This manual provides basic instruction for using Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) in the District of Oregon. CM/ECF, in conjunction with Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER), allows Registered Users to file, retrieve, and view civil and criminal public documents.
The United States District Courts initiated electronic filing in 1990. Information about how to locate civil and criminal case information pre-dating 1990 may be found in Section 13 of this manual.
Term
Description
CM/ECF
Case Management/Electronic Case Files.
CM/ECF NextGen
The latest version of CM/ECF, which introduced Central Sign-on (CSO).
CSO
Central Sign-on, a NextGen module that allows public users to access CM/ECF with their PACER credentials.
Division Codes
Venue codes assigned to the separate Divisional Offices of the Court. See LR 3-2.
Docket Entry
A pleading, order, or other document entered on the docket sheet. Each entry includes a filing date, document number, and docket text. Supplemental docket text supplied by a filer will appear in italicized text. Docket entries are created by users selecting events from the available civil and criminal menus that most accurately describe the proceeding being recorded or document being filed.
Docket Sheet
The Court's permanent record of case filings and proceedings is referred to as the docket sheet. Docket sheet information for a case includes the names of the parties or litigants, attorney information, and general statistical data. Docket sheets also contain a chronological list of the pleadings and other documents filed in a case (docket entries).
Document
Any pleading, motion, exhibit, declaration, affidavit, memorandum, order, notice, or other filing made part of the Court's record.
Fed. R. Civ. P.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Fed. R. Crim. P.
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
File Size Limitation
The maximum upload size allowed for a single PDF, which is 75 MB.
Access Restricted to Counsel of Record and Case Participants
Access that restricts document viewing to a case's participants.
LR
NEF
Notice of Electronic Filing, an e-mail notice delivered to case participants at the completion of filing.
PACER
Public Access to Court Electronic Records is an electronic public access gateway that allows anyone to obtain public case information, including docket sheets and documents, from any federal court. Registration for a PACER account is free, but there may be a fee associated with accessing case information.
Party
Plaintiff(s), petitioner(s), defendant(s), respondents(s), or any other named participant in a case.
Portable Document Format, the file format that is used to store documents in CM/ECF.
PST
Pacific Standard Time - refers to all hours stated in this manual including Standard or Daylight Savings, whichever is applicable.
Registered User
An attorney or pro se litigant who has been granted e-filing privileges in CM/ECF. See LR 1-5(l).
Remote Public Access
Access to view a document available via PACER. Access to electronic case files is available for all parties and the public at each divisional office of the Court during regular business hours. A copy fee for reproduction of an electronic document will be charged in accordance with the Schedule of Fees.
Schedule of Fees
A list of services provided by the Court and the fees associated with those services.
A Registered User with a web browser, word processing software, PDF creation software, and access to the Internet will be able to use CM/ECF to perform the following functions:
Basic computer knowledge and skills are necessary in order to use CM/ECF.
Registered Users should have a working knowledge of the operating systems on their computers, including web browsing, opening and closing programs, word processing, PDF creation, and printing.
Note: Some versions of Safari make finding and uploading PDF files into CM/ECF difficult or impossible. Apple users should use an alternative browser, such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.
The following are the minimum requirements for using CM/ECF:
The Court website (ord.uscourts.gov) contains information relating to the work of the Court, including this manual, the Local Rules, Standing Orders, Court Policies, and Court contact information.
For assistance regarding electronic filing, contact the Clerk's Office at 503-326-8000.
For assistance regarding the viewing of federal court case information or the recovery of login credentials, visit the PACER Service Center website at pacer.uscourts.gov.
Only registered CM/ECF users are granted access to file in CM/ECF. As of January 21, 2020, all public users of CM/ECF—including attorneys and self-represented parties who have been granted filing privileges—must access CM/ECF using credentials for an upgraded individual PACER account.
