Rule 2.1.Electronic Filing, Service, and Signature

Rule 2.1 is the bridge between the District Court Rules, most of which were written for paper, and electronic practice. It works in three parts. Anywhere these rules require something to be filed with or delivered to the court clerk, electronic filing satisfies the requirement if the Rules for Electronic Filing in the Oklahoma Courts authorize it. Anywhere they require something to be served, mailed, transmitted, or issued, electronic methods satisfy that too — and the rule goes further, defining “mail,” “mailing,” and “mailed” throughout these rules to include electronic mail where the e-filing rules permit.

The third part covers signatures. A requirement that something be signed, verified, certified, or otherwise authenticated can be met electronically. Documents signed under penalty of perjury and notarized documents may be filed electronically, and a signed and witnessed waiver may be filed the same way a notarized one is. One obligation stays with the filer: keep the original document, or other evidence of the original signatures, so it can be produced later.

The rule points at the e-filing rules rather than restating them, and says that reference means the Oklahoma Rules for E-Filing in Selected Pilot Courts and any later versions the Supreme Court approves. What is permitted electronically therefore depends on those rules and on the court where the case sits, not on Rule 2.1 alone.