The civil case initiation form JS-44 is the one-page cover sheet you file alongside your complaint to open a lawsuit in federal district court. It doesn’t state your legal claims; it gives the clerk’s office the administrative data needed to assign a case number, route your case to the right judge, and enter it on the docket. Total filing fee is $405, made up of a $350 statutory fee and a $55 administrative fee, and you can file electronically through CM/ECF or deliver paper copies to the clerk.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1914 – District Court; Filing and Miscellaneous Fees; Rules of Court State courts use their own case initiation forms with similar fields and different fee schedules, so if you’re filing in state court, get that court’s version from its clerk.
Where to Get the Form
Download Form JS 44 from the U.S. Courts website.2United States Courts. Civil Cover Sheet Use the current version published by the federal judiciary; a form from the wrong jurisdiction will be rejected at the counter.
Filling Out the JS-44 Section by Section
The JS 44 has seven numbered sections on a single page. Type your entries whenever you can; handwritten forms can cause scanning errors when the clerk enters them into the electronic docket.
Section I: Parties and Attorneys
Enter the last name, first name, and middle initial of the first-listed plaintiff and the first-listed defendant. If a party is a government agency, use the agency’s full name or standard abbreviation rather than an individual’s name. When a government official is sued in an official capacity, list the agency first, then the official’s name and title. Below the party names, enter the county of residence for each side — plaintiff’s county in most cases, defendant’s county when the United States is the plaintiff.3United States District Court District of Nebraska. Instructions for Attorneys Completing Civil Cover Sheet Form JS 44
The attorney block asks for firm name, address, telephone number, and attorney of record. If you’re representing yourself, put your own contact information in that space.
Section II: Basis of Jurisdiction
Check one of four boxes explaining why a federal court can hear your case:
- U.S. plaintiff: the United States is bringing the suit.
- U.S. defendant: you are suing the United States, its officers, or its agencies.
- Federal question: your claims arise under the U.S. Constitution, a federal statute, or a treaty.
- Diversity of citizenship: the parties are citizens of different states and the amount in controversy exceeds the statutory threshold.
Section III: Citizenship of Principal Parties
Complete this section only if you checked diversity of citizenship in Section II. Indicate the citizenship status of each principal party.3United States District Court District of Nebraska. Instructions for Attorneys Completing Civil Cover Sheet Form JS 44
Section IV: Nature of Suit
This is the section filers get wrong most often. Check one box from a grid of coded case categories: contract, tort, civil rights, real property, labor, and so on. If your dispute touches more than one, pick the most specific fit. A breach-of-contract claim over a commercial lease belongs under contract, not real property, because the fight is about the agreement rather than ownership. A car accident injury claim belongs under motor vehicle tort. Misclassifying the case won’t kill it, but it can send it to the wrong division or judge and slow everything down.
Sections V Through VII: Related Cases, Cause of Action, and Requested Relief
Section V asks whether your case is related to any previously filed action; if it is, list the docket number. Section VI wants a short description of the cause of action and the specific federal statute you’re filing under. Section VII is where you enter the dollar amount demanded and check whether the complaint includes a jury demand or a class action designation under Rule 23.4United States Courts. Civil Cover Sheet
Redact Personal Identifiers Before You File
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 requires you to redact certain personal identifiers from every document you file, cover sheet included, in both electronic and paper filings.5Legal Information Institute. Rule 5.2 Privacy Protection for Filings Made with the Court You may include only:
- Social Security or taxpayer ID numbers: last four digits only.
- Dates of birth: year only.
- Minor children’s names: initials only.
- Financial account numbers: last four digits only.
The clerk’s office does not screen your filings for compliance. Redaction is your responsibility. If you need to put full identifiers in front of the court, file an unredacted version under seal along with the redacted public version.6United States District Court Northern District of New York. Federal Civil Local Rule 5.2 Personal Privacy Protection Some districts add local cautions about driver’s license numbers, medical records, and employment history even where Rule 5.2 doesn’t strictly require redaction.
