Alternate Document Submission (ADS)

What is Alternate Document Submission?

Alternate Document Submission (ADS) is a District of New Jersey service that may be used by self-represented litigants without CM/ECF privileges for filing a new civil case or for filing documents in existing civil, criminal or miscellaneous cases, as an alternative to mailing or bringing the documents to the courthouse.  Using ADS is the electronic equivalent of mailing your document(s) to the Court for filing on CM/ECF. You are not required to use ADS. You may continue to elect to submit documents by one of the other filing methods provided for self-represented litigants: by mail; by placing them in the drop box in one of the courthouse lobbies; or delivering them in person at the Clerk’s Office. Clerk’s Office and drop box hours are located on the Court’s website. Court holidays and designated administrative leave days are also posted on the Court’s website. 

As with any document submitted in federal court, documents submitted through ADS must comply with all relevant local and federal rules. Please remember to sign your documents in compliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 11 before submitting them to the Court.  For additional guidance, please refer to the Procedural Guide for Pro Se Litigants. 

If you are submitting documents using ADS, do not mail additional copies of those documents to the Clerk’s Office.  If submitting courtesy copies, they shall be clearly marked “courtesy copy” and mailed or delivered for Chambers ONLY if indicated in the assigned Judicial Officer’s Judicial Preferences.

The ADS system is provided for your convenience. The privilege of submitting a document through ADS may be revoked due to continuous non-compliance of the ADS filing guidelines.

A technical failure with ADS will not constitute an excuse for missing a filing deadline. In the event of a technical failure of ADS, users must submit documents by one of the other filing methods provided for self-represented litigants as indicated above.

Please review the information below before submitting a document through ADS.

Filings that May Not Be Submitted by Alternate Document Submission

• Attorneys/individuals represented by attorneys cannot file using ADS and must file documents electronically using CM/ECF. Any documents submitted through ADS by attorneys will not be docketed and the attorney will not receive any response to the submission.
• Sealed documents may not be filed using ADS.
• USM-285 Forms
• Rule 26 Discovery
• Settlement position statements and/or other ex parte submissions
• Documents prohibited by a confidentiality order
• Unredacted documents that are not in compliance with Federal Rule Civil Procedure 5.2
• Unflattened fillable forms
• Courtesy copies or other documents intended for submission to Chambers only

Consent to Use Email for Service

You may complete the Notice of Consent & Registration to Receive Documents Electronically to provide your consent to receive service of documents and Notice of Electronic Filings via the Court’s electronic filing system to the extent and in the manner authorized by Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b), and Fed. R. Civ. P. 77(d), Local Civil Rule 5.2. By and through your consent, you also waive the right to receive notice by first class mail pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b)(2)(D) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 77(d).  This means that you will receive notice of court documents, as well as documents filed by other parties in the case, at the e-mail address you provide. The Court would no longer send paper copies of documents that were sent to you by e-mail.

Date of Filing

The date the Clerk’s Office receives a document submitted through ADS will be considered the date of filing. Please allow time for processing.  Generally, filings are processed within one full business day of receipt; however, occasionally, there are times processing may take longer. 

How Do I Know Which Vicinage My Filing Belongs?

For existing cases, you can determine the vicinage by looking at the first digit in the case number. 

1: - Camden

2: - Newark

3: - Trenton

Review the number listed before the colon, i.e., case number 1:24-cv-00001 would be a civil Camden case because the number before the colon is a 1.

If your case is a new filing and you do not have an assigned case number, please be advised that allocation of new civil cases is guided by Local Rule 40.1(a).  Cases are assigned based on the location of the first-listed defendant, where the incident took place, or based on any listed related cases.  For cases involving real estate, the location of the property is used to determine the allocation.  For motor vehicle accidents, cases are assigned based on the county where the accident took place.  Please review the vicinage lines for case assignment located on the Court’s website to assist you in selecting the proper vicinage for submission of your filing.  Upon receipt of your initiating case document(s), a member of the Clerk’s Office will review your submission to determine the proper vicinage. 

REMINDER:  All initiating filings, i.e., Complaints and Notices of Removal, must be accompanied by a completed, flattened civil cover sheet.  When filing a Notice of Removal, be sure to also include a copy of all state court pleadings.    

How Will I Know When My Submission is Docketed?

The Clerk’s Office will enter the documents submitted through ADS into CM/ECF.  Once entered, you will receive a Notice of Electronic Filing. 

If you have consented to receive documents electronically, you will receive a notice from the CM/ECF docketing system at the e-mail address you provided to the Court. You will be granted one “free look” to view the filed document at no cost. You are strongly encouraged to save or print the document for your records. After this free view is used or expires after 15 days, the filed document may only be accessed through Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) or obtained through the Clerk’s Office for the applicable copy work fee. You may obtain a PACER account by registering online at https://pacer.uscourts.gov.

If you have not consented to receive documents electronically, you will receive a Notice of Electronic Filing via first class mail at the address you listed on your pleadings. 

How Can I Pay the Filing Fee for a New Case?

For new cases, the Clerk’s Office will assign a case number. Once the case is processed, you will receive a Notice of Electronic Filing either electronically or via first class mail as indicated above.  Once you have received your case number you can pay by credit card, check or money order.

Credit card payments can be made by calling our finance department:

Camden: (609) 989-0468  Newark: (973) 622-4810   Trenton: (609) 989-0468

Checks or money orders shall be made payable to “Clerk, U.S. District Court” and mailed to the office where the case was opened:

If you are unable to pay the filing fee, you may apply to the Court to allow you to file your complaint without the prepayment of the filing fee by submitting an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. This application must also accompany the complaint.

**If you are notified that the in forma pauperis application is denied by the court, you will be required to pay the filing fee in order for the complaint to be filed and your action to commence.**

Technical Requirements for Using ADS

• File Size and Type: The Court will only accept files in PDF format with a size that does not exceed 35 MB. If your document exceeds 35 MB, you must split your document into smaller files and label them accordingly. If your documents do not meet these requirements, you must file by mail; by placing them in the drop box in one of the courthouse lobbies; or delivering them in person at the Clerk’s Office. Documents that do not meet these criteria will not be filed.  

• Filing Multiple Documents: You can submit up to 20 documents for filing in the same case as long as no individual document exceeds 35 MB.

• How to Know If Your Submission Was Successful: If your submission is successful, you will see the following screen:

If you do not see this screen, your documents were not submitted to the Court. If you cannot successfully file using ADS, you must submit documents by one of the other filing methods provided for self-represented litigants: by mail; by placing them in the drop box in one of the courthouse lobbies; or delivering them in person at the Clerk’s Office.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is not legal advice. All parties using this website remain responsible for complying with all applicable Court rules of procedure. If there is any conflict between the information on this website and the applicable rules, the rules govern. This website may contain links to other sites. The links on these pages are provided for your convenience. The Court makes no endorsement or warranty of quality of services by linking to an organization from this website. The Court cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy, relevance, reliability, or completeness of the information you find on other sites.

Click here to submit your documents to the District of New Jersey.