The attorney will then receive an agreement to sign which includes his authorization for his password and log-in to act as his signature on documents. The attorney is then given a password which gives access to the training area of the site. Once the attorney has demonstrated to the court that he knows how to properly file documents, he can then access the portion of the site which allows someone to file documents electronically. Serving Documents on Other Parties As a condition of participating in the ECF program, the parties agree to electronic service of all documents. They designate an e-mail address to which notices can be sent, and the electronic filing system will automatically send notification to all parties of record whenever a document gets filed.
Parties can then log onto the system to read the text of the filed document.
Since the documents filed with ECF are easily-accessed public documents, provisions have been made for the handling of confidential documents. When a document is to be filed which the attorney wishes to keep confidential, a paper document is filed with the court. The attorney must then put a notice in the ECF file for the case stating that they have made a manual filing with the court. Most attorneys already have the basic hardware and software requirements for filing with the system. You will need a computer that operates on Windows or an Apple MacIntosh.