Frequently Asked Questions

Customers place their orders through our website at www.onelegal.com and can then submit documents via fax, upload or a combination of the two. Our new and improved system makes the ordering process more efficient.

One of the primary benefits is that documents can be submitted for court filing, court research & document retrieval and process service right from your desk using your computer. Since the orders are tracked through our online system, there's no longer a need for follow-up phone calls — we provide status updates via email as your order moves through our system. You'll receive an email when your order is first received and once it is successfully completed. You can also check the status on our website 24 hours a day. Because our systems are now more efficient than ever, in some instances customers will have the ability to file and serve in new service areas.

Our easy-to-use system gives you direct access to your pending and completed orders 24 hours a day. A few of the new features include the ability to manage and save your active cases, place an order from your case portfolio, create templates to save time on future orders, retrieve file-stamped caption pages and proofs of service and receive free confirmation upon receipt when your order is completed.

Yes. We offer several ways to help you register and place orders. For immediate assistance, access online videos throughout our File & Serve application and download training guides from our web site. Additionally, we offer in-person training and free training courses, most include MCLE credit. Visit our Training page for more information, email us at training@onelegal.com or contact our Customer Support team at (800) 938-8815 or support@onelegal.com.

Yes. Everyone who chooses to file court documents through One Legal must have an account and be a registered user. If you do not yet have an account, you can sign up in just minutes.

If your firm already has an account, you must become a registered user before placing orders. You'll need your firm's One Legal Customer Number and the firm's main billing zip code to register.

To set up your firm's account or to become a registered user, simply click here, or on any Sign Up link found in the Login area and throughout the site. The prompts will guide you through the simple process.

You'll need to provide your contact information such as an address, phone number and email address. Plus a valid Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit card.

Simply click here to register yourself as a user through this site. You'll need your firm's One Legal Customer Number and the firm's main billing zip code to register.

No. Although you are required to provide a valid credit card when setting up your account, you may choose to pay all of your invoices by check within our standard terms of 15 days. However, if an invoice is not paid after an additional 15-day grace period, we will automatically charge the credit card you have provided. Should you elect to pay all your invoices by credit card, standard 30-day terms will apply and your invoices will be automatically charged to the card you provide. Otherwise, your credit card will be used only in the event of a past due invoice.

There are two basic ways to file court documents with One Legal. With our eFiling service, you can submit electronic documents directly to the court. Our traditional court filing service lets you send your documents to One Legal via fax or upload, where they are physically delivered to your destination court.

With electronic filing, the destination court will accept documents submitted electronically by One Legal. With our physical court filing service, you send your documents to One Legal where they are printed, reviewed for errors and omissions, then hand delivered to the court.

Not all courts currently accept electronic court filing. However, as more realize the cost and time savings involved, they are creating the systems to accept electronic submissions. As new courts come online, One Legal will offer eFiling to take advantage of this more convenient, money-saving filing method.

We're constantly expanding the number of courts where you can file court documents using One Legal services. Please refer to our Service Directory for a complete list of supported courts or search to see if your particular jurisdiction is covered by One Legal.

You can search our service areas, or you can view the Service Directory for a complete listing.

Yes. Once you place your order on our system, you can either send us your documents by fax or upload them.

Yes. You can upload the majority of your document and fax just the pages with signatures.

Once your court filing is accepted by the court, you'll receive a confirmation email. For both physical and electronic delivery, you can also check the status of your order 24/7 through our online tracking system and download the caption page.

To make payment more convenient for you, we will advance the court filing fees as long as your account is in good standing. After the assignment is completed, we will send you an invoice detailing the order and all fees that we advanced on your behalf.

In areas where same-day service is available, we will guarantee same-day delivery, or at a minimum, attempt to file any properly prepared document received by the deadline. Click here for details on locations where same-day service is available.

You need to submit all process serving orders through the One Legal website. Just log in, create your order and fax or upload your assignment.

One Legal offers process service in all 50 states.

One Legal offers three service levels. For same-day attempt (within California) or within 24 hours (outside of California), request Urgent Service. You can also choose Priority for a 1st attempt within 48 hours or Standard 72-hour turnaround.

Yes. In jurisdictions where electronic process serving is allowed, you can choose our eService option. Search our Service Directory to see if eService is available in your jurisdiction.

Yes. If you request this or it is required by code, One Legal will tender the witness fees and apply them to your invoice.

One Legal now offers nationwide court document retrieval service for civil cases in all state courts, and all federal civil and bankruptcy courts.

