Electronic filing through CM/ECF is mandatory for every attorney practicing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and the EDNY ECF electronic filing rules govern how documents are prepared, signed, served, and docketed in every civil and criminal case. Access runs through the federal PACER platform, and the rules below cover what you need to file without triggering a deficiency notice or missing a deadline.
Who Can File and How to Register
Two things gate access: admission to the EDNY bar (or a granted pro hac vice application) and an upgraded individual PACER account. If you are not admitted in the EDNY, the court will reject your e-filing request.1U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York. NYED Admitted Attorneys E-Filing Registration
Registration runs through pacer.uscourts.gov. Log in, open the Maintenance tab, select Attorney Admission/E-File Registration, then choose U.S. District Courts as the Court Type and New York Eastern District Court as the Court. The court reviews the application and emails further instructions on approval. From that point, your PACER credentials serve as your login for every EDNY electronic filing.2United States District Court, Eastern District of New York. NextGen CM/ECF User’s Guide
If you need a hardship exemption from mandatory e-filing, the court expects you to participate in its ECF training program or contact the Clerk’s Office before requesting one.
Document Format, Size, and Hyperlinks
Every filing must be a PDF. Documents drafted in a word processor should be converted directly using “print to PDF” or “save as PDF” rather than printed on paper and rescanned. Direct conversion produces smaller, cleaner, fully searchable files. Documents that only exist on paper, such as signed affidavits or paper exhibits, need to be run through Optical Character Recognition before upload so the text is searchable.2United States District Court, Eastern District of New York. NextGen CM/ECF User’s Guide
Individual PDFs cannot exceed 40 megabytes. If a document is larger, split it into logically labeled parts and upload each part as a separate attachment. This comes up most often with exhibit-heavy filings.
Hyperlinks require a small process detail. If your brief cites cases, statutes, or prior docket entries with clickable links, insert them in the word processor before converting to PDF. Using the Print function to create the PDF strips the links out; a Save-as-PDF or a dedicated PDF tool preserves them. When you link to something already on the docket, use the CM/ECF-assigned page numbers rather than Bates numbers or footer page numbers so the link resolves correctly.
Filing Into an Existing Case
Once logged in through PACER, choose Civil or Criminal, then pick the docketing event that matches the document. The system walks you through case-number entry, PDF upload, and confirmation of which parties will receive electronic service.2United States District Court, Eastern District of New York. NextGen CM/ECF User’s Guide
Event selection matters. Each menu offers dozens of options, and choosing the wrong one produces a deficiency notice from the Clerk’s Office and a delay. Read the event descriptions carefully rather than guessing.
The Notice of Electronic Filing
The final screen after a successful filing is the Notice of Electronic Filing. The NEF records the official date and time of filing and functions as your receipt. The system automatically emails it to every registered party in the case, which is valid service under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(b)(2)(E).3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5 – Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers Any party not on the NEF recipient list must be served by traditional means, so check the list before you close the window.
Opening a New Civil Case Electronically
Starting a case takes more preparation than filing into one. Before you begin, have the following converted to PDF:
- The initiating document: complaint, notice of removal, or petition.
- The EDNY Civil Cover Sheet, which is the court’s own version of the JS-44 and is available on the EDNY website.
- Proposed summonses on the court’s fillable form, if the initiating document is a complaint or petition.
During the case-opening workflow, the cover sheet and summonses are uploaded as attachments to the main initiating document. When the NEF is generated, any attached summonses are issued and appear on the docket, and you can print the official summonses for service.4United States District Court – Eastern District of New York. CM/ECF Electronic New Civil Case Opening Manual
Deadlines and Technical Failures
A document is deemed filed at the date and time on its NEF. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(a), the electronic filing deadline runs until midnight in the court’s time zone, which for the EDNY means midnight Eastern.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time If you are working from another time zone, plan back from Eastern.
