Our eService Guide contains detailed information and screen shots covering every facet of submitting eServices into the state eFiling system through ProDoc eFiling.

Download the ProDoc eService Guide >>

eService in the state eFiling system is a faster, easier, and more cost effective way to serve other parties. The limiting factor is that you can only serve eServe parties who have "opted in" to receive eService.

You can eServe opposing counsel at the same time you file documents with the court. You can also eServe discovery requests on opposing counsel, without a corresponding filing with the court. The state eFiling system calls this second eService option eService Plus while we refer to it as stand-alone eService.

For more information about eService, visit these resources:

• eService Questions and Answers >>
  
• State eFiling Local Rules governing eService >>
  
• A sample eService >>

ProDoc Fax Service automates the process of providing service to your recipients when eService is not an option. Your ProDoc Fax Service recipients will display on your service list along with your eService recipients.

Our Fax Service is completely free, regardless of the number of parties to be served and regardless of the page count for the document you're serving.

However, the state eFiling system places one restriction on Fax Service. You can always Fax Serve when it is done in conjunction with an eFiling. However, when you are performing a Stand Alone service (see the Understanding eService section above), you can Fax Serve ONLY if at least one party is also being electronically served through the state eFiling system.

For more information about eService, visit our eService and Fax Service Questions and Answers.

Judges have the authority to issue their orders electronically through the eFiling for Courts system, although it is not common at this time. The notification and retrieval process for eService is the same as for eService.

You can eServe any attorney or pro se registrant in the state eFiling system who has opted in to receive eService, either globally for the specific case.

Trial Courts
Assuming that there are opted-in-parties for your case, you can eServe in trial courts when you have a court and cause number.

Appellate Courts
Assuming that there are opted-in-parties for your case; you can eServe in appellate courts when you have a docket number. However, you can also eServe in appellate cases without a docket number. In those situations, indicate on page one of the eFiling process This is an existing case and enter your trial court cause number. These two steps will enable you to eServe along with your appellate eFiling submission.

As the Serving Party, you may receive each of these emails for each party you eServe:

1. The initial Proof of Service email notification.
2. The follow up Notification of Completed eService email that notifies you that your service is now in the recipient's eService Inbox awaiting retrieval.
3. The Notification of eService Retrieved email after the recipient logins into his/her account and Accepts/Retrieves the eService. You will not receive this notification if the recipient fails to retrieve his/her eService.

As the Recipient, you will receive the following email notifications for each eService to you:

1. You receive the initial Proof of Service email, notifying you of the eService.
2. Soon thereafter, you receive the Electronic Service of Copies email containing the service details and a link to click to login to your eFiling account in order to retrieve the document(s) served on you.

Local Rule 5.3 states that:

Whenever a party has the right or is required to do some act within a prescribed period of time after service of a document upon the party and that document is electronically served, then three days shall be added to the prescribed period of time.

Serving Party:

• $5.50 to the state eFiling system - This fee applied whether you serve one or 1,000 parties.
• $1.00 to ProDoc eFiling. However, we do not charge this fee when you submit your eService with an eFiling.
• 8.25% sales tax ($0.08) on the $1.00 ProDoc eService fee (but only when it is charged).
• 2.25% credit card processing fee to the state eFiling system for all of the above fees.

These fees total:

• $5.62 when you submit an eService with an eFiling
• $6.65 when you submit a stand-alone eService (Discovery, for instance)

There are no fees associated with receiving eService. Only the serving party pays for eService.

An eService expires when the receiving party fails to retrieve the pending eService within 30 days.

Typically, the documents you receive through eService will not be file stamped.

If you retrieve the eService documents before the clerk accepts and file stamps them, the documents you retrieve will bear no file stamp. If you retrieve the documents after the eFiling has been Confirmed and the lead document file stamped, the documents you retrieve may be file stamped.

However, when the serving party submits a stand-alone eService, the recipient(s) will receive whatever document the serving party provides for the service, a file stamped document or a non-file stamped document.

You cannot retract or change an eService after it has been submitted. For this reason, when an eService is submitted with an eFiling, and when the eFiling is rejected, the eService fees will not be refunded. The rejected eFiling with an eService will result in a final $5.62 charge on your credit card statement for the eService.

eService failure occurs when the state eFiling system is unable to successfully complete the eService delivery to the service provider. This happens very infrequently and is generally caused by a temporary malfunction in the state eFiling system. When this occurs, you (the serving party) will receive a failure notification email.

As the serving party:
After submitting your service you will receive a Proof of Service email with a subject line of "Proof of Service for Cause (Cause number) (Document Name)." Your Proof of Service will be attached to the email as a PDF document. Information contained in the document includes the jurisdiction, cause number, trace number, court assignment, case style, date and time of service, serving party, name of documents filed and method of service for each attorney.

