The Minnesota Digital Exhibit System (MNDES) is the application you use to upload documents, photos, and audio/video recordings that you want to offer as evidence at an evidentiary hearing or trial, unless the court instructs you to do something different.
Physical exhibits and exhibits containing sexual content or nudity, including internet addresses linking to those materials, cannot be uploaded to MNDES and must be brought to the hearing.
You must follow Court Rules concerning exhibits, including sending the exhibits to other parties involved in your case. Note: If there is a court order that says you cannot contact another party, such as an Order for Protection (OFP), Harassment Restraining Order (HRO), or Domestic Abuse No Contact Order (DANCO), pay close attention to any instructions in the hearing notice or court order about how to submit and share exhibits. If no instructions are given in the hearing notice or court order, contact court administration to see if there is a local process that could help you. We also encourage you to talk to a lawyer to make sure you are not violating the order by how you share your exhibits with the other party.
The Rules of Evidence apply to exhibits submitted through MNDES the same way they do to physical exhibits. Because these rules can be complicated, it is a good idea to talk to a lawyer for help with your case.
Keep in mind that you are responsible for following any deadlines that apply to your case. You can also contact your local court administration office.
Registration is easy and only takes a few minutes. MNDES is compatible with Chrome, Edge, and Safari browsers.
To access MNDES, you must first create an account. The only information you need to register is your legal first and last name and a valid email address.
After you create an account, you will receive an email from MNDES (dem@imagesoftinc.com) to complete registration. You will then be able to access MNDES, set up your profile, and submit exhibits to a specific case.
Once you’ve created an account, you can use your email and the password you assigned to log in at any time.
You should receive the registration email immediately, so please check your spam or junk folder if it is not in your inbox.
If multiple people within the same office need to work with the same exhibits, you can set up a MNDES account using a generic group email account so that exhibit management duties can be shared within the same firm.
Uploading Exhibits
Uploading exhibits allows court staff to view the exhibits and allows you to display them during a hearing. Other parties are not able to see these exhibits unless you share them. See the ‘Sharing exhibits with other parties’ section for information on how to share exhibits with other parties.
You will need to know your case number before you upload.
Most document, image, video, and audio file types can be uploaded. If you try to upload a file type that is not allowed, you will receive an error message. You cannot upload zipped files to MNDES.
Yes! DO NOT UPLOAD any images, documents or other materials containing sexual content or nudity, including internet addresses linking to those materials.
Redact any sensitive or non-public personal information that is not necessary for your case before uploading your exhibit.
Sharing exhibits with other parties
Any exhibits that are being presented in court need to be provided to the other parties in the case. However, there are certain rules that direct whether these can be shared via MNDES. Be especially careful in cases that have no contact orders.
Court rules concerning sharing exhibits can be found here, but we encourage you to talk to a lawyer to make sure you’re following the rules properly. Note: Use extra caution if there is a court order that says you cannot contact another party, such as an Order for Protection (OFP), Harassment Restraining Order (HRO), or Domestic Abuse No Contact Order (DANCO) to make sure you are not violating the order by how you share your exhibits with the other party.
Once you’ve uploaded your exhibits to your case, you can share them with other parties. You can change sharing settings to add or remove exhibits or the contacts you share them with and change the period of time (expiration date) during which they can access the exhibits.
If exhibits are shared with you, you’ll receive an email telling you which exhibits have been shared. If you have a MNDES account, the exhibits will be displayed in the ‘Shared With Me’ tab located in the Shares section of MNDES.
Update the Exhibit Name so that it briefly describes the content and is easily identifiable (for example, “picture of rear passenger door”).
Only include an Exhibit Number if the judicial officer instructs you to do so. Check to see whether your judicial officer issued something called a “scheduling order” and, if so, follow any numbering instructions that were included.
Do not zip or compress an exhibit file. It should be uploaded in the original format, such as a pdf, jpg, etc.
Upload exhibits individually so they are listed separately in MNDES. Do not combine multiple exhibits into a single file.
Those with access to the MNDES account that was used to upload the exhibit(s), the court, and any parties the exhibits have been shared with can view exhibits that you have uploaded. Exhibits in pre-hearing status are not publicly accessible without a court order. Generally, exhibits offered into evidence in a public case are publicly accessible unless there is a court order.
The appellate courts after district court staff have reviewed them to confirm the exhibits are part of the record on appeal.
Jurors through a specially configured device during deliberations, as authorized by the judicial officer.
No, you must first offer (ask the judicial officer to allow) your exhibits to be admitted as evidence at the time of the hearing or trial. The court will then determine whether the exhibits are admissible under the Rules of Evidence. See the “Exhibits” tab for more information.
MNDES is only used for exhibits that will be formally offered into evidence at a contested evidentiary hearing or trial. Court filings with exhibits attached as part of the court filing must be submitted to the court at the time of filing with the court (either in person, by mail, or through the eFile and eServe (eFS) System).
Exhibits that you upload remain in MNDES until the retention period for exhibits is reached.
The court will not return digital exhibits. Retain the exhibits that you upload to MNDES on your personal device or in physical form.
Each exhibit uploaded into MNDES receives a unique exhibit tracking number as it is uploaded that will never change. An exhibit number is the number assigned to an exhibit during the hearing or trial. If an exhibit number is entered by a party when uploading, it may be changed by the party or the court depending on what number is officially assigned during the hearing or trial.
Use the Contact Us form and we will do our best to answer within 24 hours. Keep in mind that you are responsible for following any deadlines that apply to your court case.
Exhibits can be uploaded to MNDES the first business day after the case is open.
Alford packets are discovery and MNDES should not be used to store discovery unless a judicial officer orders otherwise.
MNDES can be used to upload Florence Packets. Contact your local court administration office for specific guidelines.
