U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Page 1
Media User Guide: Access to Electronic Court Records
Introduction
To provide public access to case and docket information, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit (USCA) uses the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. To
receive filings, file pleadings, and update dockets with documents, the USCA uses the Case
Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) system.
In order to receive notifications when changes are made to a docket, both a PACER account and
a CM/ECF account are required. There is no fee for creating PACER and CM/ECF accounts and
receiving docket change notifications, but there is a fee to access case information in PACER.
This document explains how to:
Create a PACER Account ............................................................................2
Create a CM/ECF Account ..........................................................................3
Setup Docket Change Notifications .............................................................6
Access PACER Information from the Notice of Docket Activity ...............9
Register for other Appellate Courts ...........................................................10
Access a Docket Using PACER ................................................................11
To access your PACER or CM/ECF accounts, visit:
http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/content/CMECF+Launch+Page
.
For more information about PACER, visit: http://www.pacer.gov/psc/hfaq.html#PACER.
For more information about CM/ECF, visit: http://www.pacer.gov/psc/hfaq.html#CMECF.
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Page 2
Create a PACER Account
There is no fee for creating a PACER account, but there is a fee to access case information in
PACER. You must create a PACER account before using CM/ECF.
Step Action
1
In any browser, visit: http://www.pacer.gov/reg_pacer.html.
2
After reading the registration information page, select the “Register for a PACER
Account Now” button at the bottom.
3
Complete all required fields on the registration page.
4
When all information has been entered, select the “Submit Form” button at the bottom.
5
A page acknowledges that your information has been sent to the PACER Service Center.
Select the “OK” button when finished. You should receive information regarding your
PACER account in the mail within a week.
6
Follow the steps in the next section to create a CM/ECF account.
To access your PACER account, use a browser to visit:
http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/content/CMECF+Launch+Page
Then click the link to “Login to PACER”.
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Page 3
Create a CM/ECF Account
The PACER service is used to register for a CM/ECF account; therefore, you must have a
PACER login ID before registering for a CM/ECF account. There is no fee to create a CM/ECF
account or to create docket change notifications.
Step Action
1
In any browser, visit: http://www.pacer.gov/reg_ap.html.
2
After reading the registration information page, select the “Register for an Appellate Filer
Account Now” button at the bottom.
3
Enter your data in the “PERSONAL INFORMATION” fields as required.
4
In the next section, “PRIMARY ADDRESS INFORMATION”, enter your data in the
fields as required.
5
In the next section, “DEFAULT NOTICING PREFERENCES”, select the format for
emails received from PACER, how often you would like to receive emails, and additional
email addresses that should receive docket change notifications.
Select “other (not a public filer)?”
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Page 4
Step Action
6
When you are finished, select the “Next Page” button at the bottom.
7
The next page displays a list of appellate courts with which to register. Select “U.S.
Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit”.
The fields will be populated with your information from the previous page. During this
initial registration, you may only register with one court, but after registration is
complete, you may register with multiple courts (see Register for other Appellate
Courts).
8
When finished, select the “Next Page” button at the bottom.
9
On the next page, enter a username and password. PACER suggests a username, but you
may choose any username as long as it is original and seven characters long.
10
Scroll down to the next section, “PASSWORD SECURITY INFORMATION”, and
create a security question and answer.
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Page 5
Step Action
11
In the section below, review the “TERMS OF USE” and select the two checkboxes if you
agree to the terms and the “Local Requirements” for all circuits in which you are
registering.
12
When finished, select the “Submit Form” button at the bottom.
13
A screen will appear with your username and password; however, your PACER account
has not yet been approved. The USCA will review your account information and most
likely approve the account within one business day. Once approved, a confirmation email
will be sent to the email address used during registration.
14
After receiving confirmation, access your account by logging into CM/ECF using a
browser to visit:
https://ecf.cadc.uscourts.gov/cmecf/servlet/TransportRoom?servlet=Login.
15
When you are finished in CM/ECF, in the upper left menu, select Logout Logout
CM/ECF. Then, on the window that appears, select “Yes”.
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Setup Docket Change Notifications
Using CM/ECF, you may be alerted when any change is made to a docket. There is no fee to
create docket change notifications, but there is a fee to access case information in PACER.
Step Action
1
After registering your CM/ECF account, use any browser to visit:
https://ecf.cadc.uscourts.gov/cmecf/servlet/TransportRoom?servlet=Login.