As an eService recipient:
You will receive the initial Proof of Service email alerting you of the eService. This email contains information about the service but does not contain any links for you to access the service documents. You will be able to retrieve the service documents by clicking a link in the Electronic Service of Copies email you receive a few minutes later.

There are three optin options in the state eFiling system:

1. Case by Case (automatic) - You can choose to receive eService only in those cases in which you, or your delegate) have eFiled and entered a court and cause number for the eFiling.
2. Global Opt In - A Global Opt In means that you agree to accept eService for any cause in which you are a party, regardless of whether have yet eFiled in that cause.
3. Case by Case (manual) - If you deselect the above optin options, you, or your delegate, are provided an opportunity during the eFiling process to manually opt in for eService.

There are four different ways to optin for eService:

1. When you next eFile for a particular cause number, on the second page of the eFiling process you can check the I agree to accept eService for this cause. box at the bottom of the page. You will be immediately "opted in" to receive eService for that specific cause.
2. After logging into your ProDoc eFiling account, click on the My eService button, find and click on Causes for which I agree to Accept eService, and then use the Add Cause feature to opt in for a specific cause number. Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page. You'll be instantly opted in to receive eService for that specific cause.
3. After logging into your ProDoc eFiling account, click on the My eService button, find and click on the Causes for which I agree to Accept eService, find the Global Acceptance: area and click in the box to the right of it. Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page. This will instantly opt you in to receive eService for any cause.
4. After logging into your ProDoc eFiling account, find and click the Edit My Information link. Scroll down to the Other Options section and find these options:
• Automatically register me to accept eService for any cause for which I eFile or
• Globally Opt in (receive eService for any cause to which you are a party).
5. Select either or both options - you can always change your choice later by unchecking the appropriate box. Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.

View step-by-step instructions for opting in for eService in Section 5 on page 7 in our eService Guide.

If you decide you no longer want to receive eService you have several options.

If you do not want to receive an eServices for any causes, change any automatic optin options in your state eFiling system profile:

1. Login to your eFiling account.
2. Click the My Preferences button on the navigation bar.
3. Scroll down to the Other Options section.
4. Make sure the first option is checked but make sure these two eService optin options are unchecked.
   • Automatically register me to accept eService for any cause for which I eFile.
   • eService Global Acceptance. (By selecting this option, you are agreeing to accept service electronically in all cases.)
5. Click the Save Changes button if you made any changes.

If you want to opt out of receiving eServices for specific causes or other causes for which you are already opted in based on previous eFilings for your case:

1. Hover your cursor over the My eService button and then click the Selected Causes link.
2. On the ensuing page, locate the cause in question on the list of causes. The list on this page shows you all causes to which you are opted in to receive eService. Click the red X to the right of any causes for which you no longer wish to be eServed.
3. Confirm that you want to delete it.
4. Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.

You will now receive no more eService to this UserID unless you specifically opt in for a specific cause as you are eFiling for that cause. However, if you have multiple registrations in the state eFiling system, you may be eServed on one of those registrations.

View step-by-step instructions for opting out of eService in Section 6 on page 8 in our eService Guide.

eService retrieval is the point in time that you download the filing documents and details from the state eFiling system. This is a manual process. eService details can be retrieved by you or by anyone you have delegated.

There are two ways to retrieve an eService:

1. Click the link in email you receive - The Electronic Service of Copies email contains a link, which when clicked, takes you to your account login and then directly to the specific eService in your eService Inbox. The initial Proof of Service email you receive does not contain this link.
2. Log into your eFiling account and view the Inbox - Alternatively, you can login in your normal way. Then, hover over My eService and click Inbox. Locate the eService in question and click the Accept button. Clicking the accept button opens the Service Details page, which contains links for downloading each document in the service.

To check the status of your eService to other parties:

1. Login to your ProDoc eFiling account.
2. Hover over My eService.
3. Click Outbox.
4. Find the eService in question and click either icon in the far right two columns of the eService.
   • The icon provides you only the status of each eService and/or fax service.
   • Clicking the icon opens all the details of the eFiling or eService, including the status of your eService.

Any of your delegates who are members of the same firm account as you will be able to login as themselves and repeat the above steps to view the same information.

