e-File FAQs

Electronic filing or e-filing enables filers and courts to efficiently process documents and fees online. eFileCA manages the flow of information among filers, clerks, court personnel and judges.

The filer submits documents by establishing an account with an electronic filing service provider (EFSP).

Yes. The eFileCA system adheres to state and federal security regulations and meets Payment Card Industry Security Standards to protect filer and transaction information.

E-filing is mandatory for all Civil, Probate and Family Law cases and optional for Criminal cases. Small Claims cases are exempt. Self-represented parties and non-parties are exempt from the mandatory electronic filing and service requirements but are encouraged to participate.

For additional information see Sutter County Superior Court Local Rule 2.2.

Review the list of Courts accepting e-filings for information on specific courts.

Civil (complex, unlimited, and limited), Probate, Family Law and Criminal.

eFileCA is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Sutter County Superior Court accepts filings during normal business hours, 8:30am-4:30pm Monday through Friday excluding court holidays. Note: The system may be temporarily offline from time to time for maintenance purposes.

Yes, self-represented parties are eligible to use the site for e-filing. However, it is not mandatory they do so.

Yes, all users must register with an electronic filing service provider (EFSP) prior to using e-filing.

Yes, support is provided for both attorneys and self-represented litigants. Each electronic filing service provider (EFSP) offers a different type of e-filing support. When you pick your EFSP, look at the level of filing support that is offered and see if it meets your needs.

Yes, training is provided for free. You can register by selecting Web Training Sessions, or contact your electronic filing service provider (EFSP). You can attend as many training sessions as you need. One hour of CLE credit can be earned for many of the sessions.

In accordance with Rule 2.253(b)(6), any document received electronically by the court between 12:00am and 11:59:59pm on a court day shall be deemed filed on that court day. Any document that is received electronically on a non-court day shall be deemed filed on the next court day. The effective date of filing any document received electronically is prescribed by Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6. This provision concerns only the effective date of filing. Any document that is received electronically must be processed and satisfy all other legal filing requirements to be filed as an official court record.

All documents can be electronically filed except for those outlined in Sutter County Superior Court Local Rule 2.2.

You will be notified by the EFSP of the rejection, and of the reasons for the rejection. It is then your responsibility to correct and re-submit the filing.

E-service is a feature provided by eFileCA where documents are electronically served to other parties in a case via e-mail. Using this option, you can track when each party received and opened the filing.

Filers are responsible for accomplishing service of all filings as required by applicable court rules. For this purpose, filers may use the mail service, serve by hand delivery, send an e-mail, or use eFileCA as it offers the option of electronic service of each filing to the designated service contact.

Yes, eFileCA may be used to exchange documents between parties without filing the documents through the courts.

Yes, there are fees associated with filing documents electronically with eFIleCA.com.

The Sutter County Superior Court fee schedules can be found on our Fee Schedule page.

Filings submitted without all the required filing fees will be rejected for correction.

• E-file fee: A service fee is assessed for use of the e-filing system. The basic service fee is currently set at $3.50. This is subject to change.
• Payment service fee: A payment service fee is assessed to cover the credit card processing fees.
• eCheck Fee: The fee is $.25.

In accordance with rule 2.253 of the California Rules of Court, a party may submit an application for exemption from eFiling.

When electronically filing into an existing case, parties that already exist in the case should not be added as new parties. The only time new parties should be added to the case is when the filing adds new parties to an existing case. This could be an amended complaint adding new defendants, cross complaint adding cross-defendants, amendment to complaint naming a doe, etc. When new parties are added through electronic filing that already exist on the case, the clerk has to delete them before processing the filing or the parties will be duplicated in the case management system.

Documents should be filed as you would have presented them at the clerk window. For instance, a document that would have been stapled together at filing should be filed as one lead document. Another way to think about it is anything that needs its own file stamp should be filed separately, as a lead document that gets its own separate event code. Multiple documents can be filed together in one envelope, but each document to be filed needs its own event code.

35 MB for the whole envelope and 25 MB for a single document. There have been reports of problems that have all been resolved by calling the EFSP. If the document is truly too big, and the EFSP cannot resolve, please call the court at 530-822-3300 to discuss a resolution.

PDF, however some EFSPs allow you to file as a Word document because they then turn it into a PDF for you.

Yes, pursuant to California Rule of Court 3.1110(f), a document filed electronically with exhibits must include electronic bookmarks with links to the first page of each exhibit and a bookmark title that identifies the exhibit number or letter and briefly describes the exhibit.

Yes, pursuant to California Rule of Court 2.256(b) (3), a document filed electronically must be text searchable. For assistance, you can contact the filer support number for the electronic service provider you are using.