Rule 79.1.Electronic filing

Part X: The Superior Court; Prothonotaries · Last amended January 1, 2016 · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceRule 79.1 lets the Superior Court's President Judge designate cases or categories of cases for mandatory electronic filing, known as eFile, charges a $1.25 per-document technology surcharge to fund the system, and treats an eFiled document as signed under Rule 11 and served under Rule 5.

Full Text of Rule 79.1

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

(a) The electronic filing of documents in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware shall be referred to as “eFile” or “eFiling”.

(b) When the President Judge of the Superior Court determines that it is appropriate for any civil case, or category of cases, to follow the procedures for eFiling, the President Judge shall designate it as an eFile case or category of cases.

(d) A technology surcharge of $1.25 per document shall be assessed in each eFile case for the purpose of a fund to operate the eFiling system. The Court shall expend the funds solely for the purpose of operating and maintaining the eFiling system.

(e) No Delaware lawyer shall authorize anyone to eFile on that lawyer’s behalf, other than an employee of his/her law firm or service provider retained to assist in eFiling.

(f) No person shall utilize, or allow another person to utilize, the password of another in connection with any eFiling.

(g) The eFiling of a document by a lawyer, or by another under the authorization of a lawyer, shall constitute a signature of that lawyer under Superior Court Civil Rule 11.

(h) All eFilings must be signed by a member of the Delaware Bar or party not represented by an attorney in accordance with the eFile administrative procedures.

(i) Unless otherwise ordered, the electronic service of a document, in accordance with the eFile administrative procedures, shall be considered service under Superior Court Civil Rule 5.

Amendment History

Added, effective July 1, 1991; amended, Dec. 17, 1992, effective Oct. 15, 1992; amended effective Jan. 1, 2003; amended Dec. 9, 2015, effective Jan. 1, 2016.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 79.1 gives Delaware's Superior Court electronic filing a name — "eFile" or "eFiling" — and puts the President Judge in charge of deciding which civil cases, or categories of cases, must follow eFiling procedures. The President Judge also establishes the administrative procedures that govern how eFiling works.

Every document filed in an eFile case carries a $1.25 technology surcharge, and the court can spend that money only on operating and maintaining the eFiling system itself.

The rule also polices who can use the system and what an eFiled document means. A Delaware lawyer can't hand off eFiling authority to anyone outside the lawyer's own firm or a retained service provider, and no one may use another person's password to eFile. When a lawyer eFiles a document, or someone else does so under that lawyer's authorization, it counts as the lawyer's signature under Rule 11, and every eFiling has to be signed by a Delaware Bar member or by an unrepresented party under the eFile administrative procedures. Unless the court orders otherwise, electronic service made under those procedures satisfies Rule 5's service requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who decides which Delaware Superior Court cases must use eFiling?

Rule 79.1(b) gives that decision to the President Judge of the Superior Court, who designates a case or category of cases as an eFile matter.

How much is the eFiling surcharge, and where does that money go?

Rule 79.1(d) assesses $1.25 per document in an eFile case, and the court may spend the resulting fund only on operating and maintaining the eFiling system.

Can I let my paralegal or an outside vendor eFile documents for me?

Rule 79.1(e) allows a Delaware lawyer to authorize only an employee of the lawyer's own firm or a retained service provider to eFile on the lawyer's behalf — no one else.

Does eFiling a document count as my signature?

Yes. Rule 79.1(g) treats the eFiling of a document by a lawyer, or by someone the lawyer authorized, as that lawyer's signature under Rule 11.

Does electronic service through the eFile system satisfy the usual service rule?

Rule 79.1(i) treats electronic service made under the eFile administrative procedures as service under Rule 5, unless the court orders otherwise.

Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from the Delaware Rules of Civil Procedure for the Superior Court, adopted by the Superior Court of the State of Delaware. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: delaware superior court efiling ruleefile technology surcharge delawaredelaware efile password sharing ruleefiling signature rule 11 delawareelectronic service delaware superior court