(a) Scope of Electronic Filing Rules. Pursuant to § 8.01-271.01 and Article 4.1 (§§ 17.1-258.2 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of Title 17.1 of the Code of Virginia, this Rule applies in any court that has established an electronic filing system under the standards and procedures set forth in subdivision (c) of this Rule, and applies in civil cases in circuit court as provided in Rule 3:3, in criminal cases in circuit court as provided in Rule 3A:23, in general district court proceedings as provided in Rule 7A:7(c), and in juvenile and domestic relations district court proceedings as provided in Rule 8:8(f).
Rule 1:17.Electronic Filing and Service.
Part One: General Rules Applicable to All Proceedings · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1:17 governs electronic filing and service in courts that have adopted an e-filing system, defining key terms, setting operational standards for those systems, prescribing filing and service procedures including deadlines and defect notices, and adapting the requirements of other Rules of Court — signatures, service, endorsements, verification — to Electronically Filed Cases.
Full Text of Rule 1:17
(b) Definitions. (1) "Electronic Document" means any defined set of textural matter,
graphic content or other encoded information in an approved format, that can be read, printed, and stored or retained as electrical, magnetic or optically encoded signals in some medium and that can be transmitted by a data-link.
(2) "Data-link" refers to any means of electronic transmission of a document in a coded form such that the document can be received, read, printed, and stored by the recipient.
(3) "E-Filing Portal" means the electronic web site maintained by the Supreme Court of Virginia designated as the facility for electronically filing documents, or an alternative which meets the standards set forth in this Rule and is made available by individual circuit courts.
(4) "Electronic filing" means the official filing of an electronic document on the court's docket and case files in electronic form by transmission over a data- link.
(5) "Electronically Filed Case" means a case in which pleadings, motions, notices and other filings are made electronically in accordance with these rules.
(6) "Hyperlink" means an electronic connection or reference to another place in the document, such that when the hyperlink is selected the user is taken to the portion of the document to which the link refers. It is not in itself a part of the document.
(c) System Operational Standards. In addition to the obligations and procedures set forth in subdivision (d) of this Rule, electronic filing systems under this Rule must meet these requirements:
(1) Electronic documents must be stored without loss of content or material alteration of appearance.
(2) Files capable of carrying viruses into court computers must be scanned for viruses prior to being written to disk in the clerk's office.
(3) The electronic filing system must be capable of securing the document upon receipt so that it is protected from alteration.
(4) The electronic filing system must be capable of establishing the identity of a sender of a document by means of a registered user identity and password, or by digitally encrypted electronic signatures, or by any other means reasonably calculated to ensure identification to a high degree of certainty.
(5) Remote electronic access to documents submitted in an electronically filed case and stored electronically will be limited to judges, court personnel, any persons assisting such persons in the administration of the electronic filing system, active members of the Virginia State Bar and their authorized agents, and parties appearing pro se, who have complied with the registration requirements to use the electronic filing system.
(6) If the court accepts payment of fees by credit card, debit card, debit account, or electronic funds transfer, registration for the user identity must include submission of all information required to effect the payment of fees. Electronic submission of this information will be deemed a signature by the cardholder sender, authorizing the payment of document filing fees. This information must be kept confidential. There will be an electronic confirmation from the clerk of any charge to or the debit from the user's account.
(7) No unauthorized person is permitted access to other court networks, data or applications unrelated to electronic filing. Administrative access to computer equipment and networks handling electronic filing will be restricted to designated court employees or authorized maintenance personnel.
(8) Electronic filing systems must reasonably protect filed documents against system and security failures and must provide, at a minimum, for daily backup, periodic off-site backup storage if feasible, and prudent disaster recovery mechanisms.
(d) Electronic Service and Filing Practice and Procedures.
(1) In an Electronically Filed Case, all pleadings, motions, notices and other material filed with the court must be in the form of Electronic Documents except where otherwise expressly provided by statute or the Rules of Court, or where the court orders otherwise in an individual case for good cause shown.
(2) Each attorney admitted to practice in the Commonwealth is entitled to a registered User ID and password issued by the clerk, or access using any comparable identification system approved by the Supreme Court, for the electronic filing and retrieval of documents.
(3) The clerk must provide a means, in the courthouse or other designated location, for the parties, counsel and the public to review and copy electronic records from the electronic file during normal business hours.
(4) The format for electronically filed material must be the Portable Document Format (PDF). Notice will be provided if any other format is approved.
(5) (i) Subject to the provisions of subsections (d)(6) and (7) of this Rule, an electronic document must be filed by following the procedures of the applicable E-Filing Portal, and will be deemed filed on the date that it is received in the E-Filing Portal without regard to whether the filing occurred within or outside of standard business
hours. If the electronic document is received in the E-Filing Portal on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or any day or part of a day on which the clerk's office is closed as authorized by an act of the General Assembly, then such document will be deemed filed on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or day or part of a day on which the clerk's office is closed.
