In the latter case, the clerk's office would scan the document for the party, assist the party in scanning the document, or create a file for the exhibit. If the document is created by a word processor, then the party can submit the document directly to the court's EMS either from the party's personal computer or from a public access terminal. To file the document, the party first logs into the court's EMS or onto a third party vendor. With either of these systems, the filing party provides information to the court or vendor that certifies their identity. If the court system uses an image-based system, the document then is converted to an imaged file.
Imaged files offer security advantages compared with text files.
Each imaged file contains a string code that identifies the file. If an imaged file is altered, its identifying code changes. The court and parties can use this code to ensure the authenticity of court documents. The document then is submitted for filing and a time-stamped receipt is generated. Parties may print the receipt for their records or may rely on the EMS to display the time the document was filed.