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Exhibits and Attachments

Generally exhibits may be e-filed as attachments to the documents they support or as separate docket entries. Exhibits may be included in the same PDF document as the complaint or other primary document, or may be filed separately if the file would exceed 50 MB. Examples provided below illustrate different possibilities when when submitting your filing with exhibits. This is not an exhaustive list.

  1. Example 1The complaint is 500 KB and all exhibits are 2 MB.Recommendation: Combine the complaint and exhibits into one PDF and e-file.
  2. Example 2Your motion, memorandum in support, Declaration in Support with exhibits, and proposed order exceed 50 MB.Recommendation: Split your filing into two filings. Submit the motion, memorandum in support and proposed order as one filing; and your Declaration with supporting exhibits as a separate filing.
  3. Example 3 (Declaration with many exhibits)
    • E-file your Declaration all by itself, and relate it to the Motion it supports.
    • When complete, click on Civil→Other Supporting Documents→Exhibits (or Civil→Other Supporting Documents→Attachments to Administrative Motion to File Under Seal if filing documents under seal)
    • E-file the exhibits (in groups of 5-10) and relate them to the declaration (not to the Motion the Declaration supports).
    • Repeat this until all your exhibits are e-filed.

Exhibits

Common types of exhibits associated with motions are declarations attaching evidence and proposed orders. The civil cover sheet is usually filed as an exhibit to the complaint. Exhibits can be part of your main filing, submitted using the attachment feature, or e-filed separately using the ECF event “Exhibits” (located under Motions and Related Filings)

  1. Slip sheets.When one or more exhibits are appended to another document (such as a declaration) and everything is uploaded as one document, or when a group of exhibits is uploaded as one document, slip sheets should be used to separate and identify the exhibits (e.g., a page where the only words printed are “Exhibit A”, a page where the only words printed are “Exhibit B” and so on). Blank pages should not be filed as slip sheets.
  2. Local rule 3-4. If you must file exhibits as a separate e-filing, your filing must conform to the Court’s Civil Local Rule 3-4. The exhibits should also be linked to a docket entry where applicable.

Attachments

The attachment feature in ECF allows you to upload exhibits or other necessary documents as additional and separate PDF files to your filing. When uploading an attachment, give the attachment a description using the category drop down menu or the description free text box. They can use used separately or together.

Frequently Asked Question Regarding Attachments

How many attachments can I e-file in one filing?In theory, as many as you like. In practice, this depends on the file size of each of your attachments.

In testing, we found that we could reliably e-file seven (7) nearly 50 MB attachments and up to 8 attachments of various file size.

You may combine smaller exhibits into one file, as long as that file is under 50.0 MB. Or if needed, break your filing out into smaller sections. We suggest you divide the document in logical places (such as between chapters or sections of the document if possible. You may label them something like,
Exhibit A, Part 1 of 3
Exhibit A, Part 2 of 3
Exhibit A, Part 3 of 3

Generally, we recommend you keep the number of files to a minimum to avoid timing out.

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