New York County - Manhattan

Electronic Filing in the Commercial Division

All commercial, contract, and tort cases, without regard to the amount in controversy, that are commenced in Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County on or after February 27, 2012 must be initiated by filing the commencement documents electronically with the County Clerk through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System ("NYSCEF"). With very narrow exceptions, commencement documents presented to the County Clerk in hard copy form will not be accepted. See Uniform Rules 202.5-bb and 202.5 (d) (1). After a case has been commenced electronically, personal jurisdiction shall be obtained by service of commencement papers in hard copy in the normal manner, together with a Notice of Commencement of Mandatory E-Filed Case (accessible in the "Forms" section of the NYSCEF website (www.nycourts.gov/efile)). Thereafter, all documents, with very limited exceptions, must be e-filed with NYSCEF.

Certain commercial actions commenced in New York County Supreme Court on or after May 24, 2010 and before February 27, 2012 must be commenced and pursued electronically.

Requirements governing mandatory e-filing are set out in Rule 202.5-bb. The Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County has promulgated a Protocol on Courthouse Procedures in Electronically Filed Cases, which explains how the e-filing program is implemented. The Protocol is available on the "E-Filing" page at the main website of New York County Supreme Court, Civil Branch, at the following address: www.nycourts.gov/courts/1jd/supctmanh/E-Filing.shtml

The NYSCEF website contains a User's Manual and FAQ's. The application includes a training utility, which allows attorneys to practice using the NYSCEF program in fictitious cases.

Live training is also available for those who may feel the need for it. The Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County presents a training course twice weekly at 60 Centre Street. The course is two hours long, with two CLE credits awarded to attending attorneys at no charge. Attorneys may register for the course by going to the "Training" link on the NYSCEF website.

To obtain an ID and Password or for additional information, attorneys should contact the E-Filing Resource Center at 646-386-3033 or
e-file@courts.state.ny.us.