The turnaround for a completed research or document retrieval order is 1-2 business days, depending upon the court or location. This may vary by location and court.

We will do our best to provide an accurate delivery time for your document. However, completing a research assignment is dependent upon the availability of the court files and the time it takes the court to make copies. If the case is an older one, the court may have to request the file from outside storage.

We will send your documents electronically via email when your order is completed.

The same way you would with any other order, through our website www.onelegal.com. Just log in, create your order and upload it.

One Legal offers courtesy copy delivery for all courts in California that will accept courtesy copies. Please see the Service Directory for specific details.

If your order is submitted by the published deadline, we will deliver the courtesy copy to a Federal Court by 12:00 noon the following day, and a State Court by the end of the following business day. Some remote counties require a second travel day for delivery. Please see our Service Directory for specific details for a county or Court.

In the past, court staff had to manually enter data into the California Court Case Management System (CCMS) and upload the document. Because the court expects there to be less money to operate the courts in the future, they felt they needed to find less costly ways to process the existing volume of filings with fewer staff. The new eFiling system reduces the cost to the Court by delivering both the document and the information about the document directly into the Court's data systems. The Court also wanted users to have the ability to initiate eService concurrently with an eFiling.

What happened with the past system was more in the nature of e-delivery. The electronic version of the document was sent to the Court. Court staff then had to manually enter information about the document into CCMS and upload the document in the Court's document management system. With the real eFiling gateway provided by One Legal, even the data entry step is avoided.

Yes. Superior Court of Orange County, local rule 308, still requires that all papers in Complex Civil actions must be electronically filed, including the complaint or other first paper.

There are benefits to the litigants and lawyers in using eFiling. It is faster since there is no time needed by the Court to enter and scan documents when they are accepted for filing. Review of eFiled documents can take as little as a few minutes, as opposed to 15-30 minutes for data entry and scanning of paper documents. Electronic documents are therefore available for viewing faster, generally the same day they are filed. In addition, the direct electronic transfer of data means fewer errors in data entry by the Court staff and far less risk of documents being mis-filed or attached to the wrong case. Once users have set up an account with One Legal, they are able to initiate eFiling and eService without entering in credit card information with each order. In addition to eFiling and eService, the new system is capable of physical service and courtesy copy delivery using the same account. The "Order Status" page allows users to track the status of filings and retrieve the Filed Endorsed Copy.

Simply create an account with One Legal and then login anytime you need to use the system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Go to OneLegal.com and click the Sign Up link in the upper right corner. Just follow the prompts and you'll be ready to file and serve in no time. Each firm need only set up one account with One Legal and then it can add as many individual users to the account as it would like. If your firm already has an account with One Legal, then all you need to do is get your One Legal customer number and your ZIP Code to add any new individuals at your firm who will use the eFiling system.

Yes. While it is necessary to have attorneys and their bar numbers associated with each filing, the system can be used by others when authorized by the law firm. Depending on who has authority to file documents within a law firm's staff, paralegals, legal secretaries, assistants, and others can be added as individual users to the firm's account.

No. Any self-represented litigant can register and obtain an account with One Legal to eFile documents with the Court.

Yes. You can use the same account to initiate physical court filings in 15 states. In California, One Legal has 17 corporate-staffed offices that cover all 58 state counties. Simply upload your document to One Legal and they will prepare the document and deliver it to the court of your choice. Users can also initiate physical service of process anywhere in the United States from their One Legal account.

No. eService is available through your One Legal account as a time-saving convenience, since you've already uploaded your documents and entered in the parties to case as part of the eFiling process. It is not mandatory to use your One Legal account for eService. Please note, however, that California Rules of Court, rule 2.260(a)(2)(b) states that a party by electronically filing any document with the court thereby agrees to accept electronic service.

Not at this time. While eFiling for Limited Civil and Unlimited Civil cases is encouraged by the Court, it is not required.

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

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

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.

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.

One Legal will provide immediate order confirmation when an order is submitted and a Filed Endorsed Copy upon acceptance by the court clerk. Plus, we advance the filing fees and offer 24/7 online tracking.

One Legal's Customer Support team can be reached during business hours at (800) 938-8815 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m PT.

Simply go to the "Order Status" page in your One Legal account and you will see all activity related to your cases. You can check the status of eFiling and eService.

Yes, as a guarantee of payment. You do not need to provide a credit card with each order. Once you have set up your account, you will be invoiced.

8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., PT. (800) 938-8815.

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