Guide § 3: Mandatory Electronic Filing; Exceptions

3.1. Except as otherwise required by the Sixth Circuit Rules or by order of the court, all documents submitted by attorneys in cases filed with the Sixth Circuit must be filed electronically, using the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) system. The Sixth Circuit Rules and this Guide govern electronic filings. If the Sixth Circuit Rules and this Guide are inconsistent, the Sixth Circuit Rules control.

3.2. All electronically filed documents must be in PDF form and must conform to all technical requirements established by the Judicial Conference or the court.

Whenever possible, documents must be in Native PDF form and not created by scanning. The following documents are exempted from the electronic filing requirement and are to be filed in paper format:

(1) Any document filed by a party that is unrepresented by counsel;

(2) Documents relating to complaints of attorney misconduct;

(3) Vouchers or other documents relating to claims for compensation and reimbursement of expenses incurred with regard to representation afforded under the Criminal Justice Act; and

(4) Documents that exceed any limit that the court may set for the size of electronic filings

3.3. No unrepresented party may file electronically; unrepresented parties must submit documents in paper format. The clerk will scan such documents into the ECF system, and the electronic version scanned in by the clerk will constitute the appeal record of the court as reflected on its docket.