS, you must call the department to inquire about hearing date reservations.

Any rejected document will include the reason for the rejection, and notice will be sent back through the EFSP. Once corrected, the document may be resubmitted as a new transaction with your EFSP.

Typical reasons for rejection include, but are not limited to:

  • Documents are incorrectly submitted as a single or separate PDF, e.g., multiple documents are submitted as a single PDF document when they should be separate entries.
  • Incorrect filing document name or case number.
  • Incorrect payment type is selected, e.g., fee waiver or government exemption.
  • Incorrect case type, case category, or jurisdictional amount selected.
  • Information in the data fields is incorrect and/or does not match the document image.

Depending on the filing type, you may file an amended pleading or apply to the Court for relief or other corrective order.

Once the transaction is electronically submitted, it cannot be canceled.

Filing parties may view submitted documents immediately through their EFSP's Portal. All other parties and members of the public can view a document on the Court's online public portal once it is processed and accepted by the Court. Unlimited civil complaints will be available to the media upon submission before being reviewed for acceptance by the Court.

Documents submitted as confidential will only be deemed confidential pursuant to legal authority or if the Court makes that determination.

Generally speaking, no. However, specific departments or Judges may require printed courtesy copies as set forth in the local rules, public notices, or as detailed on Court’s website. If required, please contact the courtroom directly for instructions on how they should be delivered.

The case number should be entered without a space between "JCCP" and the 4-digit number, e.g. "JCCP1234".

The first point of contact for any question about submitting filings should be the EFSP. If the question cannot be resolved with the EFSP or you have questions about a document that has already been submitted, you may contact the Civil division at 916-874-5522.

No. Selecting Notice of Motion as the lead or moving document does not generate the correct filing fee and will delay processing. When filing a motion, you must select the appropriate document name, e.g. Motion to Dismiss, Motion to Continue Trial, etc. See the Civil e-Filing Document Names web page for assistance with selecting the correct document name.

No. Most Ex Parte Applications and Motions require a hearing to be reserved in advance of filing the documents and you must have a case number to reserve a hearing. Ex Parte Applications and Motions can be submitted after you have received a case number, which will be on the conformed copies of your case-initiating documents.