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Civil eFiling Requirements

The San Bernardino Superior Court’s electronic filing (“eFiling”) requirements for Civil are issued pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6, California Rules of Court, rules 2.250, et seq., and Superior Court of San Bernardino County, Local Rules, rule 1800.

Documents that fail to comply with these requirements or deemed unacceptable for eFiling will be rejected.

PARTICIPATION
Effective October 2, 2023, all court users are permitted to file documents eligible for eFiling in Civil cases through an approved electronic filing service provider (“EFSP”). Civil cases include Limited, Unlimited, and Complex matters, except eFiling for Civil cases at the Barstow and Joshua Tree Districts is restricted to Limited - Landlord Tenant (LLT), unlawful detainer cases only.

REQUIREMENTS FOR E-FILING
eFilers must establish an account with an approved EFSP prior to eFiling with the court. To view the list of approved EFSPs and to create an account, visit http://www.odysseyefileca.com/service-providers.htm.

eFilers must comply with California Rules of Court, rules 2.250-2.261. All documents eFiled must be submitted in PDF format using Adobe Acrobat version 7 or higher, and must be text searchable (i.e., optical character recognition (OCR)). The court cannot accept documents that do not meet the required formatting. The court also cannot accept documents with certain characteristics including, but not limited to: forms with fillable fields, a negative image, or an image that is saved as an object on the filed document. When using Judicial Council fillable forms, fields must be inactivated and no longer fillable before submission.

eFilers must maintain originals of all documents that are eFiled with the court, including but not limited to, documents containing signatures pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 2.257. Electronic signatures on eFiled documents must comply with the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6(e)(2) and California Rules of Court, rule 2.257.

Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 1.201(a), unless otherwise required by law, only the last four digits of a social security or financial account number may be reflected in court filings. Exclusion or redaction to satisfy this rule is the responsibility of the eFiler, not the Clerk of the Court. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.201(b).) Failure to comply with this requirement may result in monetary sanctions pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 2.30(b).

To maintain confidentiality and ensure all redactions are appropriately applied, it is important that the submitting party remove all metadata. Metadata is hidden information embedded within a document that may reveal a document’s revision history, earlier drafts, information about the document’s author, file name, file path, date of creation, etc. This information is still available and accessible even if the document was converted to a PDF. It is the submitting party’s responsibility to familiarize themselves with metadata and how to properly remove it.

Any document received electronically by the court between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. is deemed to have been filed on that court day if accepted for filing. Any document received electronically on a non-court day is deemed to have been filed on the next court day if accepted for filing. A document is “received electronically” on the date and time a confirmation of the court’s receipt of the electronic transmission is created.

If notice is required or permitted under the Code of Civil Procedure, electronic service is governed by Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6, and California Rules of Court, rule 2.251.

MAXIMUM FILE SIZE
There is a 25 MB document limit and a 50 MB filing limit for eFile submissions. No single document can be larger than 25 MB and no group of documents can be larger than 50 MB on a single eFile submission. Contact your EFSP for assistance in optimizing your files.

GENERAL CIVIL MOTIONS
General civil motion hearing date and times must be reserved before eFiling. A general civil motion eFiled without a reserved motion hearing date and time will be rejected. (This requirement does not apply to Unlawful Detainer (LLT) cases.)

EXHIBITS & ELECTRONIC BOOKMARKS
Electronic exhibits must meet the requirements in California Rules of Court, rule 2.256(b). Unless submitted by a self-represented party, electronic exhibits must include electronic bookmarks with links to the first page of each exhibit and titles that identify the exhibit number or letter and briefly describe the exhibit. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1110(f)(4).)

The Court encourages the use of electronic bookmarks in electronic documents for each heading, subheading, and document components, such as table of contents, table of authorities, declaration, and proof of service, if included.

COLOR SCANNED DOCUMENTS
When submissions need to be scanned in color, color scanning resolution should be set at 300 dpi to ensure effective upload and adequate capacity for storage. This setting can be adjusted through the scanner settings menu, under scan resolution.

PROPOSED ORDERS & PROPOSED JUDGMENTS:
Proposed orders and proposed judgments should be eFiled as a separate document. The proof of service should not be attached to the proposed order/judgment; instead, the proof of service should be submitted electronically as a separate document. The order or judgment will not appear on the court’s website as filed unless it has been signed by the Judge. At this time, the court only requires the eFiler to electronically file a proposed order/judgment in a PDF format; an editable word-processing version pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 3.1312(c)(2), is not required.

DOCUMENTS INELIGIBLE FOR eFILING
The following documents are not eligible for eFiling:

  • At Barstow and Joshua Tree Districts: All civil filings except for Unlawful Detainer (LLT) cases
  • Abstracts/Writs
  • Appeal filings
  • Bench Warrants
  • Civil harassment restraining order proceedings that include a request to keep minor’s information confidential at the time of case initiation (otherwise civil harassment restraining order proceedings may be electronically filed)
  • Copy/Certification/Exemplification requests
  • Default Judgment Packets (except for Unlawful Detainer (LLT) cases)
  • Documents filed under seal or provisionally under seal pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 2.551 (although the motion to file under seal itself and redacted documents may be electronically filed)
  • Documents for in camera review
  • Documents in sealed cases, including False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12650, et seq.) and actions under Insurance Code § 1871.7, while cases are under seal
  • Ex parte applications
  • Exhibits that are physical objects and that may not be comprehensibly viewed in an electronic format
  • Exhibits to be offered at a trial or evidentiary hearing
  • Firearms Petitions under Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 8102 or 8103
  • Lodged documents, including Administrative Records and the Notice of Lodgment
  • Mandatory Settlement Conference Briefs and Mediation Briefs
  • Notice of Appeal of Labor Commissioner if person initiating will deposit cash/check (For Labor Commissioner Appeals in which person will be depositing a bond/undertaking, see Civil eFiling FAQs)
  • Order to Appear for Examination of Judgment Debtor (ORAP)
  • Out-of-State Commissions/Subpoenas
  • Peremptory challenges or challenges for cause of a judicial officer pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sections 170.1 and 170.3
  • Petition to compromise claims of a minor or person with disability if filed within an existing Civil case
  • Renewal of Judgments (except for Unlawful Detainer (LLT) cases)
  • Request to File New Litigation by Vexatious Litigant
  • Safe At Home Name Change Petitions (all filings in case type)
  • Subpoenas and subpoenaed documents
  • Undertaking/Surety Bonds (Except for Labor Commissioner Appeals in which person initiating has obtained a bond/undertaking, see Civil eFiling FAQs)
  • Writs of Habeas Corpus

PUBLIC ACCESS TO eFILED DOCUMENTS
Documents uploaded to an EFSP to be filed with the court may be immediately accessible to the press and members of the public, even though the documents have not been, and may never be, received or accepted for filing by the court and recorded on its register of actions. Case information or documents assigned to filing codes with document security designated as confidential will have restricted public access at the level required for the case type or document. No case information or case documents are available to the public or the press if the entire case is deemed confidential or sealed. It is the sole responsibility of the eFiler to properly assign the filing code, and thereby the document security level for all eFiled documents. Documents to be filed under seal or conditionally under seal may not be eFiled. (See California Rules of Court, rules 2.550 et seq. for procedures for filing records under seal). The court does not audit or review eFiled documents to determine whether they should be excluded from public access and is not responsible or liable for any improperly designated eFiled documents.