Frequently Asked Questions

The email may have gone to your junk email folder. If a recipient inadvertently identified a previous court email as spam, the internet service provider (ISP) may be blocking email from the court. Contact your ISP to rectify this situation. Some ISPs may automatically route court email to a junk mail folder. Go to your junk mail folder and mark the email from the court as "not junk mail."

If you forward the email without clicking the link, the email recipient can access the document for free. Any time after the first viewing, a charge will be incurred to view the document. The document should be saved during the first viewing.

Yes.

For district and bankruptcy courts: 

Attorneys may authorize duplicate receipt of the notice of electronic filing for up to five support staff members. To add email recipients, the attorney should use the Maintain Your Account/Email Information option under the Utilities menu within CM/ECF.

For appellate courts:

Attorneys may authorize duplicate receipt of the notice of docket activity for several support staff members, depending on the length of email addresses (up to 255 characters).

To add email recipients, the attorney should log in to Manage My Account, select Update E-Filer Email Noticing and Frequency option under the Maintenance tab.
 

Each attorney of record in a case will receive an email from the court containing a hyperlink to a document that has been filed and can be accessed the first time for free. Attorneys may list multiple email addresses for their filer login so that interested parties can be notified of filings as well.

The link expires after the first use or 15 days, whichever is first. You should print or save the document during the initial viewing period. If you click the link after it has expired or after the first use, you will need to enter your PACER credentials and will be charged to view the document. Contact the court if you have questions or need the notification email resent. 

If the document is for certain case types (e.g., a restricted, Social Security, or immigration case), the system will prompt you to log in. Always enter your CM/ECF credentials for CurrentGen courts and PACER credentials for NextGen courts.

NOTE: As courts convert to the NextGen CM/ECF system, you will only use one login for both PACER and CM/ECF. Find out if your court is using NextGen CM/ECF.

If you click on the case number link, it will display the Docket Report. You will need to log in to PACER to view this report, and you will be charged for access.
 

Certificate of Service is a statement certifying that the party filing the document has sent a copy of the document to the opposing party or attorney. Requirements for Certificates of Service vary depending by circuit. Contact the circuit to determine if there are local rules governing this process. 

The clerk's office reviews attorney filings as part of its quality control procedures. If the deputy clerk finds an error or needs to modify the docket text for the event and the filing, the deputy may make the changes and send a new NDA to the case participants. If you receive a second NDA for a filing and cannot determine the reason for the second notice, please call the office of the clerk from which the notice was sent.

In the past, CJA users had separate PACER accounts for private and CJA work. This is no longer the procedure. You will use the same PACER account for private work and CJA work. CJA users can request that CJA privileges be activated on their PACER account by emailing pacer@psc.uscourts.gov. In your email include your PACER account number and the district in which you have been appointed to the CJA panel. Learn more about turning on your CJA exempt status when performing CJA work in Current and NextGen courts.

NOTE: If you are logged in as a CJA attorney, make sure you are only doing CJA work. Exempt usage is closely monitored by the court, and you will be subject to charges if you are not doing exempt work.