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E-Filing Format Standards

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E-Filing Format Standards

Every e-filing system enforces its own margins, fonts, page limits, and signature conventions before it looks at the substance of a filing. These are representative, commonly-cited standards — confirm exact current values against the specific court’s local rules or e-filing user manual before relying on them for an actual filing.

Federal courts (PACER / CM-ECF)

Federal district and appellate courts run on the CM-ECF (Case Management / Electronic Case Files) system, with PACER as the public-facing access layer. Local rules vary by district, but CM-ECF’s technical requirements are consistent nationwide.

Document format

  • file type: PDF, text-searchable (not a scanned image) whenever the filer generated the document
  • PDF/A is preferred by several districts for long-term archival
  • font: any legible font at 12-point or larger for body text; Times New Roman and Century Schoolbook are common defaults
  • margins: 1 inch on all sides is the near-universal default
  • line spacing: double-spaced body text in most districts’ local rules for briefs
  • file size: many districts cap individual PDF uploads at 25–50 MB per file; oversized filings are split into parts

Page and word limits

  • page/word limits are set by local rule or scheduling order, not by CM-ECF itself
  • a common federal appellate default (FRAP 32) is 13,000 words for a principal brief, or 30 pages if using the page-count safe harbor
  • district-court motion page limits commonly run 20–30 pages absent a court order permitting more

Redaction and privacy

  • Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 requires redaction of Social Security numbers, taxpayer ID numbers, birth dates, minors’ names, and financial account numbers before filing
  • filers submit only the last four digits of SSNs and financial account numbers, and only the year of a birth date, unless the court orders otherwise
  • sealed or restricted documents follow the district’s specific sealing procedure — CM-ECF supports both fully sealed and redacted-public-version filings

E-signature convention

  • CM-ECF accepts /s/ Attorney Name in place of a handwritten signature on the electronically filed document
  • the filer’s own CM-ECF login credentials are treated as the equivalent of a signature under most local rules
  • multiple-signature documents (stipulations, joint filings) typically require either all filers to be registered CM-ECF users or a scanned signature page for non-filing signatories

California state courts

California trial courts use e-filing through court-approved electronic filing service providers (EFSPs), coordinated under the Judicial Council’s statewide e-filing rules (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.250 et seq.).

Document format

  • file type: PDF, text-searchable
  • font: 12-point minimum, Courier, Times New Roman, or Arial commonly accepted (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.104)
  • margins: 1 inch on all sides, with a 2.5-inch top margin on the first page of pleadings for the caption block (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.108)
  • line spacing: double-spaced, no more than 28 lines per page on pleading paper (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.108)

Page and word limits

  • memoranda of points and authorities are limited to 15 pages absent a stipulation or court order (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1113)
  • some counties’ EFSPs impose their own upload size caps (commonly 25–35 MB per document)

Redaction and privacy

  • California Rules of Court, rule 1.201, requires redaction of the same categories as federal Rule 5.2 — SSNs, financial account numbers, and minors’ names in family-law matters
  • sealed records require a noticed motion and court order under rule 2.550/2.551

E-signature convention

  • /s/ Attorney Name is accepted for the filing attorney’s signature on the e-filed document
  • some EFSPs require the attorney’s State Bar number directly beneath the signature block

New York state courts (NYSCEF)

New York’s trial and appellate courts use NYSCEF (New York State Courts Electronic Filing system).

Document format

  • file type: PDF, text-searchable
  • font: 12-point minimum for body text (22 NYCRR § 202.5 and related Uniform Rules)
  • margins: 1 inch on all sides is standard practice, though NYSCEF itself does not enforce margins at upload — the local court’s rules do
  • file size: NYSCEF caps individual document uploads, commonly around 25 MB

Page and word limits

  • affirmations, affidavits, and memoranda of law are commonly capped at 7,000 words or 25 pages under the Uniform Rules for trial courts, subject to individual part rules
  • Commercial Division parts frequently impose their own tighter page limits by individual rule

Redaction and privacy

  • 22 NYCRR § 202.5(e) requires redaction of SSNs, financial account numbers, and dates of birth to the same partial-disclosure standard as the federal rule
  • confidential filings use NYSCEF’s “sealed” document designation rather than public upload

E-signature convention

  • /s/ Attorney Name is accepted, and NYSCEF’s login-based filing is itself treated as the attorney’s signature under the Uniform Rules
  • some Commercial Division parts require the attorney’s registration number appear beneath the signature line

Texas state courts (eFileTexas)

Texas uses a centralized statewide e-filing portal, eFileTexas, built on the Tyler Technologies File & Serve platform, mandatory for attorneys in civil cases under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21.

Document format

  • file type: PDF, text-searchable preferred
  • font: 12-point minimum for body text, 10-point minimum for footnotes (Tex. R. App. P. 9.4 for appellate filings)
  • margins: 1 inch on all sides (Tex. R. App. P. 9.4)
  • line spacing: no strict statewide line-spacing rule for trial-court filings; double-spacing is customary

Page and word limits

  • appellate briefs are commonly capped at 15,000 words for a principal brief (Tex. R. App. P. 9.4)
  • trial-court motion page limits are set by local or individual judge’s rules, not statewide rule

Redaction and privacy

  • Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21c requires the same partial-redaction categories as the federal rule — SSNs, financial account numbers, birth dates, minors’ names
  • sensitive data is filed as a separate, restricted “Notice of Confidential Information” filing in some counties rather than redacted inline

E-signature convention

  • /s/ Attorney Name is accepted; eFileTexas also supports a typed name treated as the electronic signature equivalent under Tex. R. Civ. P. 21
  • the filer’s eFileTexas account credentials serve as the underlying authentication

Cross-system checklist

  • confirm text-searchable PDF, not a flattened scan, before upload
  • confirm margins and font against the specific court’s local rule, not just the statewide default
  • redact SSNs, financial account numbers, and birth dates to the last-four/year-only standard before filing publicly
  • use /s/ Attorney Name (plus bar number where required) in place of a wet signature
  • confirm the file-size cap for the specific EFSP or CM-ECF district before a large exhibit packet is assembled