Effective January 1, 2005, the United States District Court for the District of Vermont converted to the initial phase of its new case management (CM) and electronic case filing (ECF) system, commonly known as CM/ECF. This initial phase involved the implementation of the new internal case management system (CM). The court's PACER public access system is incorporated into CM/ECF. Simply select the CM/ECF logo on the home page to access the ECF/PACER login screen.

The court's FAX NOTICING service has been replaced by CM which allows for the immediate dissemination of orders, judgments, and notices through the use of electronic mail. Whenever a document is filed and docketed, the court's system will generate a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF), which will be transmitted via e-mail to all registered attorneys who have appeared in that case. The NEF message will contain a hyperlink to an image of the filed document, if one exists and is available (see NEF FAQs).

In order to receive an NEF, you will need to register with the Clerk's Office by filling out and submitting a Electronic Notification Registration Form.

By submitting this form, registered attorneys consent to receive electronic service of filings and orders generated by the Court pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b) and 77(d), as well as Fed. R. Crim. P. 49(c). Under the initial phase of CM, parties are still required to perform service as in the past (but will receive complimentary NEF's, if registered).

The District Court's CM/ECF Implementation Plan calls for an evaluation period before a transition to the Electronic Filing phase. We intend to keep the public and our Bar informed as to when our conversion to full electronic filing will take place.

We are confident that this new system will enable us to manage our cases more efficiently, which will allow us to provide better service to you and your clients.

Questions or comments may be directed to Jeff_Eaton@vtd.uscourts.gov or Michael_Dunavin@vtd.uscourts.gov.