Individuals seeking to become registered users must request CM/ECF filing privileges via PACER by applying for admission or, for those already admitted or for self-represented parties that are allowed to e-file, submitting a registration request. Attorneys admitted to the bar prior to January 21, 2020, but who have never registered for a CM/ECF account should contact the Court for assistance.
Attorneys that have not been admitted and self-represented parties that have not previously been allowed to e-file are required to apply for admission or request registration using an upgraded individual PACER account.
Attorneys seeking admission to practice in the District should follow the instructions on the Court's website under Admissions to request admission through PACER.
Attorneys from other districts seeking to appear pro hac vice in this District should follow the instructions on the Court's website regarding admission pro hac vice. Attorneys seeking pro hac vice admission to the District of Oregon must file a Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice in the case in which they wish to appear and may need to also request CM/ECF registration via PACER.
Self-represented parties wishing to e-file should follow the instructions on the Court's website regarding registering for CM/ECF access as a self-represented party.
Individuals who had filing access to CM/ECF before January 21, 2020, including admitted attorneys and self-represented parties who were granted access to e-file in a case must submit a registration request using an upgraded individual PACER account to link that PACER account to an existing CM/ECF filing account. See Submitting a Registration Request in PACER, below.
Use these instructions if:
Step
Action
Navigate to pacer.uscourts.gov. Mouse over the Manage Your Account panel under What can we help you accomplish? and click on Manage My Account Login. Click the Log in to Manage My Account button and log in with your upgraded PACER credentials.
Click on the Maintenance tab.
Select District for Court Type and Oregon District Court for Court. Click Next.
Click the E-File Registration Only button and follow the instructions. The request will be sent to the District of of Oregon, where generally it will be processed in under 24 hours. You may check the status of your request in PACER by clicking the Check E-File Status link under the Maintenance tab.
Navigate to ecf.ord.uscourts.gov. The browser will be redirected to PACER. Enter valid PACER credentials and a client code, if necessary. Successful logins will be redirected back to CM/ECF.
The client code field is an optional field available on the login screen for PACER tracking purposes. Any client code is entered for a transaction will be reflected on the billing statement generated by the PACER Service Center.
Because CM/ECF is accessed with PACER credentials, user name and password maintenance must be done through PACER's lost username or lost password utilities or by contacting PACER directly. The user's e-mail address, in addition to either the account number or date of birth and first and last names, are required to reset a username or password in PACER. The Court is unable to reset a user's PACER username and password.
After logging into CM/ECF, registered users will be able to use the main menu to file documents or perform other tasks.
The filing events are organized by category:
Menu Item
Types of Events
Civil case filings, such as motions, notices, service documents, responses, replies, and answers.
Criminal case filings, such as plea-related documents, motions, responses, replies, appeal documents, notices, and trial documents.
Run name searches, create docket activity reports, look up case numbers, etc.
Access the written opinions report, run civil and/or criminal case reports, calendar event reports, docket sheet reports, etc.
View Court information, link a PACER account to a CM/ECF account, review billing history, etc.
Search for events.
The menus of events under the Civil selection include: Open a Civil Case, Initial Pleadings and Service, Motions and Related Filings, Other Filings, and Attorney Admissions.
The menus of events under the Criminal selection include: Charging Instruments and Pleas, Motions and Related Filings, and Other Filings. Selection of the links under those headings reveals the individual docket events.
To electronically file a Trial Memorandum in a civil case, for example, you would first select Civil from the main menu and click on the Trial Documents menu under Other Filings. The event Trial Memorandum appears under the Trial Documents menu.
If you are having trouble finding a specific event, click the Search function and start typing the name of the event you wish to file. A list of all events that include the word entered in the search field will be displayed.
Find the correct event and click on the event name to begin the filing process.
DO NOT USE the browser BACK and FORWARD buttons to navigate through CM/ECF. If an event was selected in error or incorrect information was entered on a prior screen, navigate back to the Civil or Criminal menu and begin again.
