eFile Menu Options

The eFile menu includes the following selections:

• New Case - Initiate a new case with a complaint
• Existing Case - Submit answers, motions, etc., on current cases.
• Check Status - Review the status of your current submissions.
• Draft Filings - Check to see if there is something you need to finish.

New Cases

To eFile a new case, follow these basic steps:

1. Prepare your documents.

2. Login to eFiles.

3. Select a case type.

4. Enter case information.

5. Add the plaintiffs or petitioners, determined by the case type.

6. Add the defendants or respondents, determined by the case type.

7. Add documents.

8. Review the new filing and enter payment information,

9. Submit the filing.

10. Make sure the case has the  ‘Received’ status and a case date and time stamp.

Preparing Documents: Before you file a new case, prepare your documents.  Do this even before you log on. Make sure you have written your complaint and electronically scanned any exhibits that you want included with this submission.

Logging In & Selecting A Case Type:  Once you log on, click the New Case button or select eFile > New Case from the Home menu to display the Case Type options and begin creating a new case.  Choose the type the matches the case you are filing (for example, Civil - Common Pleas Court , General Division).

Entering Case Information, Plaintiffs, & Defendants:  The information you are asked to provide is largely determined by the case type. Iit is basically the same information requested on the paper cover sheets used by many courts.  For example, you are asked to select the court jurisdiction (such as Civil, Criminal, or Certificate of Judgments), and a case type (such Civil or Lis Pendens for Civil Cases).  The Case Participation dialog is then displayed. 

In the Case Participation dialog box, provide the following information:

• File Reference No.  Some attorneys refer to the File Reference Number as their ‘Case Matter Number.’ The file reference number is not the number assigned to the case by the court.  Rather, it is a number that an attorney assigns to a case to help identify it.

• Jury Demand Check this box if the defendant is requesting a trial by jury.

• Prayer Amount The total claim being filed on this case.

• Action Type Select an action type from the drop-down list.

• Foreclosure Information If the case concerns a mortgage foreclosure action, enter the parcel number of the property involved.

• Refiling Information If the case has already been filed in the past, enter the key information about the previous cases, including the case number, judge, main plaintiff, and main defendant.

• Suites Involving Like Issues  Enter as a reference any suits involving like issues and similar parties that may serve as precedents for this case.

• Case Participants. Case participants include any defendants, plaintiffs, attorneys, and agents for the case.  

Click the Add My Parties button and provide the necessary information about the parties who you represent -- if you are an attorney -- or about yourself -- if you are a Pro Se filer.

Click the Add Other Parties button to add party information for the parties involved with the case who you do not represent.

Continue adding parties until all parties are included. Provide all information about any case participants that is currently available to you. Required items are marked with an asterisk (*).

When you finish adding case information and parties, click Next on the Case Initiation dialog to begin adding documents.

Adding Documents:  Use the Add a Document dialogue options to find and select the documents you want to add and include them with this filing:

• Category First, select a document category from the Categories drop-down list. This reduces the hundreds of documents currently available to the specific documents for that category.  It also changes the other options to match the category requirements.

• Document Type Select a Document Type from the drop-down list.  This document type is identified on the notice.

• Emergency Check this box if this document requires special emergency handling.

• Additional Text Type any information that you want to appear on the court docket sheet to help identify the document for the case participants.  (This information is optional.)

• Document Location  Use Document Location to find the documents you have prepared and attach them to this case.  Click the Browse button to display the Open dialog box.  Browse for a document, highlight it, then click Open to return to the Add a Document page and insert the full path name of that document as the Document Location.

• Add  Clicking the Add button transfers the document listed in Document Location from your local directory to the Court’s eFiling server to be included in the submission. If the document is large, an “UPLOADING DOCUMENT, PLEASE WAIT” message may display. If a document requires additional information (such as an Answer or Instructions for Service), additional dialogues appear so you can provide that information.

After a document has been transferred from your local directory to the court’s eFiling server, it is listed to indicate that it will be included with the submission.

• Next  When all documents to be included with the submission appear in the document list, click the Next button to move to the next basic step in the filing process.

Reviewing the Filing & Entering Payment Information:  The Review and Approve Filing dialog is the final step in the filing process.  You can use these options to enter the necessary payment information for the filing and also to make one last careful review of the filing before finalizing it:

• Change Payment Method button displays a dialog box where you can provide the credit card number for the account where the filing fee will be charged.

