Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, General Division Document Format Requirements

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All counsel notices of appearance must be in writing.

All notices of appearance by counsel shall be in writing.

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Civil cases

The presenting party must ensure that the audio/video deposition format is compatible with the court’s equipment and that the party can operate that equipment.

(b) ensure that the format of the audio/video version of the deposition is compatible with the court’s equipment; and (c) be able to operate the court’s equipment.

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Civil cases

Before trial, joint exhibits must be marked with Roman numerals, plaintiff's exhibits with Arabic numerals, defendant's exhibits with letters, and third-party exhibits must be identified as such.

Exhibits must be marked, prior to trial, as follows: (a) Joint exhibits with Roman numerals; (b) Plaintiff's exhibits with Arabic numerals; (c) Defendant's exhibits with letters; (d) Third-party exhibits identified as such.

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Civil cases

A pleading may not include photographs or digital images of persons without prior court approval and a showing of good cause.

No pleading shall include photographs or digital images of persons without prior court approval upon good cause shown.

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In civil cases, counsel may make a notice of appearance by signing a pleading or motion, but must also file a notice of appearance when the appearance is made by a motion or a pleading other than the original complaint or answer.

In civil cases, a notice of appearance by counsel may be effected by signature of counsel on a pleading or motion. If the appearance is effected by the filing of a motion or by a pleading other than the original complaint or original answer to a complaint, the attorney shall also file a notice of appearance.

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In criminal cases, counsel must provide the court's appearance form or file a notice of appearance.

In criminal cases, a notice of appearance by counsel shall be on a form provided by the court or by filing a notice of appearance.

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Pleadings, motions, briefs, and other documents must be typewritten or printed, double-spaced, on letter-size paper, use regular type between 11 and 12 points, and be paginated sequentially.

All pleadings, motions, briefs, and other documents shall be typewritten or printed, double spaced, on 8 ½ inches x 11 inches paper, not less than 11-point and not greater than 12-point regular type font, paginated sequentially.

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Margins

bottom 1 in, left 1 in, right 1 in

Pleading-format filings must reserve at least 2.5 inches at the top of the first page and have side and bottom margins of at least one inch.

Filings prepared in a pleading format shall reserve a blank space of at least two and one-half inches at the top of the first page for endorsements and shall have appropriate side and bottom margins of not less than one inch.

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An e-filed document may not contain external links.

An e-Filed document shall not contain external links.

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An individual document included in an e-filing submission may not exceed 10 megabytes.

Individual documents included in a submission shall not exceed 10 megabytes in size.

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All documents combined in a single e-filing submission may not exceed 30 megabytes.

Any combination of documents e-Filed in one submission shall not exceed 30 megabytes in size.

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Format

PDF

Documents requiring an original signature, including affidavits and notarized documents, must be e-filed as PDFs.

Documents requiring an original signature, such as an affidavit or other notarized documents, shall be e-Filed as a .pdf.

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All documents combined in one e-filing submission may not exceed 30 megabytes.

Any combination of documents e-Filed in one submission shall not exceed 30 megabytes in size.

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An individual document in an e-filing submission may not exceed 10 megabytes.

Individual documents included in a submission shall not exceed 10 megabytes in size.

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Court documents must be typewritten or printed, double spaced, on letter-size paper, use regular type between 11 and 12 points, and be paginated sequentially.

All pleadings, motions, briefs, and other documents shall be typewritten or printed, double spaced, on 8 ½ inches x 11 inches paper, not less than 11-point and not greater than 12-point regular type font, paginated sequentially.

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Oct 4, 2026CRITICAL

Pleading-format filings must reserve at least 2.5 inches at the top of the first page and have side and bottom margins of at least one inch.

Filings prepared in a pleading format shall reserve a blank space of at least two and one-half inches at the top of the first page for endorsements and shall have appropriate side and bottom margins of not less than one inch.

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Court-approved forms must reserve adequate top-right space for endorsements or file stamps and use side and bottom margins proportionate to the form or document.

