Frequently Asked Questions

NYSCEF — the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System — is the official platform for electronically filing court documents in New York State. It is maintained by the New York State Unified Court System and lets attorneys, self-represented litigants, and court personnel file, serve, and track documents in civil cases. The official system is at iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef.

It depends on the county, court, and case type. In many Supreme Court civil matters in high-volume counties, e-filing is mandatory; in others it is voluntary (consensual) or unavailable. Mandatory e-filing is governed by Uniform Rule 202.5-b and county-specific joint protocols. Use the NYSCEF Eligibility Checker for your specific county, court, and case type.

Create an account through the official NYSCEF portal at iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef. Attorneys register with their attorney registration number; self-represented litigants can create a user account without one. Registration is free. This site (nyscef.com) is an independent reference tool and does not create NYSCEF accounts or file documents.

Mandatory e-filing has been phased in county by county and case type by case type, so it varies. It is common in the highest-volume Supreme Courts (for example New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Erie, and Monroe) for many civil case types. Check your specific combination with the Eligibility Checker or browse the county reference pages.

Often yes, but it varies by case type. Some case types allow unrepresented (pro se) litigants to e-file directly; others require the pro se party to opt in or file on paper. Each result in the Eligibility Checker flags pro se eligibility. When in doubt, ask the county clerk.

Generally 20 days if the complaint was personally delivered, or 30 days if served by an alternative method under CPLR 308(2)–(5) or §§313–315 (CPLR 3012). Mail, overnight, and e-service can add days. Use the CPLR Deadline Calculator to compute the exact date for your service facts.

Mailing adds 5 calendar days to a response period (CPLR 2103(b)(2)); overnight courier adds 1 business day (CPLR 2103(b)(6)); NYSCEF e-service adds 2 days (Uniform Rule 202.5-b(f)(2)). Personal delivery adds nothing. The Deadline Calculator applies these adjustments automatically.

Under CPLR 2103(a) and General Construction Law §25-a, a deadline that falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or New York public holiday rolls to the next business day. The calculator does this for you and marks the row “rolled.”

The general statute of limitations for personal injury in New York is 3 years from the date of injury (CPLR 214(5)). Different periods apply to medical malpractice (2½ years, CPLR 214-a), intentional torts like assault (1 year, CPLR 215), and claims against public entities (1 year and 90 days, plus notice-of-claim rules). Look up any cause of action with the Statute of Limitations Lookup.

The Electronic Document Delivery System (EDDS) is a separate tool for electronically delivering documents to a court in matters where full NYSCEF e-filing is not available. Unlike NYSCEF, EDDS does not create a formal e-filed docket entry — it transmits documents to court staff. Where a combination is EDDS-only, the checker shows a blue “EDDS Only” badge.

Many parts require paper “working copies” even in e-filed cases. This is set by local part rules, not statewide rule — check the specific judge’s part rules and the county’s joint protocol.

You can check the live status of the official NYSCEF system on our NYSCEF status page, which probes the NYSCEF homepage and reports whether it is up, slow, or unreachable, along with recent uptime history. If you have a filing deadline during an outage, document it with a timestamped screenshot — courts generally accept proof of a system outage as grounds to extend a deadline for good cause under CPLR 2004.

Go to the official NYSCEF portal and sign in with your NY State attorney registration number and password. For a step-by-step walkthrough, registration help, and fixes for common login errors (locked account, “not authorized,” forgotten password), see our NYSCEF attorney login guide.

In many counties, yes — probate, administration, and guardianship matters can be e-filed through NYSCEF, but availability varies significantly by county. See our Surrogate’s Court NYSCEF guide for county-by-county status, what you can file, and a clerk contact directory.

E-Track is New York’s free eCourts service for tracking cases and receiving email notifications of activity — it does not file documents. NYSCEF is for filing and serving documents in civil cases. They are also separate from EDDS, the Electronic Document Delivery System. Our E-Track vs NYSCEF explainer breaks down which system to use.

Yes. You can search New York court cases and view most publicly filed documents as a guest — no login required. Search by index number, party name, or attorney name. See our NYSCEF guest search guide for step-by-step instructions. An account is only needed to file documents.

eCourts is New York’s portal for case information — court dates, part assignments, and case status — while NYSCEF is the system for e-filing and serving documents. Most litigators use both. Our eCourts vs NYSCEF explainer compares them side by side and shows which to use for what.

No. nyscef.com is an independent reference tool and is not affiliated with the New York State Unified Court System. To file documents, use the official NYSCEF portal.