Follow the procedures and processes described in the Court’s CM/ECF User Manual available on the Court’s website.  There are also several case opening and other e-filing training videos and additional resources available.  Questions may be directed to the Clerk’s Office by calling any divisional office intake counter during normal business hours.

Filers may be asked if the complaint is accompanied with a request for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction.  If yes, after you have completed the transaction to electronically file your complaint (and, as appropriate, IFP Application), electronically file your motion request by clicking Civil on the blue tool bar, then the Motions menu, and selecting the appropriate relief type(s) from the Available Events list.

You should contact the Clerk’s Office to report any mistakes made during the opening of the case so that corrective action may be taken.  All new cases, including the statistical information supplied during case opening and all parties named in the case initiating documents will be quality checked by staff in the Clerk’s Office against the documents uploaded in CM/ECF.  Additional actions, including entry of administrative corrections of the record or other judicial action, may be necessary to correct the Court’s record. 

In the District of Oregon, the maximum file size for any individual PDF file uploaded into CM/EFC is 10 megabytes (MB).  If you need to break up a submission into smaller files, remember that multiple PDF files can be associated with a single event or filing.

Follow the Conventions and Standards section in the CM/ECF User Manual when entering parties.  Do not create a new party in the Court’s database if a party’s name perfectly matches an existing party record.  Select the matching party record if the character strings for the existing party record match the typed name of the party in your case.  You are not required to verify that the matching names refer to the same person.  If a matching party record does not exist, create a new party by clicking on the Create New Party button.

In compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2, all filers must redact:

• Dates of Birth – redact to the year of birth;
• Names of Minor Children – redact to the initials;
• Social Security Numbers or Taxpayer Identification Numbers – redact to the last four digits; and
• Finance Accounting Information – redact to the last four digits.

Yes.  The responsibility to redact filings pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2 rests with the attorney and the party making the filing.  Please note that, pursuant to LR 5.2, the Clerk’s Office is not required to review documents filed with the Court for compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2. 

The Clerk’s Office will download and electronically issue the proposed summons that the plaintiff uploaded as an attachment to the complaint.  The plaintiff will receive an NEF for the issued summons and must print the summons(es) for service on the defendant(s).  In addition to service of the summons and complaint, plaintiff is reminded of the additional service requirements for the case assignment notice, consent to jurisdiction by a magistrate judge forms, and scheduling order as required in LR 3-5 and described in LR 16-1.

As of April 2, 2012, an attorney must electronically file a new civil case unless the case is to be sealed or is accompanied by a motion to seal, or if the attorney is not yet a Registered User in this Court. 

 The divisions of court and corresponding counties and codes established to identify divisional venue are in LR 3-2 as:

1. Portland Division (Division Code is 3)
   Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Hood River, Jefferson, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Wasco, Washington, and Yamhill.
2. Pendleton Division (Division Code is 2)
   Baker, Crook, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, and Wheeler.
3. Eugene Division (Division Code is 6)
   Benton, Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, and Marion.
4. Medford Division (Division Code is 1)
   Curry, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, and Lake. 

A judicial officer will be assigned to the case upon the completed filing of the complaint or other case initiating document.  There are limited circumstances in which the assignment of the judge may occur following the case opening process by the Clerk’s Office.  You will receive a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) as the Clerk’s Office staff enters the Discovery and Pretrial Scheduling Order and Case Assignment Notice on the docket when processing the newly filed case.

When representing a party wishing to proceed in forma pauperis, file the IFP Application as the next event following the complaint.  Pursuant to LR 3-4(b), the Application will be conditionally granted and will not delay the filing, assignment, and statistical opening of the case pending final review of the application by the Court.

Pay the filing fee by credit card via Pay.gov during the filing of the complaint, petition, or notice of removal transaction.  The Pay.gov screens will not appear for those filers who indicate that they are concurrently filing an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP Application) or filing a new case on behalf of the United States of America. 

Contact the Clerk’s Office for assistance Monday-Friday, during normal business hours.

• For Portland and Pendleton cases, call 503-326-8000
• For Eugene cases, call 541-431-4100
• For Medford cases, call 541-608-8777

The Clerk’s Office will complete its case opening process, including the issuance of summons and generation of scheduling orders, on the next regular business day after a case has been opened electronically.

Yes.  Case initiating documents may be filed electronically at any time, and you may also pay the filing fee or apply for IFP status electronically when you initiate your case.

An attorney can open a new civil case electronically according to procedures described in the CM/ECF User Manual and summarized in the Filing Checklist.  When you open a new case, you will enter data concerning the filing party and attorney, file case initiating documents, and pay the filing fee or apply for in forma pauper status.  During this process, you are to include a Civil Cover Sheet and may also submit a completed summons form to the Court.

No.  Sealed cases and criminal cases must be opened in paper.

Effective April 2, 2012, attorneys who are Registered Users can electronically open their new civil cases in CM/ECF.  On May 1, 2012, all attorneys who are Registered Users must electronically open any new civil cases. Self-represented parties (including prisoners) are not permitted to open new cases electronically.

There is no charge for filing an answer in the US District Court.

CM/ECF has only been tested with Firefox 1.5 and 2.0 and Internet Explorer 6 and 7. Many users have reported success using other versions of these browsers, as well. Unfortunately, Safari is not supported at this time. Mac users may use the Mac version of Firefox to access CM/ECF.

If you are using a supported browser try deleting all your cookies and flushing your cache and try again. Here are some detailed instructions on how to do this for many different browsers.

Finally, if you've forgotten your username and/or password please call the Login and Password Help Desk at (503) 326-8000.

Newly-admitted attorneys register for CM/ECF by completing the registration form contained in their Attorney Admissions Application packet.  If you are already a member of the Oregon Federal Bar, but have not previously registered for the CM/ECF system, you can register by completing and submitting the CM/ECF Registration form found on our website.

You can access CM/ECF through the District Court website, or by going to www.ecf.ord.uscourts.gov.  Click on the "Document Filing System" link and then enter your District of Oregon specific CM/ECF login and password.  Practice Tip:  When filing, the client code box should be left blank.