Almost one year ago, eFiling became mandatory for all civil case types in 10 Texas counties. Today, there are 109 counties and 290 courts utilizing the efiletexas.gov eFiling system. In just the first six months of the eFiling mandate, over 2 million filings were processed through the system! The Texas courts project that by January 2015, around 90% of all civil and family law filings will be done electronically. As eFiling in Texas has been mandated in more and more counties, the Texas Bar has put out an article with eight tips on easing into the transition as seamlessly as possible. A few of their tips include:

A few of their tips include:

Bookmark and add hyperlinks

You must convert all documents into a text searchable PDF format to eFile your documents. Make sure that you have a PDF program such as Adobe Acrobat or something comparable so that you can utilize this functionality. Because judges and research attorneys are now viewing your documents electronically, it is imperative to make your filing easy to navigate. Inserting hyperlinks for citations and bookmarking exhibits ensure that your document is easy to review.

Filings may be returned for correction without affecting your deadline

If a clerk returns your document for correction under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 21(f)(11) and 21c(e), it is still considered filed at the time it was submitted to the EFSP. The system provides a history of all eFiling transactions, so all you need to do is correct the errors and send it back to the clerk.

You must eServe opposing counsel if they are registered to eFile

In addition to having the ability to eServe documents you have eFiled, you also have the option to eServe discovery as well. Think of all the time, paper and money you can save!

We want to know – do you eFile in Texas?