The EDNY has a specific technical-failure rule. The Clerk deems a technical failure to have occurred when the system cannot accept filings for more than one continuous hour after 12:00 noon on a given day. Filings that were due that day and could not go through solely because of the outage become due the next business day. To claim the extension, you must file a declaration or affidavit stating that you attempted to file at least twice after noon, separated by at least one hour, on each day of delay. Technical-failure notices are posted on the EDNY website and on a phone status line.2United States District Court, Eastern District of New York. NextGen CM/ECF User’s Guide
“The system was down” alone will not get you an extension. Without documented, spaced attempts, the rule does not apply.
Electronic Signatures
Your PACER login and password function as your electronic signature. Filing under your credentials carries the same legal force as a handwritten signature. Standard practice is a signature block reading “/s/” followed by your typed name where a wet signature would otherwise appear, along with your name, address, phone number, and email address as required by the local rules.6United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Joint Local Rules of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York Effective January 2, 2025
Redaction of Personal Information
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 requires that certain personal information be redacted from every electronic filing:
- Social Security and taxpayer ID numbers: only the last four digits.
- Financial account numbers: only the last four digits.
- Birth dates: only the year.
- Names of minors: only the initials.
The filing party is entirely responsible for compliance. The Clerk’s Office is not required to review filings for redaction problems.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5.2 – Privacy Protection For Filings Made with the Court If unredacted information reaches the docket, it becomes part of the public record and correcting it requires a separate motion. Treat redaction as the last item on your pre-filing checklist.
Sealed Filings and Highly Sensitive Documents
You cannot file a document under seal without the court’s permission. The procedure is to file a motion for leave to seal and attach the proposed sealed document to that motion. The court then rules on whether the document will be maintained under seal.8United States District Court Eastern District of New York. Steps for E-filing Sealed Documents – Civil Cases
Highly sensitive documents are handled separately under Administrative Order 2021-02. HSDs are documents whose disclosure could harm national security or endanger human life, and they cannot be filed electronically at all. The procedure is in person:
- Deliver paper copies of both the motion to designate and the proposed HSD to the Clerk’s Office.
- Label the upper right corner of each document “SEALED” and “HSD.”
- Place everything in a sealed envelope marked “HIGHLY SENSITIVE DOCUMENT” with the court’s HSD Cover Sheet on the outside.
- Provide any courtesy copies the assigned judge requires.
If the designation is granted, the Clerk maintains the documents either in a secure paper file or on a standalone computer disconnected from any network. Everything submitted under this protocol is treated as an HSD while the motion is pending.9United States District Court Eastern District of New York. Administrative Order 2021-02 – In Re: Procedures for Highly Sensitive Documents
Individual Judge Rules and Courtesy Copies
The court-wide ECF rules are only one layer. Every EDNY judge publishes individual practice rules that can impose additional requirements, and courtesy copies are the requirement attorneys most often overlook. Some judges require hard copies of all briefed motions or any filing over a set page length, with the ECF header stamping visible at the top of each page. Emailing a PDF or dropping a flash drive at chambers does not satisfy the rule. Other judges do not require courtesy copies at all.
Individual practice rules are posted as PDFs on the EDNY website, usually linked from each judge’s profile page. Check them at the start of every new case and again before any major filing; judges update them without notice to the bar at large.
Pro Se Filers
Unrepresented litigants are not automatically ECF users. Non-incarcerated pro se litigants who cannot mail or deliver filings can use the court’s “Submit Pro Se Files to the Court” online portal, which is separate from ECF and requires all documents to be combined into a single PDF under 40 megabytes.10US Courts – New York Eastern District. Pro Se Document Submission and Consent to Notifications Pro se litigants who want full ECF access must first obtain the court’s leave to file electronically, then apply through the Non-Attorney Admission/E-File Registration option in PACER, entering the specific case number where leave was granted. Applications without prior leave are rejected.11U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York. Pro Se Filing Account Procedures
What It Costs to View Filings
Viewing EDNY documents through PACER costs $0.10 per page, capped at $3.00 per document (30 pages). Audio files of hearings are $2.40 each. No charges accrue until an account’s usage exceeds $30.00 in a quarterly billing cycle, so low-volume users often pay nothing. Parties and attorneys of record receive one free copy of each document through the NEF, and courthouse public-access terminals are free.12United States Courts. Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule