Western District of Washington Electronic Filing Rules

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Electronic filing is mandatory for attorneys and optional for self-represented parties.

Electronic filing is mandatory for attorneys and optional for those representing themselves (“pro se”).

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Civil cases

Counsel must e-file documents unless the court orders otherwise or the clerk directs otherwise; unrepresented parties may e-file but are not required to.

Unless otherwise specifically ordered by the court or directed by the clerk, all counsel are required to electronically file documents through the court’s electronic filing system and to comply with the electronic filing procedures for the district. Unrepresented parties may, but are not required to, electronically file documents.

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Civil cases

All filed documents must comply with the court’s Electronic Filing Procedures for Civil and Criminal Cases.

All documents filed with the court shall be in accordance with the Electronic Filing Procedures for Civil and Criminal Cases adopted by General Order of the court. The Electronic Filing Procedures are available on the court’s web site at www.wawd.uscourts.gov and from the Clerk’s Office.

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Civil cases

Applies to

Emergency motion

Counsel must electronically file emergency motions unless the entire case is sealed.

Counsel must file emergency motions electronically unless the case is sealed in its entirety.

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

Civil cases

Applies to

Pro hac vice application

Local counsel must file this application electronically.

This application, which can be downloaded from the court’s website, must be filed electronically by local counsel.

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Applies to

Exhibit list

An exhibit list in Microsoft Word format must be emailed to the Court before the trial date at the specified address.

An exhibit list in Microsoft Word format must be emailed to the Court prior to the trial date. Please email to settleorders@wawd.uscourts.gov

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Applies to

Proposed order

At filing, the moving party must email a Microsoft Word version of the proposed order to the specified address.

Pursuant to the WAWD’s Electronic Filing Procedures, the moving party must email a Microsoft Word version of a proposed order to pechmanorders@wawd.uscourts.gov at the time of filing.

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Applies to

Exhibit list

An exhibit list in Microsoft Word format must be emailed to the Court as directed by the Judge; contact the Courtroom Deputy for further direction.

An exhibit list in Microsoft Word format must be emailed to the Court per the Judge’s instructions. Contact the Courtroom Deputy for further direction

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Civil cases

Applies to

Jury instructions

Proposed jury instructions should be filed on ECF and emailed as a Word version to the specified address.

Proposed jury instructions should be filed on ECF and submitted via email as a Word version to cartwrightorders@wawd.uscourts.gov.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Applies to

Habeas return ?

The return shall be filed using the "Response to Habeas Petition" CM/ECF filing event.

Summary: The return must be filed in CM/ECF using the "Response to Habeas Petition" filing event.

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Applies to

Traverse

A traverse filed through CM/ECF shall be filed using the "Reply to Response to Motion" filing event.

Summary: A traverse filed through CM/ECF must use the "Reply to Response to Motion" filing event.

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Applies to

Notice of intent to transfer or remove

Respondents shall also (1) file the notice of intent to transfer or remove on the Court's docket; and (2) file a notice on the docket if the transfer or removal is completed.

Summary: Respondents must file the notice of intent to transfer or remove on the docket, and file a follow-up notice on the docket once the transfer or removal is completed.

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Applies to

Petition

3. Paper Filings. A pro se petitioner that files their petition in hard copy will be sent a hard copy scheduling order by the Clerk’s Office in accordance with Paragraph 4 below.

Summary: Pro se petitioners may file their § 2241 petition in hard copy (paper) rather than electronically.

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Applies to

All documents

Attorneys and trustees must file all documents with the court using the court’s Case Management and Electronic Case Filing system (“ECF”) and are referred to as a “registered ECF filer.”

Summary: Attorneys and trustees must file all documents electronically through ECF.

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Applies to

Proofs of claim and claim-related documents

the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington in any 6-month period must electronically file all proofs of claim and claim-related documents.

Summary: Entities filing many proofs of claim must file them electronically.

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The court will not accept documents transmitted by facsimile.

Summary: Court does not accept fax filings.

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Applies to

Paper submissions ?

Documents submitted on paper and exceeding 50 pages including exhibits shall also be provided to the clerk’s office in electronic PDF format on a USB flash drive or CD-Rom disk at the time of filing. USB flash drives and CD-Rom disks provided to the court will not be returned to the filer. If the PDF file is more than ten megabytes in size, it must be separated into ten-megabyte segments. Each PDF file shall be clearly labeled to identify the sequence of documents to be filed.

Summary: Paper documents over 50 pages must also be submitted in electronic PDF format on USB or CD, with segmentation if over 10MB and clear labeling.

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Applies to

Proposed order

Proposed orders filed in accordance with Local Bankruptcy Rule 9013-1(d)(1)(D) and 9013-1(i) shall be filed electronically as an attachment to the motion.

Summary: Proposed orders under specified rules must be filed electronically as an attachment to the motion.

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Applies to

Order

Original orders that are ready for the judge's signature, including orders filed pursuant to Local Bankruptcy Rules 9013-1(f)(2), 9013-1(g)(2), and 9013-1(i) shall be filed electronically by uploading the order through the court's electronic case filing system as a 'Received Unsigned Order'.

Summary: Original orders ready for judge's signature must be uploaded as 'Received Unsigned Order' in the electronic case filing system.

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Applies to

Pro hac vice application

Local counsel must review, sign, and electronically file the applicant’s pro hac vice application.

Summary: Pro hac vice application must be electronically filed by local counsel.

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Applies to

Proposed order

Pursuant to this District’s Electronic Filing Procedures, the moving Party must also email a Microsoft Word version of any proposed order to linorders@wawd.uscourts.gov at the time of filing. The subject heading of the email should include the case number, the case name, and the title of the motion, and not simply “Proposed Order.”

Summary: A Word version of all proposed orders must be emailed to linorders@wawd.uscourts.gov at filing, with a subject line including case number, name, and motion title.

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Civil cases

Applies to

Joint motion

Should the parties elect to utilize LCR 37(a)(2), the moving party is directed to file the joint motion on CM/ECF under the “Expedited Joint Motion for Discovery Pursuant to LCR 37(a)(2)” event.

Summary: If the parties use LCR 37(a)(2), the moving party must file the joint motion on CM/ECF using the specified event.

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Civil cases

Applies to

Joint instructions and joint statement of disputed instructions ?

The “Joint Instructions” and any “Joint Statement of Disputed Instructions” shall be filed and shall be attached as a Word or WordPerfect compatible file to an email sent to the email orders address of the assigned judge pursuant to the court’s electronic filing procedures.

Summary: Joint Instructions and any Joint Statement of Disputed Instructions must be filed and emailed as a Word- or WordPerfect-compatible attachment to the assigned judge’s email orders address under the court’s electronic filing procedures.

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Civil cases

Applies to

Habeas petition or 2255 motion ?

The party in custody shall send to the clerk an original completed petition or motion form for filing.

Summary: The party in custody must send the clerk an original completed petition or motion form for filing.

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Criminal cases

Applies to

Jury instructions ?

All proposed instructions must be served on all parties, filed in the docket, and attached as a Word or WordPerfect compatible file to an e-mail sent to the e-mail orders address of the assigned judge pursuant to the court's electronic filing procedures.

Summary: Proposed jury instructions must be served on all parties, filed in the docket, and emailed as a Word or WordPerfect compatible file to the judge's e-mail orders address.

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Criminal cases

(a) Electronic Filing and Signing – Unless otherwise specifically ordered by the court or directed by the clerk, all counsel are required to electronically file documents through the court’s electronic filing system and to comply with the electronic filing procedures for the district. Unrepresented parties are authorized, but are not required to, electronically file documents. The court’s Electronic Filing Procedures for Civil and Criminal Cases can be found on the court’s website at www.wawd.uscourts.gov.

Summary: Counsel must e-file documents through the court's system; unrepresented parties may but are not required to e-file.

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Criminal cases

Applies to

Pro hac vice application ?

This application, which can be downloaded from the court's website, must be filed electronically by local counsel.

Summary: Pro hac vice applications must be filed electronically by local counsel.

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Applies to

Trustee documents ?

These documents are not to be filed with the court but instead these documents shall be delivered to the trustee in the manner described in subsection (2) below.

Summary: Documents required to be provided to the trustee under 11 U.S.C. §§ 521(a)(1)(B)(iv) and (e)(2)(A)(i) and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4002(b)(2) and (3) must not be filed with the court.

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Applies to

Exhibit

Exhibits, other than trial exhibits, are to be filed electronically with each exhibit linked to the pleading to which it relates.

Summary: Non-trial exhibits must be filed electronically and linked to the related pleading.

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Required

Always ?

Applies to

Original order

Original orders should not be filed in advance of the hearing nor electronically uploaded in the court’s electronic case filing system, except as permitted in Local Bankruptcy Rule 9013-1(f)(2).

Summary: Original orders must not be filed or e-filed before the hearing, except as permitted by LBR 9013-1(f)(2).

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Applies to

Notice of unavailability ?

As stated in LCR 83.2, “[n]otices of unavailability are not required.” Please do not file them with the Court, as they have no effect on the case schedule or other court deadlines.

Summary: Notices of unavailability are not required and should not be filed because they do not affect the schedule or deadlines.

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NOTE: If you are housed at a Department of Corrections facility subject to the Prisoner Electronic Filing Initiative pursuant to General Orders 02-15 and 06-16, you may fulfill this mailing requirement by submitting your documents to the appropriate person at your facility who will transmit your documents electronically to the U.S. District Court.

Summary: Prisoners at facilities covered by the initiative may satisfy the mailing requirement by submitting documents to the appropriate facility person for electronic transmission to the Court.

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Civil cases

Applies to

Rule 26 initial disclosures, discovery requests and responses, and expert witness reports ?

Rule 26 initial disclosures and discovery requests and responses must not be filed unless they are used in the proceedings or the court orders filing. Nor should expert witness reports be filed unless ordered by the court or unless a report is being submitted for use in the proceedings.

Summary: Rule 26 initial disclosures, discovery requests and responses, and expert reports generally should not be filed unless used in the proceedings or filing is ordered by the court.

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Civil cases

Applies to

Emergency motion

Pro se parties who choose not to file electronically should, if possible, bring their emergency motions to the court during normal business hours to avoid the delay of mailing.

Summary: Pro se parties who opt not to e-file should, if possible, bring emergency motions to court during normal business hours rather than mail them.

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Applies to

Jury instructions

It is the Court's preference that proposed jury instructions be filed on ECF and a Word version of the instructions submitted via e-mail to settleorders@wawd.uscourts.gov.

Summary: The Court prefers proposed jury instructions to be filed on ECF and a Word version to be emailed to the specified address.

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Notice given electronically shall comply with Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005-1 and the court’s Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing and Verifying Pleadings and Papers by Electronic Means (“Electronic Filing Procedures”), as each is amended from time to time.

Summary: Electronic notice must comply with Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005-1 and the court's Electronic Filing Procedures.

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Applies to

Trial exhibit

Trial exhibits should be submitted on paper, in accordance with Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005-2(a), unless otherwise ordered by the court.

Summary: Trial exhibits should be submitted on paper unless otherwise ordered.

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Criminal cases

Applies to

Cooperation materials ?

materials relating to a defendant’s cooperation, e.g. U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) memos, or Fed. R. Crim. P. 35(b), and supporting documents may be filed electronically via CM/ECF pursuant to General Order 12-23 of this court so they do not appear on the publicly available docket.

Summary: Cooperation materials may be filed electronically via CM/ECF to keep them off the public docket.