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E-Filing
Electronic filing of court documents, or E-Filing, allows attorneys to submit court documents electronically 24 hours a day, seven days a week. E-Filing will increase efficiencies, provide faster access to the courts and save money.
The Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller’s office began accepting E-Filed documents from attorneys in all civil court divisions on April 1, 2013 (Florida Supreme Court Order SC11-399). Acceptance of E-Filed documents from attorneys in all criminal courts will begin October 1, 2013.
DO NOT FILE A PAPER COPY OF A DOCUMENT THAT HAS BEEN E-FILED.
At this time, pro se filers (individuals representing themselves) are not permitted to E-File court documents.
Register and E-File documents using the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Original Documents
Pursuant to Section 5.3, Florida Supreme Court Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts, original documents, such as death certificates, or those that contain original signatures such as affidavits, deeds, mortgages and wills must be filed manually until further standards have been adopted (Florida Supreme Court Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts: Florida Supreme Court Order SC11-399).
E-Issuance
The Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller’s office is developing functionality for the electronic issuance of documents (“E-Issuance”). This functionality is expected to be available soon. Until this functionality is enabled, the following documents shall be manually submitted:
A. E-Issuance of Summons (expected to be available soon) – Upon electronic submission and payment of the summons, the Clerk will electronically sign and seal the summonses. Once issued, the summons will be electronically returned to the email address of the filer.
B. There are two options for issuing a summons when a new case is E-Filed:
i. Electronically submit the summons and pay the summons fee with the new case through the E-Filing Portal. The Clerk will execute the electronically filed summons and provide a stamped copy either over the counter at any of our offices or will mail it back to the filer if a self-addressed, stamped envelope is submitted with the case number reference.
ii. After receipt of a case number on the electronically filed case, submit the summons in paper form, with payment of the summons fee, over the counter or via mail to the respective court department (with payment of the summons fee) and self-addressed postage paid envelopes.
- Notice of Action
- Certificate of Title
- Writs (include check made payable to the sheriff)
- Documents requiring the Clerk’s signature. These documents must be provided in paper form with the appropriate number of copies and self‐addressed, stamped envelopes for mailing to the parties.
- Documents needing to be mailed by the Clerk’s office (for example, certified mailings in a delinquent tenant action) must be provided in paper form with the appropriate number of copies and self-addressed, stamped envelopes for mailing to the parties.
E-Don'ts – Never E-File the following documents:
- Proposed Orders
- Cover Letters
- Original Documents – refer to Original Documents section above
- Memorandum of Law
E-Tips
- File Date: the “file” date of an E-Filed document is the date and time the E-Filed document is received at the Portal.
- Docketing the E-Filed pleading: each page of an E-Document must still be individually reviewed and redacted. Palm Beach County receives in excess of 5 million court documents each year, totaling more than 15 million pages. The docketing time for an E-Filed pleading is dependent upon the volume of filings received at any given time.
- E-Filing multiple documents: the Portal permits multiple documents for the same case to be filed at one time. NOTE: Do not scan multiple documents together and submit as a single document.
- Emergency Filings: must flag the emergency checkbox on the Portal and follow the requirements of the applicable Emergency Filing Administrative Order
- Envelopes: remember to provide postage paid envelopes when required.
- DO NOT FILE A PAPER COPY OF A DOCUMENT THAT HAS BEEN E-FILED.
- Pro Hac Vice: Please refer to the Florida Bar links Letter from Florida Bar and the FL Bar Web Site
- Notice of Contest: When filing a notice of contest, indicate that it is an emergency by checking the emergency filing box on the ‘File Subsequent Document(s) into an existing case’ screen in the E-Filing Portal.
E-Filing Portal Law Firm Administrator Account Request
Use the form below to request an account for a Law Firm Administrator who will be responsible for creating and maintaining accounts within the firm for E-Filing. Send completed forms to efile@mypalmbeachclerk.com.
E-Filing Portal Law Firm Administrator Account Request Form (PDF)
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Additional Resources
Many of the above documents are PDF and require the free Adobe Reader.
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