The Massachusetts Appeals Court Requires Electronic Filing of Many Documents

Updated:  August 24, 2020

The Massachusetts Appeals Court requires that most appellate briefs and many motions and other papers be filed electronically instead of by a paper filing.

Attorneys must use eFileMA.com to electronically file the following types of documents:

• All filings in criminal panel cases. All documents in public and partially impounded criminal panel cases (on the court’s “P” docket) must be e-filed.
• Briefs and appendices in civil panel cases. All briefs and appendices in public and partially impounded civil panel cases (on the court’s “P” docket) must be e-filed.
• All docketing statements. All docketing statements, in public and partially impounded civil and criminal panel cases, must be e-filed.
• All motions and letters filed after panel assignment. After the Appeals Court assigns a case to a panel of justices for consideration on the merits, either with or without oral argument, all subsequent filings in the case must be e-filed. This requirement applies in all public and partially impounded civil and criminal panel cases.
• All filings on the Single Justice docket. All documents in public and partially impounded single justice cases (on the court’s “J” docket) must be e-filed.

The Appeals Court stresses that, “any document that is not identified as mandatory (e.g., impounded documents) may nonetheless be e-filed voluntarily by the attorney or party. The Appeals Court encourages all attorneys and self-represented litigants in public, partially impounded, and impounded cases, to e-file every document submitted to the court.”

Information about the Appeals Court’s e-filing system is available here.

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