Forms prescribed and approved by the court shall reserve an adequate space in the top right-hand corner for endorsements or file stamps and shall have appropriate side and bottom margins proportional with the format of the form or document.

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An e-filed document may not contain external links.

An e-Filed document shall not contain external links.

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Required

Always

Format

DOCX

E-filed documents, pleadings, and papers generally must be filed in PDF format, while proposed orders and entries must be submitted in Word .doc format.

All e-Filed documents, pleadings, and papers shall be filed with the Clerk in .pdf format except that proposed orders and entries shall be submitted in Word [.doc] format.

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A pleading may not include photographs or digital images of persons without prior court approval supported by good cause.

No pleading shall include photographs or digital images of persons without prior court approval upon good cause shown.

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A release or assignment of a judgment or certificate of judgment must be written and signed by an authorized person.

Releases and assignments of judgments or certificates of judgment shall be in writing and signed by a person authorized to execute the instrument.

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Public notice of a judicial real-estate sale must run as an advertisement in a qualifying Montgomery County newspaper, which may be the designated Daily Law Journal.

The public notice of judicial sales of real estate shall be by advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in Montgomery County that meets the requirements of R.C. 7.12. The advertisement may be made in the Daily Law Journal published by Cox Media Group, which has been designated as the journal of the court as authorized by R.C. 2701.09.

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Each judicial-sale notice may cover only one case number and may not combine parcels from multiple case numbers.

Each notice shall list the parcel(s) for sale for a particular case number. Neither the Sheriff nor a private selling officer may list parcels related to multiple case numbers in a single public notice.

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Applies to

Proposed cancellation entry

To cancel a judicial real estate sale, the canceling party must file either a copy of the filed bankruptcy petition or a proposed cancellation entry in Word .doc format.

the party canceling the sale shall file one of the following: (a) a copy of the filed bankruptcy petition; or (b) a proposed entry, in Word [.doc] format, canceling the sale.

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Applies to

Video

A video used in lieu of a transcript must be filed in digital format.

If an objecting party is using a video in lieu of a transcript, the video shall be filed in digital format.

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Every counsel notice of appearance must be in writing.

All notices of appearance by counsel shall be in writing.

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Any filing, exchange, transmission, or other transfer of courtroom recordings must use a format produced by the court’s designated recording systems.

Any filing, exchange, transmission, or other transfer of the court’s courtroom recordings shall be in a format produced by the court’s designated recording systems.

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Format

PDF

After completing the transcript, the Court’s Transcriptionist must send the Judicial Assistant an electronic copy in .pdf format.

Upon completion, the Court’s Transcriptionist shall send an electronic copy of the completed transcript to the Judicial Assistant in .pdf format.

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Format

PDF

The Judicial Assistant must send the completed transcript to counsel or the pro se defendant by email in .pdf format, or use another delivery method if the defendant has no email address.

The Judicial Assistant shall send the completed transcript to counsel or the pro se defendant in .pdf format via e-mail. If the pro se defendant does not have an e-mail address, another delivery method will be used.

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Court-prescribed forms must reserve adequate top-right space for endorsements or file stamps and use margins proportionate to the form or document.

Forms prescribed and approved by the court shall reserve an adequate space in the top right-hand corner for endorsements or file stamps and shall have appropriate side and bottom margins proportional with the format of the form or document.

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Format

PAPER

The Court’s Transcriptionist or the stenographer shall file a paper copy of the transcript with the Clerk of the Second District Court of Appeals.

Summary: For an indigent criminal defendant’s appeal, the transcriptionist or stenographer must file a paper transcript copy with the Second District Court of Appeals.

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The documents shall be filed with the Clerk, secured in a sealed envelope, with the following information on the face of the envelope: the case caption; a descriptive title of the document (unless such information has been included among the information sealed); the date of the order permitting the documents to be sealed; and a conspicuous notation stating “DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL – JUDGE ACCESS ONLY.”

