Electronic Filing - ECF

Beginning April 1, 2012, the electronic public access (EPA) fee increased from $.08 to $.10 per page. The change is needed to continue to support and improve the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system, and to develop and implement the next generation of the Judiciary's Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system. Local, state, and federal government agencies will be exempted from the increase for three years. Moreover, PACER users who do not accrue charges of more than $15 in a quarterly billing cycle would not be charged a fee. Additional details on this fee can be found at www.pacer.gov.
Appellate ECF will be unavailable from 10:00 PM until midnight each Saturday and Sunday for system maintenance.

 

Information Available on This Page

Registration and Updating Your Account

Use of the Appellate ECF system is now mandatory for all attorneys and all court reporters filing in this Court, unless they are granted an exemption from using the Appellate ECF system. Use of the Appellate ECF system is voluntary for all pro se parties proceeding without counsel.
To register, go to Registration and Updating Your Account below.
To request an exemption, send a completed Appellate ECF Exemption Form (PDF) to the Court.

To register for the 9th Circuit ECF system, navigate to Appellate ECF Filer Registration and follow the instructions on the page. Registration processing can take up to 10 business days, so registering prior to the time that you want to enter your first filing electronically will assist you with filing delays. We strongly encourage you to register as soon as possible.

Note: If you are an attorney, you do not need to be admitted to the bar of this Court before you register for electronic filing, but you should concurrently apply for admission. Information on attorney admission is available at Attorney Admissions Instructions.

To update your ECF account (for example, to change your address or add additional email addresses), navigate to Appellate Filer Account Update, log in, and follow the instructions on the page.

General Information

Circuit Rule 25-5 provides details about which documents can and cannot be filed electronically. Effective December 1, 2009, the Administrative Order Regarding Electronic Filing in All Ninth Circuit Cases is no longer in effect and has been incorporated into the Ninth Circuit Rules.

Logging In to File a Document

Log in to Electronic Case Filing (for Windows, Mac OS X 10.6 and higher; opens in new window).
Note: If you are using an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard") or earlier, use this "Mac" login link instead (opens in new window).
Java: You must have Java Version 6 (also referred to as Java 1.6) to file documents using Appellate ECF.
If you do not have Java Version 6, go to http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jre-6u32-downloads-1594646.html, click the "jre-6u32-windows-i586.exe" link next to Windows x86 Offline (32-bit) 16.2 MB. After the download completes, double-click the file to install Java 1.6 (update 32).

IMPORTANT: Even though Java 7 is available from www.java.com, if you install that version, you will not be able to use Appellate ECF. Java 7 is not compatible with Appellate ECF. If you did download and install Java 7, you must uninstall Java 7, then download and install the latest version of Java 6.

Logging In to View Documents

To view documents in a case, you can log in to PACER.

Training

In-Person Training

In-Person Training for Appellate Electronic Case Filing is being offered upon request. Submit your request using this form: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cmecf/feedback/.

 
Electronic Learning Modules
Requirements for Viewing Electronic Learning Modules
  • Add this Web Page to your Trusted Web Sites
  • Set your screen resolution to at least 1024x768 pixels
  • Make sure you have Flash Player 8.0 or higher
  • Use Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher or Firefox version 3.0 or higher
  • Connect headphones or speakers
IMPORTANT: The electronic learning modules were created using version 2.0 of Appellate ECF. They have not been updated to reflect the changes that were implemented in later versions. Review the ECF User Guide to see updated illustrations of the application screens. The learning modules will soon be updated to reflect the latest version of Appellate ECF.

 

Documentation

Forms

Help

If you have a question about Appellate ECF and you cannot find the answer on the Court's or PACER's websites, submit your question using this form: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cmecf/feedback/. You can expect a reply from the Court during the Court's business hours, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time.

Last Update: 9 May 2012

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