(A) Definitions. For purpose of Trial Rules 86, 87, 88:
(1) Case Management System (“CMS”). Case Management System is the system of networked software and hardware used by any Indiana court that may receive, organize, store, retrieve, transmit, and display all relevant doc- uments in any case before it.
(2) Conventional Filing. Conventional Filing is the physical non-electronic presentation of documents to the clerk or court.
(3) Electronic Filing (“E-Filing”). E-Filing is a method of filing documents with the clerk of any Indiana court by electronic trans- mission utilizing the Indiana E-Filing System. E-Filing does not include transmission by facsimile or by email.
(4) E-Filing Service Provider (“EFSP”). E-Filing Service Provider is the organization and software selected by a User and approved by the Supreme Court to receive and transmit all E-Filing submissions between the User and the Indiana E-Filing System.
(5) Electronic Notice (“E-Notice”). E-Notice is the method by which courts send orders, opinions, and notices.
(6) Electronic Service (“E-Service”). E-Service is a method of serving documents by electronic transmission on any User in a case via the Indiana E-Filing System.
(7) Indiana E-Filing System (“IEFS”). Indiana E-Filing System is the system of networked hardware, software, and service providers approved by the Supreme Court for the filing and service of documents via the Internet, into the Case Management System(s) used by Indiana courts.
(8) Notice of Electronic Filing (“NEF”). Notice of Electronic Filing is the notice generated automatically when a document is sub- mitted and transmitted through the IEFS, which sets forth the time of transmission, the name of the court, User, party or attorney transmitting the document, the title of the document, the type of document, and the name of the court, attorney, party, or other person meant to receive the Notice. The NEF will appear immediately on the User’s screen upon submission of the document for E-filing and will reflect the time at the location of the court where the case is pending.
(9) Public Access Terminal. A Public Access Terminal is a publicly accessible computer provided by clerk or court that allows a member of the public to access the Indiana E-Filing System and public court records.
(10) Service Contacts. A Service Contact is a person for whom an email address and other identifying information has been entered into the IEFS.
(a) Firm Service Contact. A Firm Service Contact is a Service Contact associated in the IEFS with an attorney, organ- ization, or law firm.
(b) Public Service Contact. A Public Service Contact is a Service Contact who is listed on the Public Service List for pur- poses of E-Service.
(c) Public Service List. The Public Service List is a directory of attorneys who are e-filers.
(11) User Agreement. A User Agreement is an agreement in a form approved by the Indiana Office of Judicial Admin- istration (IOJA) that establishes obligations and responsibilities of the User within the IEFS.
(12) User. A User is a person or entity with a user ID and password assigned by the IEFS or its designee who is authorized to use the IEFS for the electronic filing or service of documents. A User must execute a User Agreement with one or more EFSP before that User may utilize the IEFS.
(B) Service of Pleadings, Documents, and Other Papers.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Rule, all process shall be served in accordance with Trial Rules 4 and 4.1 through 4.17.
(2) Issuance of Summons and Service of Initial Complaint or Equivalent Pleading.
(a) Except as provided below in (E), at the time the initial complaint or equivalent pleading is filed, the User shall also file completed summons(es) designating the manner of service. The Clerk is responsible for dating, signing, sealing, and transmitting the summons(es) to the User for service.
(b) For cases initiated by the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, the clerk is responsible for service of process. In all other cases, the User is responsible for service of process.
(c) All returns regarding service may be sent to the clerk or to the User. If the return is sent to the User, the User shall file the return with the clerk in compliance with Trial Rule 4 and 4.1 through 4.17. A party served personally by the User shall execute an acknow- ledgement of service and such acknowledgement shall serve as proof of service in lieu of an affidavit of service pursuant to Trial Rule 4.15(D).
(d) For service by publication the User, in addition to filing the complaint or equivalent pleading and summons(es) designating service by publication, shall also transmit an affi- davit for service by publication to the clerk as provided in Trial Rule 4.13. The clerk shall transmit to the User dated, signed and sealed summons(es) by publication. The User shall deliver the summons(es) to the publication authorized by Trial Rule 4.13(C), with instruc- tions that after the completion of the period of publication the return shall be sent to the clerk or to the User. If the return is sent to the User, the User shall file the return with the clerk.
