Rule 3 Required electronic filings; exceptions [Effective July 1, 2026]

(a) Electronic Filing Required. Except as provided in (b) and (c), and other provisions of these rules, all documents filed in a case in the Supreme Court, superior court, the judicial bureau, or a hearing panel of the Professional Responsibility Board must be electronically filed as of the effective date specified by Rule 1.

(b) Nonelectronic Filing Permitted. A document may be nonelectronically filed when:

(1) the filer, who is not filing on behalf of a government agency, is a self-represented litigant who has not elected to file electronically consistent with subdivision 3(d) in the specific case;

(2) the filer is a guardian ad litem, is filing pursuant to the duties of that position, and has not filed electronically in the specific case;

(3) nonelectronic filing of a particular document is permitted by the court to protect confidentiality or for other good cause;

(4) the document is a nonelectronic stipulation, agreement, or other case document created or finalized while the parties and/or counsel are present at court premises, in or related to proceedings, and nonelectronic filing is permitted by the court;

(5) a filer in a particular case is excused from electronic filing in that case by the court when exceptional circumstances make electronic filing not feasible;

(6) nonelectronic filing is expressly permitted by these rules or an applicable rule of procedure;

(7) an item cannot reasonably be scanned and filed electronically because of its size, shape, or condition;

(8) the electronic filing system is unavailable when the filer seeks to make an electronic filing, despite reasonable efforts to make a filing or in the case of a preannounced system outage; or

(9) the filer is a licensed attorney and is self-represented in a proceeding before a hearing panel of the Professional Responsibility Board.

(c) Nonelectronic Filing Required. A document must be nonelectronically filed when:

(1) nonelectronic filing is expressly required by these rules, a statute, or an applicable rule of procedure; or

(2) the court orders a filer to nonelectronically file upon a finding that the filer has abused the efiling system by repeated filing of irrelevant, abusive, or duplicative documents or information.

(d) Self-Represented Litigants.

(1) Electing to Efile. Unless ordered otherwise, a self-represented litigant may elect to electronically file and serve but is not required to do so.

(2) Duration of Electronic Filing in the Superior Court and in Proceeding Before Hearing Panels of the Professional Responsibility Board. A self-represented litigant who commences efiling in a case must continue to efile throughout the duration of the case. The self-represented litigant may discontinue efiling only after obtaining a court order of discontinuance issued for good cause shown and after notifying all other parties that the litigant will not be efiling in the future. Efiling by a self-represented litigant does not create an obligation to efile in another case.

(3) Efiling in the Supreme Court. A self-represented litigant who has efiled in a case in the superior court is presumed to continue to efile on appeal in the Supreme Court. The self-represented litigant may discontinue efiling after giving efiled notice to the Court and serving the notice on all other parties to the appeal.

(4) Guide and File. A self-represented litigant who prepares and efiles a document through Guide and File is not required to continue to file electronically in that case as a result of that filing.