The
United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia is now
accepting
Attorney ECF Registration forms.
Experienced e-filing attorneys will be asked to complete an on-line
training exercise before receiving a login and password. Attorneys
who are new to CM/ECF will be asked to attend a training session
conducted at the courthouse.
What is Case
Management / Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF)?
The
United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia is pleased
to announce the implementation of the federal judiciary’s new automated
docket and electronic filing system known as Case Management/Electronic
Case Filing (CM/ECF). CM/ECF was developed through the
Administrative Office of the U. S. Courts (AO) using Internet technology
to provide federal courts a modern mechanism for handling information
and moving closer to a paperless operating environment.
The
case management (CM) portion of the system replaces the BANCAP system. Not only
is docket information viewable, but
most documents and pleadings are viewable in their entirety as
Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
How
it works.
The electronic case filing (ECF) portion will allow trained attorneys and
trustees to file bankruptcy cases and other pleadings over the Internet. ECF accepts
documents in PDF. PDF retains the way a document looks - so the
pages, fonts, and other formatting are preserved. Filing a
document with the court’s CM/ECF system is quite easy:
-
Create the document
using word processing software.
-
Save the document using
PDF software.
-
Log
onto the court’s CM/ECF system, using a court-issued login and password.
-
Follow
the set of simple prompts to provide information about the case, party,
and document to be filed.
-
Attach
the PDF document and submit it to the court for filing (by pressing a
submit button).
-
Save or
print the CM/ECF electronic receipt e-mailed from the court confirming
that the document was filed.
Documents are automatically docketed as part of the filing process and
are available immediately in electronic format. The system provides filers with
immediate confirmation, including the date and time that an item is
docketed.
CM/ECF allows
attorneys to print case documents on their own office printers—no more
pulling files and ordering copies. Docket sheets, claims registers, and
many other reports are just keystrokes away with CM/ECF. Users may
also opt to receive e-mail notification of filings in cases of interest.
Basic User Components.
Training.
Once the court is ready to implement the ECF portion, Clerk's Office
staff will hold training sessions for attorneys, trustees, and their
staffs. Training will be offered in the courthouse and in
attorneys' offices (if there are enough participants). At the end of training, users will be issued a
password to access the court’s CM/ECF system.
Signatures.
Using your login and
password to file a document is considered to be your signature.
The court will issue logins and passwords at the end of each training
session.
Fees.
There are no added fees
for filing documents over the Internet in CM/ECF. Existing
document filing fees apply. Electronic access to court data is
available through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)
program. Attorneys and litigants receive one free copy of
documents filed electronically in their cases. Additional copies
are available for viewing or downloading at seven cents per page.
Directed by Congress to fund electronic access through user fees, the
judiciary has set the fee at the lowest possible level sufficient to
recoup program costs.
Security.
CM/ECF has
many security features and has passed an evaluation by the National
Security Agency. Access to the system is through the court-issued login
and password.