After you login to your ProDoc eFiling account, click My eService > Outbox and view a list of all eServices to other parties submitted in your name. Each eService will display on one of the following colors:

• eServices displayed in dark gray - A fax service is still in the fax queue or one, or more, eServices are still waiting to be retrieved by the recipients.
• eServices displayed in blue - All fax services have been successfully delivered and/or all eServices have been retrieved by the recipients.
• eServices displayed in red - One, or more, fax services and/or eServices have failed to be delivered.

eService delivery occurs you submit an eService, alone or with an eFiling. At the time of submission, a Proof of Service email is sent to all eService recipients, notifying them that they have been served via eService. This email is NOT the recipient's formal eService copy. It is simply notification that there is a pending eService.

Later, usually less than five minutes, the Electronic Service of Copies email is sent to the recipient(s). The time of delivery is determined by when this email is sent to the receiving attorney.

At the time of delivery, the Notification of Completed Service email is sent to you, the serving party; notifying you that your eService was delivered successfully to the recipient.

The following sample eService provides more detail about each step for each party.

Service Party (Attorney1)

1. Attorney1 eFiles and simultaneously eServes Recipient1, Recipient2 and Recipient3.
2. Attorney1 receives three Proof of Service emails, notifying him/her that the eService request has been initiated to Recipients 1, 2, and 3.

Recipient1

1. Recipient1 receives a Proof of Service email, notifying him/her of the eService.
2. Recipient1 receives the Electronic Service of Copies email with the details and document(s) being served.
3. Recipient1 clicks on the eService link on the email, and logs into his/her ProDoc eFiling eService Inbox, and locates the pending filing in his/her eService Inbox.
4. Recipient1 retrieves his/her service copies of the filing by clicking the Accept button.
5. eService is complete to Recipient1.

Recipient2

1. Recipient1 receives a Proof of Service email, notifying him/her of the eService.
2. Recipient1 receives the Electronic Service of Copies email with the details and document(s) being served.
3. Recipient2 clicks on the eService link on the email, and logs into his/her ProDoc eFiling eService Inbox, and locates the pending filing in his/her eService Inbox.
4. Recipient2 does NOT click the Accept button for the filing.
5. After 30 days, the eService to Recipient2 expires.

Recipient3

1. The state eFiling system is not able to deliver notice of the eService to Recipient3's service provide so the eService fails.
2. An eService failed email is sent to Attorney1.
   

Service Party (Attorney1)

1. Attorney1 receives a Notification of Completed eService email, notifying him/her that Recipient1 was notified of the service and that the service copies awaiting retrieval.
2. Attorney1 receives a Notification of Completed eService email, notifying him/her that Recipient2was notified of the service and that the service copies awaiting retrieval.
3. Attorney1 receives an eService Failure email, notifying him/her that Recipient3 could not be notified of eService.
4. Attorney1 receives a Notification of eService Retrieved email, notifying him/her that Recipient1 has retrieved his or her service of copies and that eService to Recipient1 is now complete.
5. Attorney1 receives an eFiling confirmation email notifying him/her that the eFiling has been accepted by the clerk. (This bears no consequence to the electronic service of copies.)

When you eFile and enter the court and cause number, ProDoc eFiling automatically searches the state eFiling database for anyone who has opted in to receive eService for that cause. When it finds a party who has opted in for that cause number, regardless of the service provider used by that party, ProDoc eFiling adds that party to your service list.

If you are filing for a cause for which you have previously eFiled and eServed one, or more parties, ProDoc also automatically adds that party(ies) to your service list.

When there are other parties to the case, we provide you the ability to search for the party in the state eFiling who "globally opted in" to receive eService for any cause to which they may be a party. You can search for additional parties by bar number, by name, or by firm name. Because multiple attorneys often share the same name, we recommend that you search by bar number.

You can only eServe the same name a single time. When you find multiple listings for an attorney you must select only one for eService.

If you still have not found the party, you can easily add that party to your service list for service by a method other than by eService. Our system will not allow you to select the attorney of record for the eFiling or eService as a recipient as that would generate an error from the state eFiling system.

View step-by-step instructions for adding parties to your service list on page 2 in Section 1 in our eService Guide.

You can add all of your service recipients to your service list, even those to whom you will not eServe or use ProDoc fax service. This includes the recipients to whom you intend to mail or fax serve or send by personal delivery.

When you enter your entire service list, ProDoc eFiling displays your complete list of service recipients on your eFiling Details and eService Details page.

Service if Discovery is simply a stand-alone eService. The cost will total $6.65 for eServing your discovery on an unlimited number of parties.

The time and date of service is the time and date that the state eFiling system makes the service document(s) available to the service provider for the recipient, based on the time zone of the recipient. At that instant, the service documents are also available in the recipient's eService Inbox. This usually occurs within a few minutes of the time of submission of the eService.

There is also a very close correlation between the time of submission of the eService to the time the service recipient receives the Electronic Service of Copies email. Unless there is a problem with the email delivery, the recipient should receive the Electronic Service of Copies email within minutes of the time of submission.

