Electronic Filing

The Clerk accepts electronic filings (“efiles”), meaning documents submitted through the Board’s email system (“efiled”). Parties may file documents by sending an email (usually with attachments) to cbca.efile@cbca.gov. However, documents that are classified or submitted in camera or under protective order may not be efiled. Submitted documents must be in .pdf format and 18 megabytes (MB) or smaller or they will be rejected. Efiling occurs upon receipt by the Board’s email server. Efilings received after midnight are considered filed the next business day.

• The following efilings will not be accepted by the Board:
  • Submissions with attachments that are not in .pdf format (commonly received file formats that will result in a rejected filing include: Word (.docx), email (.eml or .p7s), ZIP (.zip), Excel (.xls), and picture files (.jpg or .png);
  • Submissions with links requiring the Board to download attachments from document hosting services;
  • Submissions that exceed the Board’s 18 megabyte (MB) size restriction;
  • Documents that are classified or submitted in camera or under protective order;
  • Rule 4 appeal file submissions made without prior permission from the Board; and
  • PDF documents containing viruses. These will be blocked by the Board's e-mail system. All PDF documents should be scanned for viruses before they are sent to ensure that the e-mail filing is not discarded and the filing is timely made.
• Best practices for efiles:
  • Include case number, case name, and brief description of filing in subject line;
  • Remember to cc: opposing parties, or otherwise indicate a copy has been served;
  • If an efile contains multiple attachments, use a file naming convention in which the Board can easily recognize in what order the attachments should be placed;
  • If possible, combine a filing with any attachments for that filing into one .pdf. Attachments may be identified by placing a label sheet before each attachment or by labelling or electronically stamping the first page of each attachment;
  • If permitted by the Board to submit Rule 4 appeal file exhibits via efile, the index and each exhibit should be separate .pdf documents and shall be given file names that correspond with the exhibit number; and
  • Do not submit multiple filings from unconsolidated cases in a single efile.
• Ensure an electronic receipt for efilings by requesting a read receipt before submitting the efile. (Please note: Auto-responses to electronic filings are generated by a vacation responder. If you submit multiple filings, you may only receive a confirmation for only the first document filed every 4 days. Please feel free to call the Office of the Clerk of the Board to confirm receipt of multiple submissions.)
• Any questions about efiling should be addressed to the Clerk by telephone at (202) 606-8800.

Last Reviewed: December 28, 2012