In New York, your eFiling will be submitted via InfoTrack's secure connection to the New York State Court Electronic Filing System (NYSCEF). You can find the NYSCEF User Manual online to review the system requirements and procedures for registration.
Who can eFile in New York?
Electronic filing through NYSCEF is available for New York attorneys who have created Attorney Online Service (AOS) accounts with Attorney Registration. Attorneys without AOS accounts, attorneys admitted pro hac vice, unrepresented parties, and filing parties may also use the NYSCEF system with different login credentials.
Unrepresented litigants are not required to eFile in New York due to legislation in 2015. However, they may eFile if they choose using the Unrepresented Litigants link on the NYSCEF website.
Document and formatting requirements for eFiling in New York
All documents must be filed in PDF format. Technical requirements for eFiled documents can be found on the NYSCEF website (22 NYCRR § 202.5-b(d)(1)(i)). These requirements are similar to most eFiling document requirements, including:
- Documents must have OCR applied so that they are text searchable.
- Documents are in PDF/A format.
- Each PDF file must not exceed 100 megabytes in size.
- Documents meet minimum resolution requirements as specified in NYSCEF documentation.
- All affidavits, affirmations, and memoranda of law exceeding 4,500 words must include bookmarks and a list of the contents to facilitate easy navigation.
- In the commercial division, memoranda of law and, where appropriate, affidavits and affirmations, must include bookmarks providing a list of the contents, hyperlinks to cited documents that were previously filed with NYSCEF, and hyperlinks to cited authority when required by the court. See the Commercial Division Rules for more details.
- Review individual court rules for clarification regarding page numbers, word limits, captions, signature blocks, fonts, line spacing, margins, and exhibits.
- Be sure that documents are redacted as required by law and that you use a proper PDF redaction tool.
Consensual eFiling
In counties where consensual eFiling is allowed, eFiling is voluntary, so counsel for the plaintiff or a petitioner may initiate or file into an existing case by filing case initiation documents either physically or electronically.
If the plaintiff or petitioner initiates a case with an electronic filing, they must file form EF-3 Notice of Electronic Filing on all parties with the case initiation papers. Upon receipt of this notice, represented parties must promptly record their consent to electronic filing or file and serve all papers with declination of consent. Consenting parties may file and serve electronically even if some parties do not consent. However, non-consenting parties must be served with paper copies of documents.
An action started with a paper filing can be converted to eFiling by direction of the court, on motion by a party, or by stipulation of all signed parties.
Mandatory eFiling
In counties with mandatory eFiling, parties must submit case initiation documents electronically, with limited exceptions. The plaintiff or petitioner must file form EF-3 Notice of Electronic Filing with the case initiation documents. The notice instructs counsel who receive it to immediately record their representation in the eFiled matter.
Exceptions only apply to mandatory eFiling rules in two cases: attorneys who, in good faith, do not have the computer equipment, knowledge, and employees to use eFiling, and self-represented litigants who choose not to participate in eFiling.
In mandatory eFiling counties, all documents must be eFiled. There are some limited exceptions:
- Any document that requires a judge’s signature must be both eFiled and physically filed.
- You may physically file applications that by statute may be presented without notice, such as an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order.
- For emergency filings (as defined by the Uniform Rules) you may paper file and then eFile those documents within 3 business days.
- A document may be required to be paper filed by statute or state order.
- Exhibits that are impractical to file electronically can be physically filed with an eFiled Notice of Hard Copy Exhibit Filing.
- If the NYSCEF system fails, you are allowed to physically file during the outage and submit your eFiled documents within 3 days of the system being restored.
All documents that are filed in paper copy must include a Notice of Hard Copy Submission – E-Filed Case stating why the document is being filed in physical copy. Without this notice, the clerk may reject your hard filing submission.
Where to find eFiling rules in New York
Before submitting an electronic filing in New York, review the rules and requirements. You can find those using these resources.
- The Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), particularly CPLR 2103
- The New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR) Part 202, particularly 22 NYCRR §§ 202.5-b and 202.5-bb
- The NYSCEF website, especially the user manual, FAQs, and forms
- The website for the relevant local court to review any local eFiling requirements
- The assigned judge’s individual rules, if any
Individual cases may also have specific requirements not listed here. If your case requires any additional instructions, you will receive those from the court.