Federal Circuit Rule 25: Filing and Service — Fed. Cir.

(a) General Filing Requirements.

(1) Filing Methods.

Where these rules discuss electronic filing, it exclusively refers to use of the court’s electronic filing system. Unless authorized in advance by the court or the clerk of court, facsimile and email transmission of documents will not be accepted.

(A) Represented Parties.

Parties represented by counsel must submit all documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) using the court’s electronic filing system and following the instructions and requirements in the court’s Electronic Filing Procedures.

(B) Unrepresented Parties.

Following public notice, the clerk of court may provide for unrepresented parties to file electronically and may establish necessary procedures and requirements consistent with these rules. Once electronic filing is available, an unrepresented party must inform the court within fourteen (14) days after that party’s case is docketed whether the filer elects to submit documents in paper form or register for electronic filing and submit documents in PDF through the court’s electronic filing system; following this election, the party may not change methods in that case without leave of the court or the clerk of court for good cause shown. An unrepresented party may use either method to submit case-initiating documents and may elect to file using different methods in each separate case. If an unrepresented party elects to file electronically, Federal Circuit Rule 25(c)(1) applies.

(2) Electronic Filer Registration.

Attorneys who appear before this court and unrepresented parties choosing to file electronically must register for the court’s electronic filing system. Registration requirements are located in the court’s Electronic Filing Procedures. Registration for electronic filing is not a substitute for admission to the bar or appearance in a case. Unrepresented paper filers may register for electronic filing at any point, and they may elect to file electronically after registration is approved by the court.

(3) Restrictions on Electronic Filers.

Registration for the court’s electronic filing system constitutes an agreement by the filer to abide by all the procedures and requirements set forth in the court’s Electronic Filing Procedures. Following notice and an opportunity to respond, the clerk of court may restrict or revoke electronic filing privileges for users who have either (A) repeatedly failed to comply with these procedures and requirements or (B) failed to maintain appropriate security of account credentials.

(4) Electronic Filing Procedures.

The clerk of court is authorized to adopt Electronic Filing Procedures governing the administrative and technical requirements and procedures for using the court’s electronic filing system. However, nothing in the Electronic Filing Procedures may contradict the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Federal Circuit Rules, or any applicable federal law.

(5) Change of Name or Contact Information.

Filers must immediately submit an amended appearance under Federal Circuit Rule 47.3 to notify the clerk of court of a change of name or contact information, including an email address for electronic service. Electronic filers must also update their information in the court’s electronic filing system. Failure to maintain current contact information with the clerk of court may result in the suspension of electronic filing privileges or missed notifications.

(b) Case-Initiating Documents.

Documents such as appeals filed directly with this court, petitions for review, petitions for writs of mandamus, petitions for permission to appeal, and motions for stays or injunctions under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 8 or 18 are considered case-initiating documents if the appeal or petition has not been docketed.

(1) Electronic Submissions.

A case-initiating document is considered filed at the time and date registered by the court’s electronic filing system. No paper copy is required. Parties represented by a member of the bar of this court must submit case-initiating documents electronically.

(2) Nonelectronic Submissions.

Unrepresented parties or parties represented at the lower tribunal by counsel who are not members of the bar of this court may choose to submit case-initiating documents in paper. Only one paper copy is required of any case-initiating document submitted in paper. Once the notice of docketing is issued, an unrepresented party must follow Federal Circuit Rule 25(a)(1).

(1) Submissions by Electronic Filers.

A document submitted electronically is deemed filed on the date and time stated on the Notice of Docket Activity generated from the court’s electronic filing system. Paper copies must not be provided to the court except to the extent required by Federal Circuit Rule 25(c)(3) or as ordered by the court.

(A) Motion for Exemption.

A motion for exemption from electronic filing requirements may be submitted in paper form. Upon a showing of good cause, the court may exempt a filer from electronic filing requirements and authorize filing by other means.

(B) Items That Cannot Be Filed Electronically.

Exhibits, attachments, or appendices that cannot be submitted electronically due to their format — such as those which are illegible when scanned, or which, because of their odd shape, are unable to be scanned, or physical exhibits other than documents, — may be filed in physical form without leave of court. The party must file electronically a Notice of Physical Filing and submit the original exhibit, attachment, or appendix in physical form to the clerk of court within five (5) business days after filing the notice. For electronic appendix material that is unable to be reproduced in paper, Federal Circuit Rule 30(i) applies, and a separate Notice of Physical Filing is not required.

An electronic filer whose filing is untimely as the result of a technical or system failure may file a motion for leave to file out of time that includes (1) a declaration or affidavit attesting to the failed attempts to file electronically and (2) the document that could not be filed due to the technical or system failure.

