UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA

CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES (CM/ECF)

POLICY STATEMENT

REVISION TO POLICY STATEMENT 6

Effective December 1, 2019

(Ver. 11/25/19)

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA

CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES (CM/ECF)

POLICY STATEMENT

CM/ECF POLICY 1 ̶ DESIGNATION OF CASES; APPLICATION; AND WAIVER

(A) Designation of Cases: Consistent with <<LBR 5005-2>>, the provisions of the Court’s CM/ECF

Policy shall apply to all cases and proceedings filed on and after the effective date of any amendment

to <<LBR 5005-2(A)>>, and to any previously filed cases and proceedings pending or closed.

(B) Application: Pursuant to CM/ECF Policy 2(A)(1)(a), a registered Electronic Case Files System

(hereafter “ECF System”) User with full privileges shall electronically file all petitions, motions,

memoranda of law, or other pleadings and documents (hereafter “documents”) with the Clerk

according to the CM/ECF Policy. Pursuant to CM/ECF Policy 2(A)(2)(b), a governmental unit or

institutional entity, as a User with limited privileges, shall electronically file the documents specified

therein according to the CM/ECF Policy. These electronic filing requirements, however, are subject

to the waiver provision set forth in Paragraph (C) below and in exceptional circumstances that

prevent a User from filing documents electronically. A User shall abide by all of the requirements set

forth in the CM/ECF Policy. An entity without legal representation that is not a governmental unit or

institutional entity may electronically file a document(s) as specified at CM/ECF Policy 2(A)(2)(a).

to File by flash drive due to financial constraints and the inability to access the equipment necessary

to comply with the requirements set forth at Paragraph (B) above. An attorney who is not able to file

a document(s) on a flash drive shall file on paper and, further, shall scan the paper document(s) to a

flash drive that is available to the Bar and public in the public areas of each division of the Court.

CM/ECF POLICY 2 ̶ ELIGIBILITY; REGISTRATION WITHDRAWAL; AND

PASSWORDS

(A) Eligibility: Those attorneys who intend to practice in the Court and entities that intend, or are

required, to file documents with the Clerk, are eligible to become a registered User as follows:

(1) Registration with Full Privileges; Pro Hac Vice Admission

(a) Generally: An attorney admitted to practice in this Court or an attorney

representing the United States Government, any State, or Trustee shall register to become a

User with full privileges to file documents electronically. All trustees appointed or elected,

examiners, consumer privacy ombudsmen and patient care ombudsmen shall register to

become a User with full privileges to file documents electronically.

(b) Pro Hac Vice Admission: Out-of-District counsel that are admitted pro hac vice

also shall register for document filing purposes, but such filings first must be endorsed

by local counsel, as provided for in <<LBR 2090-1>>, who are ECF System Users.

Upon termination of the case or action to which counsel has been admitted pro hac vice,

counsel shall notify the Clerk forthwith that counsel should be removed as a User.

(2) Registration with Limited Privileges

(a) Generally: An entity may register to become a User with limited privileges in the

ECF System for the purpose of filing or withdrawing a proof of claim, notice of mortgage

payment change, notice of postpetition mortgage fees, expenses, and charges, response to a

notice of final cure payment, request for notices or notice/service, notice of appearance,

reaffirmation agreement, creditor change of address, transfer of claim, or Official Form 423

with the Clerk.

(b) Governmental Unit or Institutional Entity: A governmental unit or institutional

entity that is not represented by counsel shall register to become a User with limited

privileges to file electronically those documents specified at CM/ECF Policy 2(A)(2)(a).

contract court reporter shall register to become a User with limited privileges solely for the

purpose of filing transcripts of court proceedings electronically with the Clerk as provided for

in <<Standing Order No.09-3>>. Any other individual designated to produce the transcript

also shall register to become a User with limited privileges solely for the purpose of filing

transcripts of court proceedings electronically with the Clerk.

(d) Approved Post-Petition Personal Financial Management Course Provider: A postpetition personal financial management course provider approved by the United States Trustee

Program shall register to become a User with limited privileges solely for the purpose of filing

a completed Official Form 423 as provided for in <<Standing Order No. 13-5>>.

(B) Registration: The Clerk will prescribe the appropriate registration form. Unless otherwise

directed by the Clerk, the prescribed registration form shall be mailed or hand-delivered to the Clerk’s

Office.

ECF System.

(D) Login and Password

(1) Requirements to Receive Login and Password: Each User will receive a login and

password upon submission of the registration form and completion of ECF System training

on-line or live, with an employee of the Clerk’s Office, or completion of such training in

another bankruptcy court in which the User is certified to use the ECF System.

