What is the Filings Tab?

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To learn more about the Filings tab, please select one of the following options:

• For Most States
• For Louisiana

FOR MOST STATES

The Filings page is where you upload the document(s) you intend to send to the court.

To begin, click the blue +Add filing button.

Select the Filing Type by filling in the bubble next to your selection. Scroll down the screen. 

When starting new cases, some courts will only offer the option of eFile only. This option is configured by each court.

Select the required filing code. Enter in the Client Reference Number, Filing Description and Comments to Court. If the fields are not marked with a red asterisk (*), then they are not required and nothing needs to be entered. 

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Frequently Asked Questions:

• What is a Filing code?
• What is a Filing Description?
• What is the Client Reference Number?
• What should I put in the Comments to the court section?
• What do I select in "Filing on behalf of"?
• What is a Courtesy Copy?
• What is a Preliminary Copy?
• What is a Lead Document?
• What are Attachments?
• What is a File Description?
• What is Security?
• Filings Needs Attention
• What are Additional Services & Fees?

 

What is a Filing code?

The filing code is the specific type of filing that you are sending to the court. (Example: complaint, motion, memorandum, affidavit, etc.) If you have multiple documents to file, you should add the main document first, which is typically a complaint, answer, motion, etc.

 

Choose the filing code that most closely matches the document you want to upload. If you are submitting a form, the name or title of the form may help you choose the right filing code. TIP: If you start typing a word into the field (for example, motion), the list will show you all the filing code options that include that word. Click here for more details about the filing code.

 

Please note: If you need help selecting filing codes, please contact the court that you are sending your filings to for assistance.

 

What is a Filing Description?

The Filing Description field allows you to describe the lead document that you are filing.

 

What is the Client Reference Number?

The Client Reference Number is to help attorneys associate filings with internal firm records. For example, you can enter your client's name or account number, or the purpose of the filing to help you reconcile your filings with your firm records. Client Reference Number is often used to help you distinguish between your e-filings.

Note: Client Reference Number does not need to be a number.

 

What should I put in the Comments to the Court section?

This section can be used to add any comments you need to make to the court reviewer directly. The comments should be information that is not already included in your documents. This section has no character limit, so filers should have plenty of space to type whatever they need to.

 

Continue scrolling down the screen to the Upload Documents area. Click Select files to upload your PDF document.

What do I select in "Filing on Behalf of"?

The Filing on Behalf of dropdown, if required, is used to select your party name, or the party name that you are representing in the case. This dropdown menu loads a list of party names from the Parties page of your draft.

 

Continue scrolling down the screen to the Upload Documents area. Click Select files to upload your PDF document.

What is a Courtesy Copy?

Courtesy Copies are an extra email notifying the entered email address that something has been accepted by the court. The user submitting automatically gets an 'Accepted' notification email. These are added to a submission by typing in an email address in the designated field. If multiple courtesy copies are needed, separate each email with a comma. Courtesy Copies are NOT formal service to other parties and do not provide proper notice. They are typically sent out after a filing is accepted by the court.

• NOTE: Courtesy Copies are an option configured by each state's court system. States may change this option at any moment.

What is a Preliminary Copy?

Preliminary Copies are an extra email notifying the entered email address that a filing has been sent to the court. The user submitting automatically gets an 'Accepted' notification email. These are added to a submission by typing in an email address in the designated field. If multiple courtesy copies are needed, separate each email with a comma. Preliminary Copies are NOT formal service to other parties and do not provide proper notice. They are typically sent out before a filing is accepted by the court.

• NOTE: Preliminary Copies are an option configured by each state's court system. States may change this option at any moment.

What is a Lead Document?

The Lead Document is the main document you are adding to a filing, and it is required. Here you upload a document from your computer. The document must be saved as a PDF file to upload successfully. The Lead Document is what typically gets filed stamped by the court.

 

Do not make each page of a document into its own PDF. A document you file should be one PDF. If you are submitting multiple documents (for example, a complaint and an application for a fee waiver), you should upload the documents separately.

 

If an additional Lead Document is needed in your filing, click here for instructions.

 

What are Attachments?

Some courts allow you to upload more than one document as a single filing using a lead document and attachment documents. For more information about lead and attachment documents, read this article.

 

Please Note: If there is no option to add an attachment, this is because the court you are filing into does not allow attachments. You will have to add your attachment as another filing.

Locate the file, click on the file and then click Open.

What is a File Description?

The Document/File Description field allows you to describe the specific document that you are filing.

 

What is Security?

If this field is visible, you can select a type of security to, for example, tell the court if the document contains sensitive or confidential information. If this field is required, you will need to select one of the options in the dropdown menu.

Scroll down to click Save at the lower right hand corner.

