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Electronic Filing Update In A Nutshell
By:  Blake A. Hawthorne, Clerk of the Court, Supreme Court of Texas

The past year has been an extremely active one for electronic filing in Texas courts. Here in a nutshell is what every Texas lawyer should know about recent developments in electronic filing:

1. The Supreme Court of Texas mandated electronic filing in civil cases in Texas under a phased schedule based on county population. On January 1, 2014, electronic filing will be mandatory in trial courts in counties with a population of 500,000 or more, and in all civil cases in all appellate courts. Every major metropolitan area is included in the first phase of the mandate and about eighty percent of the state’s population lives in the counties included in the first phase. By 2016, the counties with the smallest populations must implement electronic filing. Some counties have already implemented electronic filing ahead of the schedule set in the Supreme Court’s mandate.

2. The Supreme Court adopted amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure and Rules of Appellate Procedure in order to create uniform statewide rules for electronic filing. The comment period for these amendments closed on October 31, 2013. The Court is in the process of reviewing the comments and will promulgate final rules before January 1, 2014. The Court of Criminal Appeals also adopted amendments to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure permitting electronic filing in criminal cases in the appellate courts.

3. Texas.gov will no longer provide the electronic filing system for Texas courts. In 2012, Texas.gov stated it no longer wanted to provide an electronic filing system for Texas courts. The Department of Information Resources then agreed to hand responsibility for administering electronic filing for Texas courts to the Office of Court Administration (OCA). OCA organized a committee of court officials to select a new vendor. The committee selected Tyler Technologies. OCA then entered into contract negotiations for the system in June of 2012. The contract was completed in November of 2012. Tyler Technologies immediately prepared to transition Texas courts to its electronic filing system. The transition to the new system is complete.

4. The Legislature has created a statewide electronic filing system fund to pay for the electronic filing system. A new filing fee of $20 will be included in the filing fees paid to initiate a new case in trial and appellate courts.  Although there is a new fee, filers will be able to use a free basic EFSP provided by the state, thus making it possible to file electronically without paying any additional fees. Other EFSPs, like ProDoc, File & ServeXpress, FileTime, My File Runner, and eLaw Services, will offer enhanced services to lawyers and their staff for a fee.

5.  If you have not already registered with an Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP), you should pick a provider and register. If you have already registered with the current electronic filing system your registration information will be transferred to the new system. Information about registration and training is available at http://www.efiletexas.gov/. 

 6.   Because the Supreme Court’s mandate greatly increased the market served by the EFSPs, several new EFSPs have registered to provide electronic filing services in Texas. The increased competition will lead to better services for Texas lawyers.