Rev. 06/30/17

Important Reminders for ECF Users
US Bankruptcy Court - Middle District of Pennsylvania

1.     All ECF users are to pay required filing fees, including installment payments, via the Internet. Select “Pay Now” and enter your credit card information. Fields that have a red (*) asterisk are required. All charges must be paid by the end of the business day.

2.     The Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) is of great importance. It is used not only for verification of filing, but also to determine who was served electronically and who will need to be served through conventional means. To view a NEF, log into ECF and access a Docket Report from the Reports menu. You will be prompted to enter your PACER login in order to proceed with accessing a Docket Report. Check the box “Include links to Notice of Electronic Filing”. Run the docket report and click on the silver bullet in front of the document number in order to see the corresponding NEF. When you get e-mail notification of a filing, all parties served and not served electronically are listed in the e-mail.

3.     Statement of Social Security Number (Official Form 121) is not to be included in any image uploaded into ECF unless it is being docketed separately using the specific event designed to prevent public viewing of the entry. The full social security number should not be included or displayed on any other image filed with the court. The original is to be kept on file in the Attorney’s office with the signed copy of the petition. Use extreme caution when entering the social security number for both the debtor and joint debtor as the screen where it is entered will be the first and only opportunity to verify it for accuracy. The court staff has no way of verifying its accuracy unless the 121 is filed. The 341 notice is the first opportunity for an outside filer to view the entire Social Security Number.

4.     When scanning documents, the page size should not be larger than 8.5" by 11". ECF can accept documents as large as 50 MB however, the larger the file size the longer the upload time.  The clerk’s office recommends a file size no larger than 3 MB (1024 KB) per document/attachment.

5.     Proposed Orders shall be submitted as an exhibit to the motion or pleading at the time of filing. Proposed orders must be converted to a pdf file not scanned. 

6.     Close the browser completely after logging out of an ECF session.  If at any time, you are not receiving the correct menus in ECF, please log out, clear cache and cookies, close your browser and try again.

7.     E-filers need an e-mail account that can handle the large volume of e-mails generated as a result of electronic filing. Free e-mail accounts may not be of adequate size. On the E-Mail Information screen under Maintain Your ECF Account, you have the option of selecting “Send a Notice for each filing” which prompts an e-mail to be sent every time something is docketed in a case in which you are involved. Or if you would prefer to receive one e-mail each morning summarizing the previous day’s filings, you can change this option to “Send a Daily Summary Report.” 

8.     When you receive your first NEF, please add the sender to your address book so that your service provider does not think the emails are spam.  Do not reply to a NEF.

9.    Pop-up blockers will prevent some features of ECF from working properly (ie. Fee payments). Please turn these off when in ECF.   

10.    Section I.C.4 of the Administrative Procedures requires you to maintain your personal information (i.e., address, phone number, e-mail address).  Login to the PACER website and update your email address or your physical address under the Maintenance tab.  Be sure to apply the update to all cases for this court and other court you practice.

11.    Contacting the Clerk's Office for Assistance:

        Help Desk:  The Help Desk is available to handle questions and problems pertaining to ECF during regular business hours of the Clerk’s Office (i.e., Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).

E-MAIL:                          pambecf_helpdesk [at] pamb.uscourts.gov (Click here to email ECF Help Desk)

PHONE NUMBERS:         Harrisburg        888-531-9485 (Toll Free)   OR   (717) 901-2800, opt 0    
                                           Wilkes-Barre    877-298-2053 (Toll Free)   OR   (570) 831-2500, opt 0

        Event Help:  If you cannot find an appropriate event, if events available do not describe your pleading or relief you are seeking, or if an event needs more functionality for you to e-file a document, please PAMB_CMECF_Event_Help [at] pamb.uscourts.gov (subject: CM%2FECF%20Event%20Help) (click here) to send an e-mail describing your problem to the CM/ECF Event Help mailbox. Please provide case specific information and attach your document.  Someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

        For additional contact information, visit our Court Info -- Contact Us page.