Managing Your CM/ECF Account

On October 25, 2021, the Northern District of California transitioned to NextGen. As a result, ECF account information is maintained in PACER. All changes or updates to the ECF account information are done in PACER.

Update requests are sent to the ECF Helpdesk for processing. Please allow up to one business day for requests to be processed. If further assistance in needed, you may contact PACER at 800-676-6856.

How do I update the name on my ECF account?

1. Go to www.pacer.uscourts.gov and log into Manage My Account.
2. Click on the Maintenance tab.
3. Click on Update Personal Information.
4. If the name is incorrect, make the necessary edits.
5. If the name is correct, make a small change, such as adding or deleting a middle initial.
6. This information may be changed back after the request has been sent to the court.
7. Click Submit.
8. Please allow up to one business day for the ECF Helpdesk to process your request.

How do I update my firm address on my ECF account?

1. Go to www.pacer.uscourts.gov and log into Manage My Account.
2. Click on the Maintenance tab.
3. Click on Update Address Information.
4. Scroll down to the section that has the heading, Apply Updates to Selected Courts.
5. Choose the court(s) you with to update.
6. If you do not see the court you wish to update, you may make a small change in the address, such as changing Avenue to Ave.
7. Click Submit.
8. It can take up to one business day for the changes to be updated in ECF. 

How do I edit a primary e-mail address?

1. Go to www.pacer.uscourts.gov and log into Manage My Account.
2. Click on the Maintenance tab.
3. Click on Update E-file Email Noticing and Frequency.
4. Select the courts that these changes are applicable to by clicking the Click to apply changes to this court box.
5. Enter the Primary Email in the text box and the same email in the Confirm Email text box.
6. Select your preferred Email Frequency. The most common is At the time of filing.
7. Select your preferred Email Format which is typically HTML.
8. Click Submit to send the update to the courts you have selected.
9. Please allow one business day before the changes reflect on the account.

IMPORTANT:

1. ECF registrations are by attorney (not by the case or by the firm) and remain valid for life;
2. Per Civil Local Rule 5-1, it is the attorney's responsibility to keep the profile information (especially the email address) valid and current.
3. Sharing CM/ECF filing credentials and PACER account credentials with a third-party service provider or designating that provider as a secondary recipient of a Notice of Electronic Filing or Notice of Docket Activity (NEF/NDA) will give it access to sealed case information and documents in violation of court order. You are urged to use caution in your computer security practices to ensure that sealed documents to which you have access are not disclosed. Fee exempt users should not share the documents they obtain from PACER under the exemption, unless expressly authorized by the court.

The attorney coming INTO the case should e-file a Notice of Substitution of Counsel under his or her own login. This will add the attorney to the case immediately and when the notice is processed, the attorney leaving the case will be terminated by the clerk.

First, make sure your profile is up to date, then e-file a Notice of Change In Counsel. Anyone on the case can e-file this notice, not just the attorney who left.

An attorney should not be listed as a secondary e-mail address for another attorney. Per Civil Local Rule 5.1, each attorney is required to register for his or her own ECF account.

1. Go to Utilities > Your Account > Maintain Your Account.
2. Click the Email Information button.
3. Click the add new e-mail address link.
4. Enter the e-mail address in the text field to the right of Primary e-mail address.  As you
   enter the e-mail address, more options will appear – select any you deem appropriate.
5. When finished, click the Return to Person Information Screen > Submit on the following page.
6. You will next see a confirmation screen indicating that the update was successful.

1. Go to Utilities > Your Account > Maintain Your Account.
2. Click the Email Information button.
3. Click the link to the Secondary e-mail address to be modified.
4. The e-mail address will appear under Configuration Options.  Modify the address in
   the text box.
5. When finished, click the Return to Person Information Screen > Submit on the following page.
6. You will next see a confirmation screen that the update was successful.

1. Go to Utilities > Your Account > Maintain Your Account.
2. Click the Email Information button.
3. Click the link to the Secondary e-mail address to be deleted.
4. In the Configuration Options text field highlight the e-mail address and press the
   BACKSPACE key.
5. When finished, click the Return to Person Information Screen > Submit on the following page.
6. You will next see a confirmation screen that the update was successful.

1. Log into PACER.
2. Go to Manage My Account > Maintenance > Update E-File Email Noticing and
   Frequency.
3. Select the courts that these changes are applicable to.  Then select the Click to apply
   changes to this court checkbox.
4. Enter and confirm your Primary Email address in the appropriate fields.
5. Select your preferred Email Frequency.  The most common option is “At the time of
   filing”.
6. Select your preferred Email Format which is typically .html.
7. Click Submit to send the update to the courts you have selected. Please allow some time
   before those changes are updated.

1. Select the e-mail address at which you would like to receive email notifications on the case; if you are an attorney, please use your primary e-mail address.
2. In the “Case-specific options” section, look for the field for Add additional cases for noticing.
3. Enter the case number and click Find This Case.
4. Select the correct case and click Add case(s).
5. The case will now appear in the section under “These cases will send notice per filing”.
6. When finished, click Submit All Changes.
7. When presented with a list of all of your cases, select *** Update All *** > Submit.
8. You will next see a confirmation screen stating that the update was successful.

The email will contain a hyperlink to the case number linking to the case docket) and the docket number of the new document (e.g. 423) linking to the document. When you click one of the hyperlinks, you will be prompted for your PACER login. You will be charged for accessing dockets and documents over PACER’s quarterly maximum number of free pages (but you can save or print them for future reference). You will not be able to access restricted filings, such as under seal documents, but you will be notified of them.

Yes. That email address will only receive notices on specified cases. New cases that the primary email address is added to will not appear for that secondary email address.

1. Click on the e-mail address you want to make changes to.
2. On the right, look for the following item and change it to No.
3. Also on the right, find the box that lists the cases.
4. Click on the number of the case you do not want NEFs sent in and click Remove.
5. When finished, click Submit All Changes.
6. You will get a confirmation screen that the update was successful.