(2) Submissions by Nonelectronic Filers.

A document submitted in paper form is deemed filed on the date and time it is received by the court. Additional paper copies must not be provided to the court except to the extent required by Federal Circuit Rule 25(c)(3) or as ordered by the court.

(A) Originals.

Nonelectronic filers, including counsel exempted from electronic filing requirements, must file one original of each document. If a party chooses to file required paper copies at the same time as the original submission, then the original will count toward the number of paper copies.

(B) Paper Records.

The clerk of court will scan originals provided in paper and make the scanned documents part of the court’s official record through its electronic filing system. After the scanned documents are entered into the court’s electronic filing system, the paper documents will be discarded in accordance with judiciary records management policies.

(3) Paper Copies.

Except as provided in this subsection or as ordered by the court, electronic filers must not provide paper copies to the court.

When paper copies are required, the clerk of court will note receipt of those copies on the electronic docket.

(A) Briefs and Appendices During Initial Consideration.

During initial consideration of a case on the merits, six (6) paper copies — or three (3) for cases briefed informally — of each brief and appendix must be provided to the court within five (5) business days after the court’s issuance of a notice requesting paper copies.

(B) Petitions for Panel Rehearing.

Three (3) paper copies of any petition for panel rehearing, related response, or related brief amicus curiae must be provided to the court within two (2) business days after the filing of the petition, response, or brief.

Thirteen (13) paper copies — or three (3) for unrepresented parties — of any petition for en banc hearing, petition for en banc rehearing, combined petition for panel and en banc rehearing, related response, or related brief amicus curiae must be provided to the court within two (2) business days after the filing of the petition, response, or brief.

(D) Briefs and Appendices in En Banc Cases.

If the court orders en banc hearing or rehearing, twenty-six (26) paper copies of each brief and appendix filed in the case prior to the date of the court’s order must be provided to the court within five (5) business days after that order. Twenty-six (26) paper copies of each brief and appendix filed during en banc consideration must be provided to the court within five (5) business days after the filing of the document.

(E) Confidential Versions.

If a confidential document is filed in two versions pursuant to Federal Circuit Rule 25.1, then only paper copies of the confidential version must be provided to the court.

(F) Corrected Versions.

If a party has not yet filed paper copies of a document and that party has electronically filed a corrected version of that document, then only paper copies of the corrected version must be provided to the court.

(4) Review and Correction by the Clerk of Court.

The clerk of court may require the filing of a corrected copy of any submission that fails to comply with the court’s rules or the Electronic Filing Procedures. If a party fails to file a timely corrected copy in response to a notice requiring correction from the clerk of court, the clerk of court may strike the non-compliant document from the docket. The clerk of court may also edit docket entries to correct or to add text or attachments, and any such revision will be identified on the docket.

(d) Format of Documents.

Documents filed electronically and in paper must comply with the format requirements set forth in the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Federal Circuit Rules, and the court’s Electronic Filing Procedures.

(e) Service.

(1) Electronic Filings.

A filing does not require proof of service if it is served on all parties through the court’s electronic filing system. Service of a filing to a user’s email address registered with the court’s electronic filing system at the time of the filing constitutes valid service, even if the user has failed to timely provide an updated valid email address and the served email address is invalid.

Any nonelectronic filers in the case must be served in paper or by an alternative method of service permitted by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 25(c); the filing must include proof of service noting the method of service.

(2) Paper or Physical Filings.

A copy of any original filing submitted to the court in paper must be served on all other parties in paper. The original must include proof of service. If a Notice of Physical Filing is filed pursuant to Federal Circuit Rule 25(c)(1)(B), then a copy of the physical filing must be served on all other parties and the notice must include proof of service of the physical filing.

(3) Confidential Material.

Filers cannot serve confidential information through the court’s electronic filing system. When a document is filed in two versions pursuant to Federal Circuit Rule 25.1, the filer must serve all other authorized parties using one of the other service methods permitted by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 25(c).

(4) Consent to Electronic or Alternative Service.

Except for the service of confidential material under Federal Circuit Rule 25(e)(3), registration as an electronic filer constitutes consent to electronic service of all documents by the court’s electronic filing system. Parties, including nonelectronic filers, may consent in writing to electronic service by other means. Absent such an agreement, Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 25(c)(1) applies.

(5) Service of Papers Before Appearance.

Service of a filing on a party for which counsel has not yet entered an appearance must be made on counsel of record for the party in the proceeding below at that counsel’s last known address, or, if unrepresented, on that party directly.

