SAN DIEGO COUNTY CIVIL E-FILING FAQS
Updated: October 1, 2020

1. Can I eFile documents for a Construction Defect case assigned to San Diego Superior Court using any one of the Court's eFiling providers?

Effective June 2, 2014, mandatory electronic filing through the court's E-File Service Providers, will be required for all Construction Defect Cases, including those previously filed through File&Serve Xpress (fka LexisNexis File&Serve). As of 5:01 p.m. on May 30, 2014, no documents will be allowed to be filed through File&Serve Xpress.

2. How do I enter Does and Roes?

Do not enter Does and Roes as parties. You are only required to enter parties that have been named in the case.

3. Does the party I enter have to match the Complaint verbatim?

Yes. You need to enter the party exactly as it appears on the Complaint.

4. What do I do if my party is named in the action with an "aka", "dba", etc?

Enter the Alternate Name by selecting the appropriate name from the drop down menu. (The only exception is adding an individual as the party with a DBA, as the Organization Name field will not display.

5. When filling out the firm information, can I enter my own email rather than my attorney's email if I would like the court to contact me?

Yes. You may enter either your attorney's email address or your email address, depending upon who you would like the court to contact regarding your filing.

6. Are litigants able to eFile in Limited Civil cases?

Yes, eFiling for imaged Limited Civil cases is available and encouraged by the Court.

7. What types of documents are accepted? Are there any formatting requirements?

The eFiling system converts all standard document types (Word, WordPerfect, Corel, Lotus, TIF, JPEG, for example). into PDF upon upload. The Court requires that users bookmark documents with exhibits. This can be done with Adobe Acrobat or similar applications.

8. What are the document signature requirements?

Per California Rule of Court 2.257, eFiled documents signed under penalty of perjury must be signed on a printed form of the document. eFiled documents NOT signed under penalty of perjury are deemed signed by the party if the document is filed electronically. Documents requiring signatures of opposing parties, such as a stipulation, must be signed on a printed form of the document. A party is not required to use a digital signature on an electronically filed document.

9. Is there a file size limitation for my filing? How large can the file be?

There is a 35 MB limit per document when uploading to the system. There is a 60 MB limit to the total files uploaded per order.

10. How do I know the Court has received my eFiling?

Your eFiling service provider will provide you with an email confirming receipt of your submission along with a transaction identification number for tracking purposes.

11. What cases are ordered as Mandatory eFile?

Provisionally complex case types including Antitrust, Construction Defect, Mass Tort, Environmental/Toxic Tort, & Securities Litigation are ordered as Mandatory

12. How do I eFile documents that must be filed in order for the Court to consider for a hearing scheduled within 48 hours of filing?

If a hearing is set within 48 hours of documents filed, litigant to provide hard copies of documents in court with the eFiling Transaction ID noted in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the document.

13. Are courtesy copies required on any types of filings eFiled?

- If a hearing is set within 48 hours of documents filed, litigant to provide hard copies of documents in court with the eFiling Transaction ID noted in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the document.
- Exhibits to be considered via a Notice of Lodgment shall not be attached to the electronically filed Notice of Lodgment; instead, the submitting party must provide the assigned department with hard copies of the exhibits with a copy of the Notice of Lodgment that includes the eFiling Transaction ID# noted in the upper right hand corner.
- For Construction Defect cases assigned to D62, refer to the department's Policies & Procedures on the court's website for further details regarding courtesy copies.

14. If my case was ordered to Mandatory eFile can I bring originals with me to a hearing for the clerk to file instead of eFiling the documents?

No. Any documents filed in open court must be eFiled afterward.

15. Can I scan multiple documents together and upload as one document?

No. All documents should be filed as stand-alone documents unless filing a Motion. If filing a notice of motion, all documents can be scanned and filed as one document under a filing that most closely captures the type of motion. Please bookmark all filings and exhibits within these filings.

16. Are there any documents or case types that are not eligible for eFiling?

The following filings and/or case types are NOT ELIGIBLE for eFiling:

- Name Change Petitions (Safe at Home)
- Civil Harassment TRO/RO
- Workplace Violence TRO/RO
- Elder Abuse TRO/RO
- Stand-alone exhibits
- Transitional Housing Program Misconduct TRO/RO
- School Violence Prevention TRO/RO
- Out-of-State Commission Subpoenas
- Undertaking/Surety Bonds
- Requests for Payment of Trust Funds
- Notice of Appeal of Labor Commissioner
- Abstracts
- Warrants
- Settlement Conference Briefs (to be lodged)
- Confidential documents lodged conditionally under seal
- Interpleader actions pursuant to CC2924j

17. Should I include punctuation when adding parties to a case?

No. Punctuation should not be included as part of a party's name. The court will delete any commas, periods, etc., which adds processing time to each transaction.

18. If my case was filed prior to March 4, 2013 and has now been designated as a mandatory e-File, am I required to now e-File all of my filings?

For cases of the type subject to mandatory E-Filing that are already pending as of March 3, 2013, and provided that the case has been imaged by the court, all documents filed March 4, 2013 and after must be filed electronically. We will reject any paper filings submitted to the business office after March 4, 2013 on these case types.

19. How do I check the status of my eFiling?

Contact your e-filing service provider for updates.

20. My case is a Mandatory E-Filing case. Why am I receiving notices from the Court via US Mail?

Notices generated by the Court's case management system are mailed via US Mail rather than electronically served to all parties.

21. How are fees collected on stipulations?

When a stipulation is submitted to the Court, staff will review the document to ensure all parties who are stipulating have paid first paper fees. If first paper fees are due, the fee(s) will be collected from the party submitting the document. If first paper fees are not due, the standard stipulation and order fee will be charged.

If the stipulation is submitted via paper and the proper fees are not provided, the filing will be rejected. If the submitting party files the stipulation via e-file, the appropriate fees will be assessed, and it is up to the submitting party to obtain reimbursement of fees from opposing counsel or party(ies).