The standard format for electronically filed documents is Portable Document Format or PDF. At the time of filing, CM/ECF evaluates the document for compliance with PDF standards and will reject PDFs with the following content:
CM/ECF will also reject
In addition to the above requirements, the District of Oregon prohibits unflattened fillable forms and requires that all PDF documents be text-searchable.
More information about creating, uploading, and viewing PDFs is available on the PACER website.
There are three primary methods for creating PDF documents: (1) saving a document as a PDF directly from the word processing program, (2) printing a document to PDF, or (3) scanning documents from paper into PDF. All PDF documents filed in CM/ECF are required to be text-searchable. LR 5-2(b).
Saving a document to PDF directly from your word-processing program is the preferred method of creating PDFs. Most PDFs created this way are optimized and meet text-searchable requirements.
In some instances, printing to PDF is preferable. This is the case for any PDF-fillable form or for any PDF or document that contains scripts or code. NOTE: If CM/ECF blocks a PDF from being uploaded, printing the file to PDF frequently solves the problem.
Scanning a document creates an image, and, therefore, scanned documents are much larger than documents saved directly to PDF. In addition, an optical character recognition (OCR) program requirements.
DO NOT upload a PDF fillable form to CM/ECF. Instead, print or flatten the fillable PDF before uploading it to CM/ECF so that the fields are removed.
PDF/A is an International Standards Organization (ISO) standard document format. PDF/A documents are self-contained and do not rely on or access information outside of the document itself to display the information contained within the document. Accordingly, the PDF document appears, and will continue to appear, identical to the document from which it was created, no matter where or when it is accessed. As a result, most PDF/A documents will have a slightly larger file size.
The District of Oregon does not require filings to be in PDF/A format at this time.
PDF files that exceed 75 MB will not be accepted by CM/ECF. Files that exceed this limit must be broken down into smaller, separate files and uploaded as attachments to the main document.
| Step | Screen | |
|---|---|---|
| This is the document attachment screen, which is presented in all public-user events. |  | |
| REMINDER: PDF Fillable Forms should be flattened prior to attachment, and pursuant to LR 5-2(b), all pleadings and documents, including attachments and exhibits, must be filed as text-searchable PDF files unless otherwise directed by the Court. | ||
| The main document should be the pleading. Click Choose File to locate the document for attachment. |  | |
| A new window will open. Locate your pleading in the location where it has been saved. |  | |
| Prior to attachment, it is recommended that the PDF be reviewed to ensure it is accurate and is the correct attachment. This can be done by right clicking on the PDF and selecting the Open option. The PDF will open on your screen for review. After confirming the PDF is correct, click the X in the upper right corner of the PDF to close it. |  | |
| Make sure the correct document is highlighted, and then click Open in CM/ECF to continue with document attachment. |  | |
| Attachments should also be uploaded at this time. Click Choose File to locate and confirm your attachment as indicated above. |  | |
| Each attachment must be labeled with a Category from the drop-down menu or a Description in the free text field. It is not necessary to enter both a Category and Description. |  | |
| The first attachment(s) should be any exhibit(s) to the pleading, such as the required state court pleadings for a Notice of Removal. The next attachment should be the Civil Cover Sheet (JS44) followed by individual summons(es) for issuance. Multiple summons(es) may be attached as a single PDF document. Civil Cover Sheet and Summons are selections available in the Category drop-down menu. |  | |
| NOTE: Attaching a PDF to the Attachment 1 option causes the Attachment 2 option to appear. Repeat the attachment process as needed to attach all necessary documents. | ||
| When all documents have been added, click Next to continue. |  | |
The next screen is the payment confirmation screen. If you need to modify any information, click Back.
Otherwise, enter any additional e-mail addresses that should receive a copy of the receipt, check the box to authorize payment, and click Submit.
IMPORTANT! Although the fee has now been paid, the filing has not been perfected in CM/ECF, so do not close the tab or window.