(2) Proper Use of Password: Any password issued for the ECF System shall be used exclusively

by the User to whom the password is assigned and any employee to whom proper authorization is

given. A User will not knowingly permit a password to be used by anyone not so authorized.

Use of a login and password constitute the official signature of the User on all documents filed.

(3) Password Security: A User agrees to select and activate a new password to protect the

security of the password and immediately to notify the Clerk if a password has been compromised.

CM/ECF POLICY 2.1 – DEBTOR ELECTRONIC BANKRUPTCY NOTICING

(A) Eligibility to Receive Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing: Debtors are eligible to participate in Debtor

Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing (DeBN).

(B) Completion and Submission of Debtor’s Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing Request: An eligible

debtor will complete and file with the Court a Debtor’s Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing Request (DeBN

Request) on a form provided by the Clerk for this purpose. Each DeBN Request must indicate whether

the debtor is:

(1) creating a new DeBN account to begin receiving court-generated notices and orders via

email pursuant Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9036,

(2) updating or reactivating an existing DeBN account, or

(3) deactivating an existing DeBN account.

been properly completed, signed, and filed.

(D) Service on Debtors who Request DeBN: A debtor who requests service through DeBN, via email

delivery, of court-generated notices and orders, pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9036,

only consents to service of such notices and orders from the Court through the Bankruptcy Noticing

Center. All other parties, including creditors, attorneys, and trustees, must serve documents upon debtors

according to applicable court rules (by U.S. mail, overnight mail, or personal delivery).

(E) DeBN Page on Court’s Internet Web Site: The Clerk will cause the creation of a DeBN page on the

Court’s Internet web site. As needed, that page will be updated. Debtors shall adhere to all applicable

requirements, as set forth on the DeBN page and otherwise accessible from that page.

CM/ECF POLICY 3 ̶ ELECTRONIC FILING; GENERALLY

(A) Effect of Electronic Filing: Consistent with the Court’s CM/ECF Policy, electronic transmission

of a document to the ECF System, together with the transmission of a Notice of Electronic Filing

from the Court, constitutes filing of the document for all purposes of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy

Procedure and the Local Bankruptcy Rules of this Court and further constitutes entry of the document

on the docket kept by the Clerk under FRBP 5003.

(B) Electronically Filed Document Constituting Official Record: When a document has been filed

electronically, the official record is the electronic recording of the document as stored by the Court,

and the User is bound by the document as filed. A document filed electronically is deemed filed at

the date and time stated on the Notice of Electronic Filing from the Court.

for that document. Filing must be completed before midnight local time where the Court is located in

order to be considered timely filed that day.

(D) Fees Payable to the Clerk: For document filings that require a fee, payment by a User shall be

made electronically by means of on-line credit card payment. Fee payments shall be made in

accordance with the on-line credit card processing procedure set forth in the <<CM/ECF Users’

Guides>> page and accessible through the Court’s <<CM/ECF web site>>. For a non-User, current

rules for methods of payment must be followed for filings that require a fee.

(E) Document Size and Scanner Settings: Electronically filed documents should not be more than

10 megabytes in size. Transmission time for filing documents electronically is time sensitive. For

security reasons, filings that take more than 5 minutes to transmit will cause the ECF System to time

out. A scanned document, or a portion thereof, shall not exceed 8½ by 11 inches.

(1) Bitonal (1-bit) scanned at 300 ppi: This is appropriate for documents that consist

exclusively of clean printed type possessing high inherent contrast (e.g., laser printed or

typeset on a white background).

(2) Gray scale (8-bit) scanned at 300 ppi: This is appropriate for textual documents of poor

legibility because of low inherent contrast, staining or fading (e.g., carbon copies,

thermofax, or documents with handwritten annotations or other markings), or that

contain halftone illustrations or photographs.

(3) Color (24-bit RGB [Red, Green, Blue]) scanned at 300 ppi: Color mode (if technically

available) is appropriate for text containing color information important to interpretation

or content.

If making these adjustments does not reduce the filing size to 10 megabytes, the document(s)

must be split into its component parts (e.g., main document and exhibits) or into sections.

The document(s) should be split into the smallest number of component parts or sections

possible, consistent with the 10-megabyte limit. If this method does not provide an adequate

solution, the filer shall make suitable arrangements with the Clerk to file the document(s).