• Change Filing Info button returns you to the Case Initiation dialog box so that you can review the pertinent information about the case (Prayer Amount, Action Type, Cases Participants, etc.) and make any necessary changes. 

• The View Data link below the Change Filing Info button displays the filing information in XTML format. You can copy this information into your local system without having to retype it in manually.

• Add/Remove Documents The documents to be included with this filing are listed at the bottom of the dialog box.  You can click this button to return to the documents dialog and add or remove documents from the list.

• Special Filing Instructions Use this text box to make any notes to the clerk.

 While reviewing the filing, you can click the Cancel button to cancel the filing or the Move to Draft button to save your work up to this point and finish this submission at a later time. 

Once you are certain that the filing is correct and complete, click the Next button to send the filing.

eFlex displays a message asking you to confirm that your submission is complete and ready to be transferred to the court. Once you click OK, the filing is submitted.

If the payment is successful and eFlex is able to submit your filing to the court, a “Your Filing has been submitted” message is displayed. It indicates that the fee payment has been successfully processed and your submission is now being transferred to the Court Clerk’s server for review.  The filing information includes the Case Title, My Case Number, Court Case Number, Description, date filed, account number, an authorization code, and the total fee amount.

A payment receipt will also be emailed to you.

You can click the Filing Status button to review the status of your submission.

Check Status

Whenever you eFile a case to the court, the case status is immediately updated to reflect its progress.  These status changes happen rapidly as submissions are processed by the court server; sometimes they occur so rapidly that you may not even notice them. You can use the Filing Status dialog box to display and track the status changes for each submission.

Review filing statuses regularly to make sure submissions are efficiently processed.  For example, a status may include a note from the Clerk of the Court notifying you of fees due.

To list current filing statuses from the eFlex home page, click the Filing Status button or select eFile > Check Status.

Each entry in the list represents the status of a submission.  These entries are temporary and are deleted after a time period set by the system administrator, usually at least 30 days.

The current status of a filing is listed in the Status column, as follows:

Sent: Documents and data have been transmitted to the Clerk Review system.

Received: Documents and data have been received by the Clerk Review system and the filing time has been recorded.

Filed: A clerk has reviewed your information and returned an electronic receipt of the results.  If your submission contains only a Proposed Order, the status of ‘Filed’ indicates that the Proposed Order has been transferred to the judge for action.  It does not mean that any official action has actually been taken.

Awaiting Approval:  The submission is awaiting approval.  The court clerk has not yet reviewed and approved the filing.

Rejected: The submission has been rejected and the receipt provides the reason for the rejection. You can click the Resubmit button to create a new submission based on the previous submission.  Any new submission you create will include links to the documents from the rejected submission.

Resubmitted: This filing has been resubmitted.

Package Pending: Documents and data are being prepared in an electronic package to be sent to the Court's Clerk Review system.

Clicking the link for a filing in the Status column displays a Filing Status dialog box with extensive details about that filing.

If you want to limit the list to a set time period, use the calendar icons to select a starting and ending date, then click the Go button. To display the documents associated with that filing, click the [+] symbol next to it in the Filing ID column.  The [+] symbol changes to a [-] and the documents are listed.  You can then click a document name link to display the contents of that document.  Clicking the [-] symbol next to the document type hides the document list.

Draft Filings

The Draft feature provides you with backup copies of your filings.  These backup filings protect you from losing your work should you ever be accidently disconnected from the internet.

While you are creating a new filing submission, eFlex backs up or records your work each time you advance to a new dialog.  It also tracks the links to any documents you include with the submission.

Should you lose your internet connection unexpectedly, eFlex creates a draft of your submission.

To list any partially-completed (draft) filings, click eFile > Draft Filings from the Home menu.

You can then click the Filing ID for a draft to return to the last place you were in that filing and continue creating the submission.

Draft filings are automatically deleted in the number of days indicated in the “Days Until Deletion” column. 

You can also delete any draft you no longer need.  In the Delete column, click the box for a draft filing to mark it with a check, then click the Delete button at the top or bottom of the list.  You are asked to confirm the deletion.  Click the OK button to delete the draft filing.

Whenever you log out, a reminder appears to alert you of your draft filings so that you can complete necessary drafts and delete unnecessary drafts.