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Format

PDF

All e-Filed documents, pleadings, and papers shall be filed with the Clerk in .pdf format except that proposed orders and entries shall be submitted in Word [.doc] format.

Summary: E-filed documents, pleadings, and papers generally must be filed as PDFs, while proposed orders and entries must be submitted in Word format.

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Format

PDF

If the party requesting the transcript is an indigent criminal defendant, the Court’s Transcriptionist or the stenographer shall send an electronic copy of the completed transcript to the Judicial Assistant in .pdf format.

Summary: For an indigent criminal defendant's appeal, the transcriptionist or stenographer must send the Judicial Assistant an electronic PDF copy of the completed transcript.

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Format

PDF

The Judicial Assistant shall send the completed transcript to appellate counsel or the pro se defendant in .pdf format via e-mail. If the pro se defendant does not have an e-mail address, another delivery method will be used.

Summary: For an indigent criminal defendant's appeal, the Judicial Assistant must send appellate counsel or the pro se defendant the completed transcript as a PDF by email, using another method if the pro se defendant lacks email.

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Format

PDF

Once payment for the transcript is received, the Court’s Transcriptionist or the stenographer shall send an electronic copy of the completed transcript to the Judicial Assistant in .pdf format, via secure file transfer.

Summary: For a non-indigent party's appeal transcript request, the transcriptionist or stenographer must send the Judicial Assistant an electronic PDF copy through secure file transfer after payment is received.

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Format

PDF

If the proceeding was recorded by a stenographer, the Judicial Assistant shall attempt to submit the Request Form to the stenographer that recorded the relevant proceedings for transcription. If the stenographer is unavailable or deceased, the Judicial Assistant shall attempt to obtain the transcript by other means, if available. If a transcript is obtained, the Judicial Assistant shall send the completed transcript to counsel or the pro se defendant in .pdf format via e-mail. If the indigent defendant is pro se and does not have email, another delivery method will be used.

Summary: For a stenographically recorded non-appeal transcript, the Judicial Assistant must attempt to obtain the transcript from the stenographer or by other available means and send any obtained transcript to counsel or the pro se defendant as an email PDF, using another method if the indigent pro se defendant lacks email.

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All requests to record Proceedings or interviews in the courthouse must be made in writing, on the appropriate form. See Appendix F and Appendix G.

Summary: Requests to record court proceedings or courthouse interviews must be submitted in writing on the appropriate Appendix F or Appendix G form.

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Format

PDF

The Judicial Assistant shall send the completed transcript to appellate counsel or the pro se defendant in .pdf format via e-mail. If the pro se defendant does not have an e-mail address, another delivery method will be used.

Summary: For an indigent criminal defendant’s appeal, the completed transcript must be sent to appellate counsel or the pro se defendant as a PDF by email, with another delivery method used if the defendant lacks email.

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Format

PDF

Once payment for the transcript is received, the Court’s Transcriptionist or the stenographer shall send an electronic copy of the completed transcript to the Judicial Assistant in .pdf format, via secure file transfer.

Summary: After payment, the transcriptionist or stenographer must send the Judicial Assistant an electronic PDF of the completed transcript through secure file transfer.

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Format

PDF

The Judicial Assistant shall send the completed transcript to counsel or the pro se defendant in .pdf format via e-mail. If the pro se defendant does not have an e-mail address, another delivery method will be used.

Summary: An indigent criminal defendant’s non-appeal transcript must be sent to counsel or the pro se defendant as a PDF by email, with another delivery method used if the defendant lacks email.

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Format

PDF

If a transcript is obtained, the Judicial Assistant shall send the completed transcript to counsel or the pro se defendant in .pdf format via e-mail. If the indigent defendant is pro se and does not have email, another delivery method will be used.

Summary: When a non-appeal transcript recorded by a stenographer is obtained, the Judicial Assistant must send the PDF to counsel or the pro se defendant by email, using another method if the pro se defendant lacks email.