If more documents are needed to be added, click the +Add More button on the left. Repeat the steps above.

To continue to the next section, click Service on the lower right hand corner.

What are Additional Services & Fees?

Additional Services and Fees are extra services that a filer might need to add to their filing, like Constable or Certified Mail Service or certain specific document fees. You can find the Additional Services and Fees tab at the top of the Edit Filing Details window in the tab on the right. (See the yellow highlighted area in the image below.)

For more information on adding these additional services, please view the help article below.

• Where Can I Add More Fees Before Submission?

If You Are Unable to Proceed, or Receive a "Filings Needs Attention" Message When Clicking the Service Button...

• Click here to learn how to resolve the "Filings Needs Attention" error message.
• Click here to learn more about the next step in the efiling process: the Service tab.

FOR LOUISIANA

The Filings tab is where you upload the document that you want to send to the court. 

At the Filings tab, look for RED asterisks, this will indicate that the field is required. Also look for boxes in red under the clickable or enter-able fields. Scroll down the screen to see more fields.

What is a Filing Type?
There are three types of filings: EFile, EFile and Serve, and Serve.

EFile will only send your filings to the court. It will not serve your filings on the other parties on the case. You would have to serve the parties on your own. EFile should be used for the first filing to start a case.

EFileandServe will send your filings to the court and also serve them electronically on any service contacts you select in the Service Contacts section.

Serve will not send your documents to the court but will serve them electronically on any service contacts you select in the Service Contacts section.

When starting new cases, some courts will only offer the option of eFile only. This option is configured by each court.

What is a Filing code?

The filing code is the specific type of filing that you are sending to the court. (Example: complaint, motion, memorandum, affidavit, etc.) If you have multiple documents to file, you should add the main document first, which is typically a complaint, answer, motion, etc.

Choose the filing code that most closely matches the document you want to upload. If you are submitting a form, the name or title of the form may help you choose the right filing code. TIP: If you start typing a word into the field (for example, motion), the list will show you all the options that include that word. Click here for more details about the filing code.

Please note: If you need help selecting filing codes, please contact the court that you are sending your filings to.

What is a Filing Description?
The Filing Description field allows you to describe the lead document that you are filing.

What is the Client Reference Number?
The Client Reference Number is to help attorneys associate filings with internal firm records. For example, you can enter your client's name or account number, or the purpose of the filing to help you reconcile your filings with your firm records. Client Reference Number is often used to help you distinguish between your e-filings. Note: Client Reference Number does not need to be a number.

What should I put in the Comments to the Court section?

This section can be used to add any comments you need to make to the court reviewer directly. The comments should be information that is not already included in your documents. This section has no character limit, so filers should have plenty of space to type whatever they need to.

What is Filing on Behalf of?

This is a dropdown menu where you can select the party (or parties) you are filing for.
This may be an optional or required field, depending on the court location's configuration.

Scroll down the screen. In the Documents field, click on Select Documents.

The documents that appear are the documents added from the Documents tab. Click on the arrow to the right of the document name. Document will move to the Selected column. Press Save.

What is a Lead Document?

The Lead Document is the main document you are adding to a filing, and it is required. Here you upload a document from your computer. The document must be saved as a PDF file to upload successfully. The Lead Document is what gets filed stamped by the court.

Do not make each page of a document into its own PDF. A document you file should be one PDF. If you are submitting multiple documents (for example, a complaint and an application for a fee waiver), you should upload the documents separately and pick a filing code to go with each document.

If an additional Lead Document is needed in your filing, click here for instructions.

What are Attachments?

Some courts allow you to upload more than one document as a single filing using a lead document and attachment documents. For more information about lead and attachment documents, read this article.

What is a Document Description?
The Document Description field allows you to describe the specific document that you are filing.

What is Security?
If this field is visible, you can select a type of security to, for example, tell the court if the document contains sensitive or confidential information.

Bottom right of the screen, you have the option for Service or Skip To Fees. Click the appropriate option.

If you are unable to move on to the next section, check for any boxes in red or look for a red triangle .

Click either the pencil icon to edit the filing or trash can icon to delete the filing.

What are Additional Services & Fees?

Additional Services and Fees are extra services that a filer might need to add to their filing, like Constable or Certified Mail Service or certain specific document fees. You can find the Additional Services and Fees tab at the top of the Edit Filing Details window in the tab on the right. (See the yellow highlighted area in the image below.)

 

For more information on adding these additional services, please view the help article below.

• Where Can I Add More Fees Before Submission?

Click here to learn more about the Service tab which the next required step if eFile&Serve or Serve was selected as the Filing Type.

Or

Click here to learn more about the Fees tab if the Skip to Fees button is selected.