CM/ECF POLICY 4 ̶ ENTRY OF COURT-ISSUED DOCUMENTS

(A) Entry of Orders, Judgments, Decrees and Proceedings of the Court: Orders, judgments,

decrees and proceedings of the Court shall be entered in accordance with the CM/ECF Policy and

will constitute entry on the docket kept by the Clerk under FRBP 5003 and FRBP 9021. All signed

orders and judgments will be entered electronically by the Court or court personnel. Orders also may

be issued as “text-only” entries on the docket, without an attached document. Such orders are official

and binding.

(B) Submission via E-Mail Attachment: A User shall submit an order(s) as a PDF e-mail

attachment in accordance with the order processing procedure set forth in the Bankruptcy Orders

Processing Solution (BOPS) materials, located on the <<CM/ECF Users’ Guides>> page and

accessible through the Court’s <<CM/ECF web site>>. The order proponent shall file a list of

parties, with mailing addresses indicated, who are to receive notice of entry of the order and shall

comply with all other requirements of endorsement or proof of service set forth in <<LBR 9022-1>>.

The list of parties shall be furnished in the appropriate format provided in the order processing

procedure set forth in the BOPS materials, located on the <<CM/ECF Users’ Guides>> page and

accessible through the Court’s <<CM/ECF web site>>.

submit a flash drive containing the proposed order to the Clerk. The order shall be submitted in either

Microsoft Word or WordPerfect format together with any attachment, exhibit or related document.

The order proponent shall file a list of parties, with mailing addresses indicated, who are to receive

notice of entry of the order and shall comply with all other requirements of endorsement or proof of

service set forth in <<LBR 9022-1>>. The list of parties shall be furnished in the appropriate format

provided in the order processing procedure as set forth in the BOPS materials, located on the

<<CM/ECF Users’ Guides>> page and accessible through the Court’s <<CM/ECF web site>>.

(D) Entry of Signed Orders: Except as the presiding judge in a case otherwise may direct, all signed

orders shall be entered electronically by the Clerk or presiding judge in the case. All orders,

judgments, decrees, and proceedings of the Court will be entered in accordance with the CM/ECF

Policy, which shall constitute entry on the docket record kept by the Clerk under FRBP 5003 and for

purposes of FRBP 9021.

(E) Notice of Electronic Filing: Immediately following the entry of an order, judgment, decree or

proceeding of the court on the docket, the ECF System will transmit to attorney Users in the case, in

electronic form, a Notice of Electronic Filing. Electronic transmission of the Notice of Electronic

Filing, with a hyperlink to the document, constitutes the notice required by FRBP 9022. As part of

the registration process to become a User, an attorney must provide an e-mail address to the Clerk. In

so doing, and consistent with FRBP 9036, the attorney User is deemed to have requested, in writing,

to receive notice and service of documents by electronic transmission. The Clerk will provide notice

through the Bankruptcy Noticing Center to any party who is a non-attorney User in the ECF System

as set forth on the list of parties filed with the order.

(F) Summons: The Clerk may sign, seal and issue a summons electronically, although a summons

may not be served electronically.

CM/ECF POLICY 5 ̶ ATTACHMENTS AND EXHIBITS

Except as the presiding judge in a case otherwise may direct, a User shall submit all documents

referenced as exhibits or attachments in electronic form in the format specified in the <<Notice of

Electronic Filing Procedure>> as set forth in the <<CM/ECF Users’ Guides>> page accessible

through the Court’s <<CM/ECF web site>>. All documents with exhibits and attachments capable of

electronic imaging and filing shall be electronically filed together under one entry number. Trial

exhibits shall be filed in paper form in accordance with <<LBR 9070-1>>.

CM/ECF POLICY 6 ̶ SEALED DOCUMENTS; MOTION TO REDACT A PREVIOUSLY

FILED DOCUMENT

(A) Except as the presiding judge otherwise may direct, documents ordered to be filed under seal

shall be filed in the ECF System in accordance with the CM/ECF Policy. A motion to file a

document(s) under seal shall be filed electronically without inclusion or attachment of the

confidential information or document(s) containing such confidential information. The Court may

require that paper copies of the document(s) proposed for filing under seal be submitted in a sealed

envelope prior to ruling on the motion. Upon granting of the motion, the order shall require the User

to file the protected information or document(s) electronically, using the sealed document docketing

event in the ECF System.

(B) A Motion to Redact a Previously Filed Document must be filed and served in accordance with

Rule 9037 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and its Committee Note, including, except

as the Court otherwise may direct, identifying all required information that is set forth in that Rule

and submitting the proposed redacted document as a separately filed attachment to the Motion, rather

than including the document as part of the Motion itself.