However, if the service is received after 5:00 PM, the recipient's time, then the date of service is the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

Read more about the Local Rules governing eService.

The most common reason an attorney is not able to view an eService is due to duplicate registrations for the attorney in the state eFiling system. Here is an example:

• Attorney Mark registered once with the eFiling system with a UserID of Attorney1.
• His paralegal forgot his UserID and password for a critical eFiling so she registered Mark again with a User ID of Attorney2.
• Attorney Joyce wants to eServe Mark. When she searches to add him to her service list she finds both registrations. She can only eServe one of the registrations and she does not have access to the UserIDs so she chooses the first listing of his name, sending the eService to Mark's Attorney2 UserID.
• Mark receives the notification emails and logs into his account using his Attorney1 UserID. However, he cannot see the eService because it was sent to his Attorney2 UserID.
• Mark must login using his Attorney2 UserID and password to retrieve the eService.

Similarly, Mark's secretary, who is delegated for the Attorney1 UserID, will not be able to login as herself and view the eService because she is not delegated for the Attorney2 UserID.

The page to add attorneys to your eService list will always be available to you when you indicate on page 1 of the eFiling process that This is an existing case and you select the court and enter the number.

If this is an appellate eFiling and you do not have a docket number, you must indicate that This is an existing case and enter the trial court cause number.

There are three reasons why you are not able to find the parties to your case and add them to your service list:

1. The other parties are not be registered with the state eFiling system and/or opted in to receive eService.
2. You selected the wrong court or entered an incorrect cause number on page 1 or the eFiling process.
3. You are attempting to add the attorney of record for the eFiling as an eService recipient. Our system prevents you from finding the attorney of record because the state eFiling system does not allow this eService.

You will find that when you search for parties to add to your service list you find multiple registrations for one, or more, attorneys, the temptation is to select them all. However, the state eFiling system allows you to add the identical name only once to your service list. Adding the identical name more than once to your service list will result in the following Duplicate Actor error during your eFiling and/or eService submission.

Filing Validation Error
Actors with duplicate first, middle, and last names are not allowed.

When submitting an eService along with an eFiling, you cannot eServe the attorney of record for the eFiling. Attempting to do so will result in the following Duplicate Actor error during your eFiling submission.

Filing Validation Error
Actors with duplicate first, middle, and last names are not allowed.

Our free Fax Service begins calling immediately after the eFiling/eService is submitted to state eFiling.

ProDoc Fax Service automatically attaches the cover letter for you for each party you fax serve. It also sends you, by email, a Proof of Service for each party to whom the Fax Service succeeds.

If the fax service fails, ProDoc Fax Service will send you Failed Fax Service Notification email.

You can also view the status of your fax service online. See Login to the system and view the Inbox or Outbox.

There are two ProDoc-imposed limitations to our Fax Service and one state eFiling system imposed limitation:

1. You cannot fax serve more than five recipients and/or
2. You cannot fax serve when the total file size for the documents being eFiled exceeds 15 MBs. The Fax Service option will not display for you if your filings exceeds either of these parameters.
3. Additionally, when submitting a stand-alone eService, there must be at least one eService recipient in order for you to be able to fax serve another. This is a state-eFiling-system-imposed limitation.

After the fax service is successfully delivered by our system, we send you a Proof of Fax Service email for each party to whom the fax service was successfully sent.

When the fax fails after the final attempt, our system sends a Fax Failure email to the email address of the attorney of record for the Fax Service.

You can also view the status of your fax service online.

1. Login to your ProDoc eFiling account.
2. Hover over My eService.
3. Click Outbox.
4. Find the service in question and click either icon in the far right two columns of the eService.
   • The icon provides you only the status of each Fax Service.
   • Clicking the icon opens all the details of the eFiling or eService, including the status of your Fax Service.

Our free Fax Service begins calling almost immediately after the eFiling/eService is submitted to the state eFiling system.

If the first attempt is not successful, ProDoc Fax Service makes one additional attempt to resend the fax when the first attempt fails for reasons such as no answer, no dial tone, receiver hang up, transmission error, etc.

If it receives a busy signal, ProDoc Fax Service makes additional attempts 5, 10, 25, and 65 minutes after the first attempt.

Judges have had the authority for several years to issue their orders through the state eFiling system. In practice, very few do so at this time.

eOrders are handled very much like eService. Therefore, a judge can only issue eOrders when a recipient is opted in to receive eService for the case.

Judges issue their orders electronically through the state eFiling system in the identical way that you submit eServices.

Therefore, you receive the same notifications for eOrders that you receive for eServices. You also retrieve eOrders in the same way that you retrieve eServices.