Individual Florida Bar members will register to use this system and receive authentication credentials (login ID, password) upon validation of their online registration. Upon receipt of the completed Online Electronic Filing Registration, the system will verify that the attorney is admitted to practice and in good standing with The Florida Bar. A combination including, but not limited to: name, email, and Florida Bar Number obtained during registration, will be validated against an electronic list provided by the Florida Bar. The attorney will be able to designate their user name and password. Email notification will be sent to the attorney at their identified email account reflecting either approval or denial of the account. The selected user name and password will enable the attorney to retrieve and file documents electronically and to receive the Notice of Electronic Filing. The person to whom the user name and password is assigned is responsible for any documents filed using that user name and password.

The statewide E-Filing portal. Once your registration is accepted, you will be able to log in, select the county, and access a customized portal for Palm Beach County’s Clerk.

Attorneys can register to E-File using their Florida Bar numbers. Pro se filers can also register to E-File.

The certificate of service should state that service was performed via the E-Filing portal and list the associated e-mail address along with the physical address of all E-service recipients.

The document you received last would be the correct document.  Documents are served when filings are submitted.  When filers make corrections and resubmit filings, the documents are served again.

Yes. When an attorney files electronically to a case they are automatically added to the E-service recipient list with the e-mails they designate as E-service e-mail addresses for the case. If a party has not yet filed electronically to the case, to provide proper service through the portal, the filer will need to add them to the Other Attorney/Interested Party section of the Service List page so that they may be served. Once that party files electronically to the case and are automatically added, they should then be removed from the Other Attorney/Interested Party section of the E-service page.

Yes, the filer must ensure all of those entitled to service are served – either by adding those missing to the E-service Tab or by serving them separately by e-mail. The filer is responsible to determine those to be served and the filer may also deselect anyone not to be served.

Yes. The E-Portal cannot accommodate files with a combined size that exceeds 25 MB for one submission. Larger files will not be uploaded. Note: The E-Portal will only allow documents to be uploaded to one case at a time. You may load multiple documents to each case; however, use only one Word or PDF file per pleading. For example, if filing a Complaint, a Lis Pendens, and a Civil Cover Sheet; attach three separate files that combined, do not exceed 25 MB.

No. Filers should be able to use the E-Filing portal as long as they have a computer with an Internet connection and browser.

As defined in the Rules of Judicial Administration 2.520:

• 8 ½ x 11 inch paper size
• Portrait orientations
• 300 DPI Resolution
• Black and White/Bi-Tonal not Grayscale or Color

The E-Portal will accept filings in Microsoft Word 97 (or higher), WordPerfect and Adobe PDF formats. All documents will be converted to PDF format by the E-Portal. By default, the E-Portal will provide the PDF format to the local record system.

No. Paper documents will still be accepted at any of our courthouse locations in Palm Beach County. However, the Florida Supreme Court has mandated that all attorneys will be required to E-File all court documents (with very limited exceptions including where original documents are otherwise required by law) starting April 1, 2013 in civil courts and February 3, 2014 in criminal courts.

Access the Portal. From the dropdown menu under Accounts, select  My Profile.  Chose the Payment Accounts tab and update your payment information.

Civil fees must be paid online through the E-Filing portal.

The regular filings established by Florida law are required to be paid to file cases with Florida’s courts. In addition to the filing fees, there are also convenience fees established to offset the use of electronic funds transfer, whether using a credit, charge or debit card, or an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction. The portal accepts MasterCard, Discover and American Express cards with a 3.95 percent service charge. The fee for an ACH transaction is a $5.00 flat fee.

The E-Filing system accepts electronic checks, for those who don’t want to pay by credit card.

Since the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers will collect the E-Filing fees for all 67 counties, attorneys will not be able to use escrow accounts to cover filing fees and other costs.

The payment method is validated at the time the filing is submitted however, money is not charged to your account until the filing is accepted by the clerk.

Visa required a service charge that was out of line as compared to the other credit card vendors.

In order to search and find a case on the E-Portal, your case number must be in the following format:

• 4-digit year (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, etc…)
• 6-digit case sequence (000123)
• 2-digit case type (For example: CP, GA, CA)

If the case is a confidential case type, the style of the case will display Not Available.

Each County determines the documents they will accept via E-Filing. If the name of your document does not appear in the Document Type drop down, select the document name that is most appropriate. The Clerk’s office has the ability to change the name of the document when reviewed.

All filers must comply with the privacy/confidentiality provisions of Rules 2.420 and 2.425, Florida Rules of Judicial Administration. These requirements apply to all documents, including attachments. Adherence to these rules will ensure that information that should be protected will not become public. You will be required to select the option if your document is confidential or not at the time of uploading the document.

No. Once the filing is accepted and released to the Clerk’s case management system (CMS), it becomes the official court record just like it does with the current paper process. However, you may view a record listing of all your filings at the My filings screen on the E-Portal.

The E-Portal system operates in accordance with the Supreme Courts’ Administrative Order (AO09-30) for the use of “/s” in lieu of electronic signatures. A pleading or other document is not required to bear the electronic image of the handwritten signature or an encrypted signature of the attorney, but may be signed in the following manner when electronically filed through an attorney’s login and password:

s/ John Doe
John Doe (e-mail address)
Bar Number 12345
Attorney for (Plaintiff/Defendant) XYZ Company
ABC Law Firm
123 South Street
Orlando, FL 32800
Telephone: (407) 123-4567

An electronic filing may be submitted to the portal at any time of the day or night, twenty four (24) hours a day, seven days a week. For purposes of determining the initial filing date, a document shall be deemed to be filed on the date and time when the electronic filing is received at the E-Portal. See Florida Supreme Court Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts (adopted June 2009, adopted modifications February 2012). The file received date and time will be electronically stamped as a watermark at the top right of all document images.

Registration Notices

• Receipt of subscriber application
• Acceptance/activation of subscriber account
• Change of subscriber profile including login credentials

Filing Notices

• Receipt of filing (including filing id # )
• Acceptance of filing (including filing id # and case # )
• Pending of filing (including filing id #, case #, and pending reason

Contact an administrator who can activate your E-Portal registration at support@flclerks.com.

Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller of Palm Beach County

Email: Civil-efile@mypalmbeachclerk.com

Phone:

• Circuit Civil: (561) 355-2986
• County Civil: (561) 355-2500
• Unified Family Court: (561) 355-4880
• E-Filing Portal Support: (850) 577-4609

Links

• Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
• Florida Supreme Court
• Florida State Courts
• The Florida Bar
• Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers