The U.S. Courts of Appeals and Bankruptcy Appellate Panels
are beginning to accept electronic
case filings. In some courts, you must register for electronic
case filing in order to access documents in certain case types
(e.g., immigration, social security) and to view restricted documents.
The following circuits are accepting Electronic Case Filing (ECF)
registrations for purposes of electronic filing and/or to permit
access by case participants to certain restricted case types.
- U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit,
(electronic service only)
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit BAP
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit BAP
- U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Select one of the following options:
-
REGISTER
Choose this option to register for a new Appellate ECF account
(you have not registered in any circuit).
-
UPDATE
Choose this option if you already have an Appellate ECF account (you
have registered in at least one circuit) and wish to register in
another circuit, check the status of a pending request, or update
your account.
-
LOCAL COURT INFORMATION
Choose this option to learn more about a specific court's
implementation of CM/ECF.
Registration for Appellate ECF is separate from and in addition
to registering for PACER. PACER registration grants you access
to view docket reports and documents from a court's database,
while ECF registration
will enable you to file documents electronically in those courts
where this feature is available. If you are a current PACER user,
you are required to complete a separate additional appellate court
ECF registration form to request appellate filing privileges.
Appellate ECF registration is a centralized process completed via
the PACER Service Center (this) website; you will not have to
visit each circuit's website to register separately. However, you
will need to request filing privileges from each court in which
you wish to file electronically.
When registering for ECF filing you are required to provide general
identifying information (e.g., name, address, e-mail address, etc.).
You will request a login ID and password of your choosing at the end
of the registration process along with a password security question.
The password is encrypted and is known only by you. Once you
complete the initial registration in one circuit, you may request
filing privileges in additional circuits. The existing contact
information will pre-populate any request for filing privileges in
additional circuits. You may retain the current information if it
is valid or it can be modified to be specific for the court in
which you are requesting filing privileges. The same login ID
and password are used to access CM/ECF in all appellate courts in
which you are registered as an ECF filer.
When a registration request is completed, the PACER Service Center
will send your data to the court for processing. Each court in which
registration was requested processes the request independently. The
approval process allows each court to verify the information
provided. You will receive e-mail notification of the court's
action on the registration request. Document filing and restricted
case/document access in a court is not permitted until that court
processes the registration request. Processing time for new
registration requests can vary from circuit to circuit. Contact
the Clerk's Office if immediate access to file documents is needed.
(Note: Contact and other information updated on this website is
sent electronically to each court in which you are registered -
it is not necessary for you to contact each court to provide
the updated information.)
If you have any questions, please contact the PACER Service Center at
pacer@psc.uscourts.gov
or call (800) 676-6856.
