Supreme Court Publishes eFiling Rules

The Supreme Court of California has published its eFiling rules that will support the launch on Monday July 10, 2017 of its electronic filing system. The court has adopted a phased approach to the system’s implementation, which will initially be voluntary for filers, but become mandatory on September 1, and reduces the related number of paper copies required to two.
“eFiling will enable petitions to be more easily filed in a timely manner, reducing the cost of petitioning the high court, and bringing greater efficiencies to everyone involved,” commented Jorge Navarrete, Court Administrator and Clerk of the Court. “The new rules clearly outline the process, requirements, and fee structure, but also take into account privacy protection and the needs of the trial courts and Self-represented litigants—it is a technological step in the right direction for everyone involved in the appellate process.”

The 13 Rules under the Supreme Court Rules Regarding Electronic Filing govern the implementation of the court’s electronic filing system under the California Rules of Court 8.70 – 8.79 (Title 8. Appellate Rules, Chapter 1. General Provisions, Article 5. E-filing).
The Rules cover:

• Rule 1. Application; electronic filing system.
• Rule 2. Documents subject to electronic filing
• Rule 3. Mandatory electronic filing
• Rule 4. Voluntary electronic filing
• Rule 5. Submission of paper copies of electronically filed documents
• Rule 6. Excuse from electronic filing
• Rule 7. Registration of electronic filers
• Rule 8. Signatures
• Rule 9. Service
• Rule 10. Format and size of electronically filed documents
• Rule 11. Privacy Protection
• Rule 12. Fees
• Rule 13. Technical Failure of Electronic Filing System

Five California Courts of Appeal Districts currently use the ImageSoft TrueFiling system, and all six districts will be on the system by November 2017.