(f) Private, Confidential, or Sealed Information.

Requirements for filing private, confidential, and sealed material with the court are detailed in Federal Circuit Rule 25.1.

(g) Signatures.

(1) Electronic Signature.

(A) An electronic signature consists of either (1) the printed name of the individual preceded by the mark “/s/” entered on the signature line or (2) an electronic signature from a commercial provider that complies with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) (15 U.S.C. § 7001). The electronic signature must appear where the signature would otherwise appear.

(B) The clerk of court will only accept a document with an electronic signature when (1) the name of the electronic signer matches the name on the account used to file the document in the court’s electronic filing system or (2) multiple signatures are present pursuant to Federal Circuit Rule 32(g).

(2) Form of Signature.

Where the rules require a signature on a document filed electronically, an electronic signature may be used. For documents filed in paper form, an original, handwritten signature must be used. An original signature is not required on paper copies required by Federal Circuit Rule 25(c)(3).

Applications for admission to this court’s bar must always bear either (A) handwritten signatures or (B) an ESIGN compliant electronic signature by the applicant and any sponsor.

However, the oath of admission must bear a handwritten signature.

(3) Retention of Documents.

Documents that are electronically filed and require original signatures other than that of the filer (such as an affidavit signed by a person other than the filer) must be maintained in original form by the filer until the issuance of the mandate with no right of appeal or until such later date as the court prescribes. On request of the court, the filer must provide original documents for review.

(h) Sanctions for Failure to Comply.

Failure to comply with the court’s rules may result in dismissal of the appeal or other action as deemed appropriate by the court.

(i) Corrections to Filings.

(1) General.

A document may not be corrected merely by filing or appending an errata sheet. A party wishing to make non-substantive corrections to any document currently on file with the clerk of court must file a Notice of Correction. Substantive corrections may only be made with leave of the court.

(2) Format.

A corrected document must indicate “corrected” in the title or on the cover. A new proof of service must be attached to any corrected filing that is not being served through the court’s electronic filing system. The “corrected” notation is not required on a document when changes have been ordered by the court or the clerk of court.

(3) Notice of Correction.

A Notice of Correction must be filed contemporaneously with the corrected document and must specifically delineate each correction. A Notice of Correction is not required for changes to a document when those changes have been ordered by the court or the clerk of court.

(4) Required Copies.

If paper copies have already been submitted, an adequate number of corrected paper copies must be filed.

Notes

Ed. Note: Electronic filing for unrepresented parties was made available beginning on October 1, 2020.

Ed. Note: The Electronic Filing Procedures adopted by the clerk of court are available on the court’s website at https://cafc.uscourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/ElectronicFilingProcedures.pdf.

Practice Notes to Rule 25

Location of Clerk’s Office; Hours of Operation; Night Box.

The clerk’s office is in Room 401 of the National Courts Building, 717 Madison Place, NW, Washington, DC 20439, and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on workdays. After the office closes on workdays, papers may be deposited until 7:00 pm in a night box located in the lobby of the National Courts Building.

Clerk’s Mailing Address.

Address mail as follows:

Clerk of Court United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 717 Madison Place NW Washington, DC 20439 The clerk of court will not pay postage due.

Return Copy Marked Received.

When a brief or other paper is presented for filing and the filer provides a copy to be marked “received,” the clerk of court will mark it received and return it. If the filing is by mail or if the night box is used, a self-addressed, postage-paid (first class) return envelope must accompany the request.

Unrepresented Party Who Is a Member of the Bar.

If an unrepresented party is also a member of the court’s bar, that individual may proceed under the rules applicable for either represented or unrepresented parties, but not both in a single case.

Paper Copies of Briefs and Appendices.

Counsel should not submit paper copies of any briefs or appendices required under Federal Circuit Rule 25(c)(3)(A) until after the court issues a notice indicating that the copies are due and the deadline for filing these copies. In typical, non-expedited cases, the clerk of court issues this notice shortly after briefing concludes. Paper copies for petitions and briefs related to panel rehearing, en banc hearing, or en banc rehearing are due after the filing of the electronic version as required by Federal Circuit Rule 25(c)(3)(B)-(D).

Confidential Filings.

For purposes of these rules, documents filed as “confidential” are treated the same as documents filed “under seal.”

Unrepresented Party Filing Election.

Using Federal Circuit Form 8B satisfies the requirement for an unrepresented party to notify the court of the elected filing method under Federal Circuit Rule 25(a)(1)(B).

Certificate of Service.

Using Federal Circuit Form 30 satisfies the requirements for proof of service under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 25(d) and Federal Circuit Rule 25(e).