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"What Is Electronic
Filing?" |
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"Is
Electronic Filing of court documents legal?" |
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"Must
I establish an account, and if so, how?" |
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"What
kind of computer hardware and software do I need to use
E-filing?" |
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"Do
I need a scanner?" |
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"I
cannot open a form." |
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"Do
documents filed using E-Filing.com need to be in a particular
word processing format?" |
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"Can
I file for the next business day?" |
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"Is
E-Filing.com available 24 hours a day?" |
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"How
are exhibits to the court case attached?" |
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"What
type of scanner should I use?" and "What if
I don't have a scanner?" |
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"How
are the court filing and E-Filing usage fees paid?" |
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"Does
the court require the original to also be filed?" |
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"How
will I know my document was filed?" |
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"How
do I know the Court is receiving the documents with the
pages in the correct order?" |
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"What
happens if the Documents filed by an attorney contain
errors or omissions?" |
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"What
happens to a document if the computer system at the Courthouse
breaks down?" |
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"What
if I want to file a document at a Court that is not yet
online or accepting electronic filings?" |
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"How
long does it take for my case to be served?" |
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"What Is Electronic Filing?" |
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Electronic Filing is the electronic
transmission of court documents to the courthouse. Previously,
it was paper documents that had to be delivered to the
courthouse in person. However, with electronic filing
it is an electronic version of these paper documents that
is received by the courthouse. At the courthouse the documents
are accepted or rejected and with E-Filing.com you are
returned e-mail with the status.
See California Rules of Court Definition |
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"Is Electronic Filing of court
documents legal?" |
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Yes when the court reviews and marks
it as accepted. Many state and federal courthouses across
the country accept electronically transmitted court pleadings.
Check
your Courthouse Rules. |
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"Must I establish an account,
and if so, how?" |
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Yes. To sign-up and get started,
call an e-filing.com's representative at (805)-964-3535
ext. 100. |
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"What kind of computer hardware
and software do I need to use E-filing?" |
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- A computer with an Internet connection
- A commercial web browser such as Netscape Navigator
4.5 or Internet Explorer 4.0.
- An e-mail address
- At least a 33K modem
- Adobe Acrobat reader so your browser can read the
court forms.
- Tiffsurf so your browser can read TIFF images that
are scanned.
- A scanner to scan in your signed court forms and
attachments.
(Otherwise you can fax them to E-Filing.com.)
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"Do I need a scanner?" |
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A scanner is useful if you want to
sign your documents before sending them to the Court.
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"I cannot open a form." |
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All of the court forms are in Adobe
Acrobat format. You will need to install the Adobe Acrobat
reader on your PC if you do not already have it. Adobe
Acrobat Reader is freely available from the following
link: |
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"Do documents filed using
E-Filing.com need to be in a particular word processing
format?" |
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Documents can be in Word Perfect,
Microsoft Word, PDF, or TIFF format. |
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"Can I file for the next business
day?" |
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Yes you can. You need to type in
the date for the next business day in the "Filing
Date" field when entering your court case information.
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"Is E-Filing.com available
24 hours a day?" |
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Although the courthouse may be closed,
E-Filing.com is designed to accept and log court filings
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If you
file your documents after the court has closed, it will
be delivered first thing the next morning that the court
opens. |
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"How are exhibits to
the court case attached?" |
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Exhibits may be scanned and saved
as a Portable Document Format (PDF) or Tagged Image File
Format (TIFF) file to be sent to the Court. The scanned
image of the Exhibit should be attached to the court form
in the order it should be filed to the Court (i.e., if
the Exhibits are at the end of the document, they will
be attached last). Do not attach a cover sheet. |
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"What type of scanner
should I use?" and "What if I don't have a scanner?" |
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There are several different types
of scanners with various speeds and prices. A lower costing
scanner may scan between 1 and 5 pages per minute, while
a higher costing scanner may scan up to 40 pages per minute.
Your law firm should choose one that has the speed and
efficiency that meets its filing needs. See scanning help
to get the settings necessary for your scanner. For those
who don't have a scanner or have difficulty using one,
you may fax the documents to E-Filing's server and they,
in turn, will then be delivered to the Court. |
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"How are the court filing
and E-Filing usage fees paid?" |
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For those law firms in good credit
standing, we will set up an account using advance fees
(subject to charges for fee advancement). Or you can pay
by credit card. |
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"Does the court require
the original to also be filed?" |
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No, the court accepts the electronically
submitted document as the original. |
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"How will I know my document
was filed?" |
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After the document has been stamped,
e-mail is sent to let you know whether your document has
been accepted or rejected by the Court. Further, you may
also actually do a search through our system and see a
copy of the document conformed and stamped by the court.
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"How do I know the Court
is receiving the documents with the pages in the correct
order?" |
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When you attach the documents, they
should be attached in the order you would normally prepare
them. The Court will then receive the document's pages
in that order. E-Filing.com does not guarantee you will
send the correct order of documents. If you have any questions
regarding the correct order of documents, you should contact
the Court. |
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"What happens if the
Documents filed by an attorney contain errors or omissions?" |
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In some instances (just as courts
do today with paper documents) the court may reject a
filing. You will be confirmed by e-mail if the filing
contained errors or was incomplete. If a filing is rejected,
the court's clerk will specify exactly why it was rejected
and then allow you to correct the document and resubmit
it. However, to actually complete a filing, the E-Filing.com
user interface requires a user to add certain court-mandated
information to a filing even before it is transmitted
to the court. This minimizes the likelihood of a filing
being returned because of procedural omissions or form
deficiencies. The court may also reject a document if
the filing fee chosen by you is incorrect. E-filing.com
can advance the needed fees if you are a customer with
a preset credit approval. |
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"What happens to a document
if the computer system at the Courthouse breaks down?" |
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Once your document is submitted,
it is transmitted to both the Court and E-Filing.com servers.
Two servers ensure there will be an electronic copy for
filing. The Court will stamp the document as of the day
and time the document reaches the server. E-Filing.com
does not guarantee that the court system is operational
at the time of filing submittal. |
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"What if I want to file
a document at a Court that is not yet online or accepting
electronic filings?" |
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Your documents will be transmitted
online to E-Filing and then quickly routed to our nationwide
network of process servers and attorney service companies
that will facilitate all of your other filings, without
ever having a process server or messenger travel to your
office. |
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"How long does it take for
my case to be served?" |
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The time it takes to serve a documents
depends largely on the availability of the opposing party.
Most jurisdictions require service to occur within 60
days. On average, service usually takes 7 to 10 days.
If service is required by a specific date and place,a
rush service fee will apply. For more information on rush
service fees, please contact the E-Filing.com office at
800-207-6807. |
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