Standing Order 2011-9 (see 2011-9 In Re Policy to Refund Electronic Filing Fees.pdf ) grants the Clerk's Office authority to issue a refund for duplicate or erroneous fee payments made via Pay.gov. A CM/ECF Registered User who makes a duplicate or erroneous fee payment through Pay.gov will receive a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) alerting the user to the duplicate payment and a deadline by which a request for refund is due. Refund requests may be filed only for duplicate or erroneous fee payments and only after a Registered User receives a notice of duplicate payment. Below are instructions for filing a refund request and tips on how to avoid making duplicate payments in the future.
Requests for a refund of duplicate or erroneous payments must be made in writing in pleading form and filed in CM/ECF using the "Request for Refund of Fees Paid Electronically" event, which may be found using the search feature. The pleading must contain the name, address, and telephone number of the party requesting the refund. See Sample Request for Refund of Pay.gov Payment.pdf . During filing, the user will be prompted to link to the filing for which the duplicate payment was made.
The written request for a refund must be accompanied by supporting documentation, including a copy of the electronic payment receipt and a copy of the NEF from the system transaction in CM/ECF during which the erroneous payment was made. This documentation is to be added as attachments to the main document during the filing process.
Upon receipt of the refund request and verification of the error, the Clerk's Office will process the refund to the same credit card used to make the erroneous payment. A notice of the refund will be recorded in the associated case docket in CM/ECF. Refunds will not be issued by check.
To avoid making duplicate payments:
In the event an attorney or law firm repeatedly makes erroneous payments and corresponding refund requests, the Court may consider remedial action, including an order to show cause as to why that attorney or law firm should not be barred from making future payments electronically.
In the event that the Court declares the CM/ECF filing system to be unavailable for filing, the Clerk’s Office will post a Notice of CM/ECF System Outage on this website’s homepage to alert users to the outage. The Clerk's Office will also post a notice when CM/ECF returns to normal operation. Notices of scheduled outages for maintenance tasks will be posted in advance of the outage, and users should monitor this website for notices of scheduled outages. CM/ECF undergoes scheduled maintenance at 4 a.m. daily for approximately one hour.
During a system outage, as defined above, registered users may submit emergency filings as defined above via e-mail to the following address: . Counsel or self-represented parties who are concerned about whether a filing must be submitted to the Clerk to ensure its timeliness should also submit the filing by e-mail during the outage.
Filing via e-mail will commence on the date and time stated in the Court’s Notice of CM/ECF System Outage and will end at the time the Court posts a notice that the system is operational, or, in the event of a scheduled outage, the stated end of the maintenance window. Any documents sent to this e-mail address outside of the time period identified in the Court's official notices will not be docketed by the Court.
PDF documents submitted via e-mail must conform to all current requirements as outlined in the Local Rules and the CM/ECF User Manual. Documents submitted via e-mail during the outage will be deemed filed upon the date received. They will be docketed by court staff as soon as practical after CM/ECF returns to normal operation.
CM/ECF will accept documents with hyperlinks, and they may be included in filings. LR 5-2(c). Some judges prefer that sources be hyperlinked in pleadings. For information on how to create hyperlinks, refer to the documentation for your application, i.e., Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat.
Thousands of cases are filed each year in the District of Oregon, and CM/ECF assigns a unique case number to each case when it is opened. The full case number (seen on the case assignment form you receive from the Court) will be formatted as follows:
At the conclusion of a filing transaction, the system will generate a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) to confirm that the document has been filed and served on the parties who are Registered Users. The NEF displays the recipient's names, primary e-mail addresses, and secondary e-mail addresses (if any). The NEF will also indicate which case participants (if any) who were not served electronically. The filing party is responsible for effecting service in hard copy on parties who were not served electronically.
NEFs each contain a hyperlink to the main document attached to the docket entry. "Paperless" orders do not include a link because the entire order is visible as the docket text and included as part of the NEF.
Registered Users have two options to receive NEFs: either per filing or as a daily summary report that is generated only if case activity has occurred. These preferences may be changed in your PACER account.
