A draft number is a temporary number assigned to a new draft. The draft number is an internal tracking number a filer can use to track their drafts. The draft number remains until the Submit button is clicked on the website; once that occurs, the submission is assigned an envelope number by the e-File system and the draft number disappears.
An envelope number is a tracking number for a single submission on the e-File website. Every time the Submit button is clicked on the website, the submission is assigned an envelope number by the e-File system. Envelope numbers can only be used once.
A case number (also referred to as a "cause number" or "docket number") is a number assigned to an accepted case by the court. It's the court's official identification number for the case.
When starting a new case, the envelope number and case number will appear as the same number until the court assigns a case number. Case numbers are only assigned once the court accepts an initial filing.
NOTE: A new envelope number is assigned to every envelope created in the e-File system. If a user copies a previous envelope that was rejected by the court or canceled by the user, the system will assign the copied envelope a new envelope number automatically. Once a filing has been submitted, a user cannot file into that envelope again.
Below is an example of a envelope number on an existing case.
NOTE: If a filing has been started in the site, but the submit button has not been clicked, the site saves this as a Draft number. A Draft number is an envelope that has not yet been submitted.