Harris County, Texas, eFiling Guide

eFiling Deadline

Unless a document must be filed by a certain time of day, a document is considered timely filed if it is electronically filed at any time before midnight (in the court’s time zone) on the filing deadline.
T.R.C.P. Rule 21 (f)(5)

Signature and Formatting Requirements

Electronic Signatures – T.R.C.P. Rule 21 (f)(7):

A document that is electronically served, filed, or issued by a court or clerk is considered signed if the document includes:

A “/s/” and name typed in the space where the signature would otherwise appear, unless the document is notarized or sworn; or

An electronic image or scanned image of the signature.

Format – T.R.C.P. Rule 21 (f)(8):

A Harris County eFiled document must:

• be in text-searchable portable document format (PDF);
• be directly converted to PDF rather than scanned, if possible
• not be locked
• otherwise comply with the Technology Standards set by the Judicial Committee on Information Technology and approved by the Supreme Court.

Electronic Filing Requirements by the Court

Pursuant to Supreme Court of Texas, Misc. Docket No. 23-9071:

Electronic filing must be done through the electronic filing manager established by the Office of Court Administration and an electronic filing service provider certified by the Office of Court Administration.

The electronic filing manager will send a filing confirmation notice to the filing party.

In Civil Cases – T.R.C.P. 21 (f)(10):

The clerk must send orders, notices, or other communications about the case documents to the parties electronically through an electronic filing service provider certified by the Office of Court Administration or an electronic filing system approved by the Supreme Court. A court seal may be electronic.

The clerk need not send orders, notices, or other documents electronically: (a) when sealed or when access is otherwise restricted by law or court order; or (b) when an unrepresented party has not provided an e-mail address.

In Criminal Cases (Rule 2.7 of the Statewide Rules Governing Electronic Filing in Criminal Cases):

The clerk may electronically send notices and other documents to the parties. A court seal may be electronic.

The clerk must send orders to the parties electronically through an electronic filing service provider certified by the Office of Court Administration or an electronic filing system approved by the Supreme Court. A court seal may be electronic.

The clerk need not send orders electronically: (a) when sealed or when access is otherwise restricted by law or court order; or (b) when an unrepresented party has not provided an e-mail address.

For information and requirements to file criminal documents online, please click here.

If Civil eFilings are Returned – T.R.C.P. 21 (f)(11):

Non-Conforming Documents. The clerk may not refuse to file a document that fails to conform with this rule. But the clerk may identify the error to be corrected and state a deadline for the party to resubmit the document in a conforming format.

If Criminal eFilings are Returned (Rule 2.6 of the Statewide Rules Governing Electronic Filing in Criminal Cases):

Non-Conforming Documents. The clerk may not refuse a document that fails to conform to these rules. But the clerk may identify the error to be corrected and state a deadline for the party to resubmit the document in a conforming format.