Step
Screen
The date and time of the filing are documented in the NEF. The time is recorded as Pacific time (PDT) based on the location of CM/ECF.
The case name and number, the filing party, the document number assigned to the entry, and the judge assigned to the case are listed in the NEF.
The docket text of the entry is also displayed.
NEF recipients are listed below this line.
Parties who are not Registered Users who require service by another means are listed below this line.
Each document attached to the entry receives an electronic document stamp verifying that it was filed in CM/ECF.
NOTE: Some e-mail systems follow hyperlinks to check for security risks, which will use up the "free look," so e-mails from CM/ECF should be exempted from this type of scanning.
With the exception of transcripts of proceedings and documents filed under seal or otherwise restricted, each recipient of an NEF receives a "free look" at the filed document. Any subsequent access to the document will result in assessment of applicable PACER fees.
Only Registered Users associated with the case as counsel or party of record may view documents filed with restriction levels. Users attempting to access such documents will be prompted to log in before the document may be viewed. These document types include, but are not limited to, the following:
The District of Oregon uses media noticing accounts to allow media professionals to receive Notices of Electronic Filing (NEFs) in selected cases. Note: clicking on a link included in an NEF will result in PACER fees.
An upgraded PACER account is required to apply for a Media Noticing Account. For instructions on registering or upgrading a PACER account, visit pacer.uscourts.gov.
For instructions on registering for a District of Oregon CM/ECF media noticing account, see Submitting a Registration Request in PACER and follow the instructions for a media noticing account in Step 3. When entering/reviewing your address, type MEDIA OR MEDIA ACCOUNT in the Firm/Office field. Requests for Media Noticing Accounts that do not include this will be rejected.
To add cases for noticing to your account, see 'How to Configure Noticing'.
Service of a document to a Registered User is deemed complete upon filing the document in CM/ECF, at which point the system transmits the NEF. Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b). To ensure proper service, it is essential that Registered Users maintain current, working e-mail addresses in CM/ECF and PACER. Furthermore, it is important that interference with the NEF not occur after it leaves the Court's mail server, such as being deemed junk mail by a spam filter. The Court cannot stress enough that NEF delivery failures will not excuse missed deadlines.
An NEF transmission may fail if the recipient's mailbox is too full or if the recipient's e-mail is otherwise unavailable. Usually the recipient's e-mail provider will deliver such messages at a later time, resulting in a delay. Though a bounceback message will be delivered, the Court will not retransmit the NEF unless the message fails permanently.
When an NEF message permanently fails for an e-mail address, the Court receives a bounceback. The Court will use current case information as well as the Oregon State Bar directory (or other state bar directory resources) to attempt to locate the attorney and will attempt to resend such messages to the correct primary e-mail address for Registered Users, however, incorrect secondary e-mail addresses associated with CM/ECF accounts that generate permanent delivery failures will be removed from the account without any further notice.
Attorneys will be asked to comply with LR 83 by submitting a notice of change of address in their pending cases and/or cases on appeal. A motion for substitution of counsel or notice of withdrawal or substitution of counsel may be requested.
If the Clerk's Office is unable to reach the party or parties involved, the transaction failure will be documented on the case docket. Court staff will instruct opposing counsel to complete service in hard copy of an undeliverable filed document if the other attempts to complete notification fail. Court staff will complete service in hard copy of an undeliverable court-generated document if the other attempts to complete notification fail.
Pursuant to LR 83-10, any notices of change of business address and/or e-mail address must be made in pleading form and filed in the pending cases and in cases on appeal. An e-mail or letter to the Court is NOT sufficient. Registered Users are responsible for updating their own user account information in PACER.
The Court is required under Fed. R. Civ. P 77(d) to notify counsel of record of the entry of all orders and judgments, including post-judgment orders and appeal activity, even if the litigant represented has been terminated from the case. Counsel desiring to terminate electronic notices in a case must do so affirmatively by either:
