Local Rule Rule 9011-1: Signatures

Rule 9011-1. Signatures

(a) SIGNATURE BLOCK REQUIREMENTS. For any document that requires a signature under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9011(a), the document must state the signer's name, address, email address, telephone number, and attorney bar registration number, if applicable.

(b) SIGNATURE METHODS FOR ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS. The following methods may be used to obtain a signature on a document that is filed electronically through ECF:

(1) A scanned image of the originally signed document containing a wet ink signature;

(2) An image with a digital signature from a software program that creates a secure electronic signature that uniquely identifies the signer and ensures both the authenticity of the signature and that the signed document has not been altered or repudiated; or

(3) A document with an "s/", followed by the printed name of the signer when:

(A) The Filing User obtained the signer's signature by an authorized signature method provided in subsections (b)(1)–(2) of this rule; or

(B) The Filing User obtained the signer's written permission to use the signer's electronic signature.

(c) RETENTION REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES. A Filing User who files a document containing an electronic signature under subsection (b) of this rule certifies, under penalty of perjury, that the Filing User has the original wet ink signature, digital signature, or written evidence of permission to use the signer's electronic signature. For purposes of this rule, written evidence of permission includes email correspondence. A Filing User must retain the signed document or evidence of permission to use the electronic signature for at least one year after the bankruptcy case is closed. On request, the Filing User must provide the court or other parties in the case a copy of the signed document or evidence of permission to use the electronic signature.

[Effective April 15, 1997. Amended effective January 9, 2006; February 1, 2011; February 22, 2012; October 1, 2019; January 1, 2021; amended and renumbered as 9011-1 on July 17, 2023.]

2023 Advisory Committee Notes Local Rule 9011-4 was renumbered to Local Rule 9011-1 and has been substantially amended to accommodate the use of electronic signatures. The amendments to subsection (a) incorporate the signature block requirements that were outlined in former subsections (a) and (b). Please note that for Filing Users, the act of signing a document and electronically filing the document constitutes that person's signature. See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5005(a)(2)(C). The term "Filing User" is defined in Local Rule 9001-1 as a "registered user of the Electronic Case Filing System."

Subsection (b) provides the authorized methods to obtain a signature for documents that are filed electronically in ECF. Subsection (c) provides the retention period for a Filing User who files a document containing an electronic signature. These amendments place the responsibility with the Filing User—typically an attorney—to ensure compliance with the signature method requirements in Local Rule 9011-1(b) and the retention requirements in 9011-1(c). With these changes, it is no longer necessary for attorneys to submit a scanned image of the Form ERS 1 Signature Declaration page for debtors or a scanned image of the signature page by a non-Filing User. As such, the Signature Declaration form was abrogated. In addition, with these changes, it is no longer necessary to provide separate instructions for a Filing User's non-attorney employees. By filing a document in ECF using a signature method authorized in subsection (b), the attorney is certifying under subsection (c) that they have the original wet ink signature, digital signature, or evidence of permission to file the document with the signer's electronic signature. This same process applies whether the Filing User collects one or multiple signatures. Accordingly, former subsections (b)–(f) were removed as no longer necessary.

Subsections (b)–(c) only apply to documents that are filed by a Filing User on ECF. Claims that are submitted electronically through the court's Electronic Proof of Claim (ePOC) module are not subject to this rule.