(e) When fees and other court costs are waived, and the clerk has received the required notification that the User is entitled to this waiver, the clerk shall serve the complaint and summons(es). Additionally, for service of separate or additional summons (alias sum- mons) by the clerk, the User shall provide documentation establishing that the User is entitled to waiver of the fee for service.
(3) Service of Pleadings and Other Papers following the Complaint.
(a) Service on Users. All documents required to be served under Rule 5(A) must be served upon users through E-Service using the IEFS. E-Service has the same legal effect as service of an original paper document. E-Service of a document through the IEFS is deemed com- plete upon transmission to the email address for the User shown on the appearance filed in the case or the Public Service List, as confirmed by the NEF associated with the doc- ument. Exempt parties must serve all documents in a case as provided by Rules 4 or 5.
(b) Service on Others. Rules 4 and 5 govern service of documents on attorneys of record and on unrepresented parties who are not Users.
(C) Official Court Record. The electronic version of a document filed with or generated by the court under this rule is an official court record.
(E) Protection Order Cases, Workplace Violence Restraining Order Cases, and Child Protection Orders: Issuance of Summons and Service of Petition and Ex Parte Order or Equivalent Proceeding.
(1) The Protection Order Registry E-Filing Service Provider (POR EFSP) is the only provider for e-filing of all initial complaints or equivalent subsequent pleadings and all subsequent filings for civil protection orders and workplace violence restraining orders (PO case types) and for requests for child protection orders (JQ case types).
(2) Where service of process is required by Trial Rule 4.1 through 4.16, for any document filed in or issued by the Court in a civil protection order or workplace violence restraining order case (PO case types) and in a child protection order case (JQ case type), that service must be accomplished by the Clerk, a Sheriff, court official, or other person appointed by a Court to complete service of process.
This rule’s current text took effect January 1, 2026. For the full history of earlier amendments and adoption orders, see the Indiana Office of Court Services.
Trial Rule 86 sets the definitions that Rules 86, 87, and 88 build on. The Indiana E-Filing System (IEFS) is the statewide network that receives and routes filings into each court’s own Case Management System (CMS). Nobody files into the IEFS directly — a User works through an E-Filing Service Provider (EFSP), an organization-and-software combination the Supreme Court has approved, after signing a User Agreement and receiving login credentials. E-Filing means submitting documents electronically through the IEFS; it doesn’t include sending something by fax or email. Filing electronically generates a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF), an automatic receipt showing when the document was transmitted, who sent it, what it is, and who’s meant to receive it. E-Service is how Users serve documents on each other through the IEFS, reaching people through the email address tied to their appearance in the case or listed on the Public Service List of e-filing attorneys. Anyone without computer or internet access of their own can use a Public Access Terminal at the county clerk’s office.
Section B covers how documents get served once a case is underway. As a starting point, ordinary process is still served under Trial Rules 4 and 4.1 through 4.17. When a case begins, the filing User also files a completed summons designating how it’ll be served, and the clerk dates, signs, seals, and sends it back for service; the clerk handles service in cases the Prosecuting Attorney’s office initiates and in cases where the filing fees have been waived, and the User handles it in every other case. Service by publication follows its own path — the User files an affidavit for service by publication along with the complaint and summons, and the clerk returns a dated, signed, and sealed summons for the User to deliver to the publication. After the complaint stage, documents required under Rule 5(A) get served on other Users through E-Service via the IEFS — which carries the same legal effect as serving a paper copy — while service on attorneys of record and on unrepresented parties who aren’t Users still follows Rules 4 and 5.
Section C makes clear that an electronic document filed with, or generated by, the court under this rule counts as the official court record. Section E then sets a tighter path for protection order cases, workplace violence restraining order cases, and child protection order cases. All filings in these cases have to go through a single designated provider, the Protection Order Registry E-Filing Service Provider, rather than through a User’s own choice of EFSP, and wherever service of process is required, it has to be carried out by the clerk, a sheriff, a court official, or someone else the court appoints — not by the party who filed the case.