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File in a District (Trial) Court

Registered User Filing Guide: Pursuant to Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 14.03 (g), everyone who uses eFiling and eService needs to follow the Guide.

eFile and eServe

Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari internet browsers are the recommended browsers for access to the eFile & eServe (eFS) portal.

Electronic filing and service is required in all 87 Minnesota counties.

 

Mandatory use of the eFile and eServe (eFS) System

As of July 1, 2016 the use of eFS is mandatory for attorneys, government agencies, and guardians ad litem, in all court cases filed in all 87 Minnesota counties.


Voluntary use of eFS

All filers who are not required by court rule to use eFS, such as self-represented litigants, may use eFS in all Minnesota counties.

NOTE: Only parties to a case or attorneys representing parties in a case should register in eFS. For example, advocates should not register in eFS to eFile on behalf of a self-represented litigant.
 

eFiling for criminal and juvenile delinquency cases 

Charging documents (criminal complaints, citations, and tab charges) are not filed through eFS. The same is true for juvenile delinquency petitions and citations. See Minn. R. Crim. Pro. 1.06, subd. 2; and Minn. R. Juv. Del. P. 6.03, subd. 2.

More information on eFiling charging documents in these cases is available on the Government Partners, Criminal Justice System Resources page.

Attorneys, government agencies, and law enforcement must use eFS to file other non-charging documents with the Minnesota district courts, effective July 1, 2016. See Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 14.01(b)(1).

Additional eFiling information

Unless required to use eFS as described above, court users can continue to file paper documents and court forms at the courthouse.

The Civil Actions help topic includes additional information on filing and responding to a summons and complaint.

Both electronic and paper filings are subject to the appropriate filing fee. However, the use of eFS poses a minimal cost for registered users. Besides the browser, all that is needed is a current email address and a valid credit or debit card for filing fees. VISA, MasterCard, and Discover are accepted, American Express is not.

Training and instructional materials are available on the eFile and eServe Training tab.

To make sure electronically filed cases and documents are efficiently processed the following resources are available to filers in addition to the training sessions and materials. Filers are encouraged to review and use these resources.

Case Type Indexes and E-Filing Code Guides

This information is provided to help filers choose the correct case type when filing a new case in eFile and eServe (eFS) and the correct filing codes when filing a document. Both documents include recommended filing descriptions as well as the applicable document security levels. Use the indexes to ensure the filing code selected most accurately describes the filed document. For example, certain documents are required by court rule or statute to be sealed or confidential in public criminal cases and there are specific filing codes for those documents. The recommended document security levels are the lowest security level for a document. Filers may need to increase security levels based on the content of the document.

Specify whether a document is public, confidential, or sealed. If a normally public document should be confidential or sealed, cite the specific legal authority. However, it is not necessary to cite legal authority when using public filing codes in a confidential juvenile delinquency case. If there is no legal authority to increase security, the document will be classified at the lowest security level for that document type.

It is important to file each document using a separate filing code. Do not combine documents. If no additional description is necessary, use a placeholder such as a period in the Filing Description field. Filing descriptions are visible in the electronic court record so filers should not include information that should not be accessible by the public, other parties, or justice agency partners. See Best Practices: eFS for Minnesota Filers for more detail.

 

eFS Support Center staff are available Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., except for court holidays, to answer your questions and assist you with using the eFS system. You can contact them through the following options:

Phone

  • (612) 902-9585
  • (844) 918-1724 (if calling long distance from a landline phone)


Email Contact Form »


eFS System Maintenance

Occasionally there are system outages that are unplanned. If eFS is unavailable, please check back in a few minutes. If the system remains unavailable and prevents you from electronically filing where mandatory, you may file a motion for relief under Minnesota General Rules of Practice 14.01(c).

Below is a link to the Outage Log, which provides detailed information about all past occurrences of eFS system unavailability. This information should be included in your exception request to the court.
 

Outage Log

Vision

Minnesota courts will operate in an electronic information environment that will ensure convenient, timely, and appropriate access to case information for all stakeholders.

  • All cases will be eFiled or submitted on paper and converted to electronic images.
  • Justice system partners and other external constituents will have secure access to electronic records.
  • Court processes will be streamlined due to efficiencies gained from electronic records.
  • Judges and court staff will rely on electronic records.

Goals

1.  Increase productivity and reduce operational costs by using and providing electronic court information

2.  Provide easy to use electronic court services to constituents

  • Engage with constituents to create solutions

3.  Build secure and reliable business and technical infrastructure to support electronic court services

  • Transform court processes
  • Proactively examine existing rules, statutes and policies and seek needed changes
  • Build a sound and secure technical infrastructure
  • Assure comprehensive disaster recovery

4.  Promote and facilitate culture change from paper processes to electronic court processes

  • Implement a consistent, statewide solution
  • Actively support and educate judges, court staff and external constituents
  • Continuously identify business processes for increased efficiencies

5.  Create a fiscally sensible, cost neutral electronic court records process for ongoing operations

  • Determine methods to make eCourt self-supporting
  • Implement related tools

Benefits

  • Litigants will be able to file case documents without going to the courthouse.
  • Judges, court staff, and litigants will be able to view and work with the most up-to-date case documents, even when someone else is viewing the case file.
  • Court records not considered confidential under the Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch will be viewable through the Judicial Branch Website.

Technologies

  • eFiling (including eCitations and eCharging)
  • eService
  • ePayments
  • Electronic document management, including document imaging
  • Desktop tools will be available for judges to view case records
  • Electronic transmission of cases to the appellate courts
  • eTools (eSignature, eNoticing, eCertification, and other tools that allow for electronic processing of orders)
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On Wednesday, April 22, 2015, the Minnesota Supreme Court promulgated amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Court, which govern court proceedings and access to court records in the state. The amendments are effective July 1, 2015.

Amendments were promulgated to each of the court rules listed below. The links below provide direct access to the orders issued by the Minnesota Supreme Court promulgating the rules amendments: Designation of Case Types and District Courts Subject to Voluntary e-Filing and e-Service Rules