2
Acknowledge that you will comply with the redaction rules by selecting the checkbox.
Then, enter your login information and click the “Login” button.
3
When the login is accepted, you will be taken to the CM/ECF homepage. If the page does
not load, review your browser’s settings for the JavaScript plug-in and return to step 1.
4
In the upper left menu, select Utilities Notice for Cases of Interest.
5
Enter the case number for the case you want to follow and select the “Search & Add”
button. Repeat this step for each case that you want to follow.
The “[New]” appearing before the case means that it is newly listed among your cases of
interest list. There is no limit on the number of cases to follow.
If you wish to follow a consolidated case, enter the case number for the lead case to
receive notifications for all cases.
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Page 7
Step Action
6a
To remove a case, click on it once and select the “Remove” button (becomes active when
a case is selected). If you do not need to remove a case, go to step 7.
6b
A confirmation window will appear; select the “Yes” button to confirm the removal. To
continue removing cases, return to step 6a; otherwise, go to step 7.
7
When the list of cases is correct, select the “Update” button at the bottom of the page and
then select “OK” on the confirmation window.
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Page 8
Step Action
8
Select the “Done” button at the bottom of the page.
9
When you are finished in CM/ECF, in the upper left menu, select Logout Logout
CM/ECF. Then, on the window that appears, select the “Yes” button.
10
The notice of docket activity for a case in the D.C. Circuit is sent from
[email protected]. Consider adding this to your email provider’s list of
approved senders so it is not blocked or sent to a spam folder.
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Access PACER Information from the Notice of Docket Activity
After setting up docket change notifications (see above) you will receive an email when the
docket is updated for any case you listed.
Step Action
1
Open the email announcing that a docket of interest has been updated. The subject line
will include the case number, the parties, and the type of docket activity. For example,
11-3018 USA v. Cooleridge Bell "Argument Attorney Form Filed".
2
Locate the document link in the email.
Before opening the document link, remember that regular PACER access fees apply to
all users who are not parties in the case.
3
Click on the “Document(s)” link. If you are not logged into PACER, the login screen will
appear, then login to PACER.
4
After logging in, you will be asked to accept download charges. If you want to download
the file, click the “Accept Charges and Retrieve” button.
5
The document will be retrieved and downloaded for viewing.
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Page 10
Register for other Appellate Courts
In addition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, you may also register for other
appellate courts.
Step Action
1
Using a browser, visit: https://www.pacer.gov/psco/cgi-bin/cmecf/ea-menu.pl, and log
into your account.
2
On the right, below “Miscellaneous”, select “Register for Additional Court(s)”.
3
Select additional courts by clicking their checkboxes. When a court is selected, your
primary address and email preferences are automatically loaded. You may change this
information for each court.
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Step Action
4
Review the Terms of Use and select the two checkboxes if you agree to the terms and the
“Local Requirements” for all circuits in which you are registering. Then select the
“Submit” button below.
5
A screen confirming your submission will appear. When the request has been reviewed,
an email will be sent to your primary address allowing or denying the request.
6
When you are finished, select the “Logout” button in the upper right.
Access a Docket Using PACER
To access a docket using PACER, your CM/ECF account must be linked to your PACER
account.
Step Action
1
Using any browser, visit:
https://ecf.cadc.uscourts.gov/cmecf/servlet/TransportRoom?servlet=Login.
2
Acknowledge that you will comply with the redaction rules by selecting the checkbox.
Then, enter your login information and click the “Login” button.
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Step Action
3
On the Startup Page, in the menu in the upper right, select Reports PACER Report.
4a
Search for a case by entering its number or the case’s party/attorney. For advanced search
options, select “Advanced Search” (see step 4b). Otherwise, go step 5.
4b
Advanced search options include searching by case type, origin, filing and closing dates,
and docket activity. Enter your search criteria and go to step 5.
5
With your search terms entered, select the “Search” button at the bottom to conduct your
search.
Note that you will be billed for the total number of search pages and this query is not
subject to the 30-page limit on PACER charges.
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Step Action
6
Search results appear on the next screen. From here you may click the hyperlinked case
number to get the case summary or the short title to get the case query. Below the search
results is a receipt from the PACER Service Center.
7
To search for another case, select “Case Search” from the menu at the top, and return to
step 4a. If you have finished searching cases, go to step 8.
8
Logout of CM/ECF by clicking “Logout” in the upper right, next to the “Help” link.