How to File
Electronic Filing Through CM/ECF
Most federal courts expect attorneys to file through the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system.7United States Courts. Electronic Filing (CM/ECF) You’ll need a PACER account, and the specific court has to approve you as a filer before you can submit anything. Courts on NextGen CM/ECF let you start registration through PACER’s Manage My Account portal; courts still on CurrentGen require you to register with the court directly.8PACER. Attorney Filers for CM/ECF You can’t file documents until the court processes the registration.
If you’re representing yourself, access is more limited. Many courts are reluctant to grant pro se litigants direct CM/ECF filing privileges, especially for case-initiating documents. Some let self-represented filers submit by email or PDF upload, with court staff doing the actual docketing.9Federal Judicial Center. Federal Courts’ Electronic Filing by Pro Se Litigants Call the clerk’s office and ask about the local policy before you try to file.
Paper Filing
You can still file in person or by mail at the clerk of court’s service window. Bring several signed, legible copies of the cover sheet and complaint: one for the court, one for your records, and one for each defendant. Hand-delivering has an advantage — if the clerk catches an error, you can fix it on the spot and walk out with a file-stamped copy that proves the exact date you commenced the lawsuit.10California Courts. How to File Court Papers
Filing Fees and Fee Waivers
The total cost to open a new civil action in federal district court is $405: a $350 statutory fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1914 and a $55 administrative fee.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1914 – District Court; Filing and Miscellaneous Fees; Rules of Court11United States Courts. District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule A habeas corpus petition costs $5. Electronic filers pay by credit card or electronic check through the CM/ECF portal; in-person filers usually need a certified check or money order. The clerk will not accept your documents without payment at the time of submission.
If you can’t afford the fee, ask the court to let you proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. You’ll file an affidavit listing your assets, stating you can’t pay, and describing the nature of your case and why you believe you’re entitled to relief.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1915 – Proceedings in Forma Pauperis The judge has discretion to grant or deny the request and looks at your overall financial picture rather than a fixed income cutoff. If granted, both the $350 statutory fee and the $55 administrative fee are waived.11United States Courts. District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
What Happens After You File
Once the clerk accepts your cover sheet, complaint, and fee, the court generates a unique case number that will appear on every document filed in the case from that point on. A judge (or magistrate judge) is assigned through a random selection process designed to prevent forum shopping. You’ll receive a file-stamped copy of your initiation documents as proof of the official filing date.
The clerk issues a summons — a formal court document under the court’s seal telling the defendant they’ve been sued and how long they have to respond. Getting that summons into the defendant’s hands is your job, and the clock is ticking. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m), you have 90 days from the date the complaint was filed to complete service on each defendant. Miss the deadline and the court can dismiss the case without prejudice — meaning you’d refile and pay the fee again — unless you show good cause for the delay.
Acceptable methods of service depend on who you’re serving (an individual, a corporation, a government agency), but generally include personal delivery by a process server or by any adult over 18 who is not a party to the case. Some defendants can be served by mail if they agree to waive formal service. Rule 4 governs the specifics, and getting service wrong is one of the most common reasons cases stall early.
Accuracy and Rule 11 Exposure
Everything you sign and file with the court carries a certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 that the factual claims have evidentiary support and that the legal arguments are warranted by existing law or a good-faith argument for changing it.13Legal Information Institute. Rule 11 Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions The cover sheet is no exception. If the court later finds you made representations without a reasonable basis, it can impose sanctions ranging from a reprimand to monetary penalties. For attorneys, sanctions can also reach the law firm.
Rule 11 has a built-in safety valve: if someone moves for sanctions against you, you have 21 days to withdraw or correct the offending filing before the motion can actually be presented to the court.13Legal Information Institute. Rule 11 Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions Even so, deliberately misclassifying a case type or fabricating jurisdictional facts on the cover sheet is the kind of thing judges remember.