LASC: Documents Must be Electronically Filed in PDF, Text-Searchable Format

Please be advised of the following rules promulgated by the California Supreme Court and the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles regarding electronic filings.

Documents Must be Electronically Filed in PDF, Text-Searchable Format

Under California Rule of Court 2.256(b)(3) and California Rule of Court 8.74(b)(2)(a), a document that is filed electronically with the court “must be text-searchable while maintaining original document formatting.” The County of Los Angeles published General Order of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, wherein section (c)(2)(A) further provides that documents must be electronically filed in PDF format. This includes Declarations, Proofs of Service, and Exhibits to documents.

The County of Los Angeles, Civil Department has begun rejecting order submissions if the documents are not text-searchable. Not all courts currently enforce this requirement, however, it is a state requirement for eFiling.

Documents Must be Bookmarked

California Rule of Court 3.1110(f)(4) and the General Order published by the County of Los Angeles also provides that documents must include electronic bookmarks. A bookmark is a PDF document navigational tool that allows the reader to quickly locate and navigate to a designated point of interest within a document.

Self-Service Tools

We understand that compliance is of the utmost importance with regard to minimizing the rejection rate of electronic submissions. As such, here are some tips and links to help you ensure your next electronic filing will be compliant. 

• Making Text Searchable: Adobe Acrobat provides this guide that helps users OCR a document. OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition, which is a method of digitizing text so that they can be electronically searched on a computer.
  • For non-Adobe users, there are free sites that will help users convert PDF’s into text-searchable documents. Click here or here for the links. 

• Bookmarking: For Adobe users, this guide will help users create bookmarks in a document.

Should you needs further assistance, please contact Direct Legal customer service team today at (800) 675-5376 for any general questions.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Direct Legal Support team.

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