CM/ECF POLICY 7 ̶ RETENTION REQUIREMENTS

(A) Retention of Electronically Filed Documents: Documents that are electronically filed and

require original signatures shall be maintained by the User until 3 years after the closing of the case.

If in the ordinary course of the User’s business, the User maintains imaged copies of that person’s

records, the user may retain an imaged copy in lieu of the document with the original signature to the

same extent that the User otherwise retains imaged records in the ordinary course of the User’s

business. Upon request of the Court, the User shall provide such originally executed document or

imaged record, as the case may be, for review.

(B) Retention of Paper Documents by the Clerk’s Office: The Clerk’s Office only will retain paper

documents that are filed until they are scanned and docketed into the official Court record, which is

the electronic file maintained on the Court’s servers.

CM/ECF POLICY 8 ̶ SIGNATURES

(A) General Requirements: All filings, which (1) must contain original signatures, (2) require

verification under FRBP 1008, or (3) contain an unsworn declaration as provided in 28 U.S.C. §1746,

shall be filed electronically or in accordance with the <<Notice of Electronic Filing Procedure>>. An

electronic filing by a User constitutes that person’s signature under FRBP 9011 and <<LBR 50051(C)(4)>>.

(B) Form of Signature of Attorney User and Non-Attorney User: For purposes of FRBP 9011, the

document shall indicate a signature of the attorney or non-attorney User in the form “/s/” followed by

the typewritten full name of the User, e.g., Jane Doe. In addition, for purposes of <<LBR 50051(C)(5)>>, the attorney User shall provide that person’s State Bar number, complete mailing address,

telephone number and the name of the party the attorney represents.

(2) require verification under FRBP 1008, or (3) contain an unsworn declaration as specified at 28

U.S.C §1746, shall be submitted with full original signatures.

CM/ECF POLICY 9 ̶ SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS

(A) User’s E-Mail Address: A User shall maintain a current and active e-mail address to receive

notification in the ECF System.

(B) Notice of Electronic Filing: The Notice of Electronic Filing that is automatically generated by

the Court’s ECF System constitutes notice and service of the filed document on an attorney User. A

non-attorney User shall be provided notice or service of any electronically filed document, in paper

form, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the Court’s Local

Bankruptcy Rules.

electronically, indicating that service upon the parties and attorney(s), if any, who are Users was

accomplished through the Notice of Electronic Filing and indicating how service upon any non-User

party and attorney, if any, was accomplished.

(D) Service of Flash Drive and Paper Filings: Except as the presiding judge otherwise may direct,

documents that are filed on flash drive or paper, shall be filed in the manner provided for, and on

those parties entitled to notice, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, the

Local Bankruptcy Rules and this CM/ECF Policy.

CM/ECF POLICY 10 –TECHNICAL FAILURES

A User who cannot access the ECF System must contact the appropriate divisional office, confirm

that the ECF System is not accessible and arrange to file the document(s) by other means. A User,

whose filing is not timely as the result of a technical failure, may seek appropriate relief from the

Court.

CM/ECF POLICY 11 – PUBLIC ACCESS

(A) Internet Access: Any entity may access the ECF System by obtaining a login and password

issued by the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) Center. Registration may be made

on-line at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov or by calling the PACER Service Center at (800) 676-6856 or

(210) 301-6440. Such access is limited to viewing, saving, and printing docket sheets and

documents.

(B) Public Access at the Court: During regular business hours, electronic access is available at each

division of the Court, at no charge, for viewing documents and docket records filed in the ECF

System.

records, are assessed in accordance with the fees and procedures established by the Judicial

Conference of the United States Courts.

(D) Antiviral Software: A User retrieving and/or filing a document(s) shall utilize antiviral software

that is updated on a daily basis, at all locations from which the ECF System is accessed for such

purposes. All flash drives also shall be scanned for viruses and worms before they are submitted for

filing to the Clerk or submitted to a judge for any purpose.

CM/ECF POLICY 12 – HYPERLINKS

(A) Electronically Filed Documents Containing Hyperlinks: Electronically filed documents may

contain hyperlinks to other portions of the same document and hyperlinks to a location on the Internet

that contains a source document for a citation.

(B) Hyperlinks to Cited Authority: Hyperlinks to cited authority may not replace standard citation

format. Complete citations shall be included in the text of the filed document. Neither a hyperlink,

nor any site to which it refers, shall be considered part of the record. Hyperlinks are simply

convenient mechanisms for accessing material cited in a filed document.

product, organization, or content at any hyperlinked site, or at any site to which that site may be

linked. The Court accepts no responsibility for the availability or functionality of any hyperlink.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.