(ii) Upon electronic filing of a document, an electronic confirmation will be transmitted to the filing party indicating that the document has been successfully filed through the E-Filing Portal. In addition, the court to which the document is directed will promptly transmit an electronic acknowledgement of its receipt of the electronically filed document, specifying the identity of the receiving court, the date the document was received by the court, and a court-assigned document reference or docketing number.
(6) A person who files a document electronically has the same responsibility as a person filing a document in paper form to ensure that the document is properly filed, complete, and readable. However,
(i) if technical problems at the E-Filing Portal result in a failure to timely file the electronic document, counsel must provide to the clerk of the court on the next business day all documentation which exists demonstrating the attempt to file the document through the E-Filing Portal, any delivery failure notice received in response to the attempt, and a copy of the document, and
(ii) in the event that the E-Filing Portal was not available due to technical problems during the last filing hours of a business day, the office of the clerk of the court to which the document is directed will be deemed to have been closed on that day solely with respect to that attempted filing and the provisions of Virginia Code § 1-210(B) and (C) will apply to that particular attempted filing for purposes of computing the last day for performing any act in a judicial proceeding or the filing of any legal action.
(7) Clerk's notice of defects in a filing; striking documents; court orders.
(i) Incorrect or missing fee. If the clerk of court determines that an electronically filed document is defective because of an incorrect or missing filing fee, and
(A) if the clerk has been provided by the filing party with a credit or payment account through which to obtain payment of fees, the clerk must immediately process payment of the correct fee through such credit or payment account; or
(B) if processing by the clerk of the proper payment through a credit or payment account authorized by the filing party is not feasible, notice must be sent by the clerk electronically to the filing party, and all other parties who have appeared in the case.
(ii) Document filed in the wrong case by counsel. If the clerk of court determines prior to acceptance that an electronic document has been filed by counsel under the wrong case or docket number, the clerk must notify the filing party as soon as practicable, by notice through the E- Filing system, by telephone, or by other effective means.
(iii) A copy of all notices transmitted by the clerk under this subpart (d)(7) must be retained in the permanent electronic case file maintained by the clerk. A copy of any document stricken must be retained by the clerk with a designation clearly reflecting that it was stricken and the date of such striking, as a record of its content and disposition.
(8) The clerk's office must accommodate the submission of non-electronic documents in an Electronically Filed Case if filing in electronic form cannot, as a practical matter, be achieved. Such documents must be imaged to facilitate the creation of a single electronic case file to the extent reasonably possible. An outsized document that is capable of being imaged must be retained in the form submitted.
(9) When an order is entered, the electronic record will be updated to identify the judge who directed entry of the order and the date it was entered, and a notification will be sent to counsel of record that the order has been entered, along with a copy of the order or an electronic link providing access to such order. If the entry of an order is done on a paper copy of the order, a digital image of such order will be made a part of the electronic record, and the endorsed original paper will be retained for the record.
(10) Hyperlinks between two portions of a filed document or between two or more documents filed in the same case, are permissible, but hyperlinks to other documents, or to external websites, are prohibited. A hyperlink is not itself a part of the official filed document and each hyperlink must contain a text reference to the target of the link.
(e) Application of, and Compliance with, Other Rules. In an Electronically Filed Case:
(1) Unless otherwise agreed by all parties, or ordered by the court in an individual case for good cause shown, all documents required to be served – after the initial service of process must be served by electronic transmission. Such service is effective as provided in Rule 1:12.
(2) Annotation by the clerk as provided in Rule 1:4(h) is not required to be made physically upon the face of the pleading and – if it is made by a separate document – it must specify the pleading to which such annotation pertains.
(3) An e-mail address of the counsel of record must be included in the electronic documents filed as required by Rule 1:4(l).
(4) The approved electronic identification accompanying the document when filed constitutes that person's signature on the document for purposes of Rule 1:5 and Virginia Code § 8.01-271.1.
(5) The provisions of Article 4.1 (§§ 17.1-258.2 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of Title 17.1 of the Code of Virginia apply where a document is to be notarized, sworn, attested, verified, or otherwise certified, or if any sworn signatures, stamps, seals or other authentications relating to the document are required by any statute or Rule, and an electronic or digitally imaged document with such accompanying entries must be filed in the clerk's office. Electronic notarization in compliance with the Virginia Notary Act (§§ 47.1-1 et seq.) may also be employed with the filing.
(6) An acceptance of service or a certificate of counsel that electronic copies were served as this Rule requires, showing the date of delivery, must electronically accompany the served papers and satisfies Rule 1:12.
(7) In compliance with Rule 1:13, drafts of orders, decrees and notices must be served on each counsel of record. Such service may be by electronic transmission and must make provision for electronic endorsement by multiple parties where applicable. Objections or other notations by the parties must be entered upon the drafts so circulated,
or appended to such drafts by specific cross- reference or other unambiguous association. Endorsed drafts must be submitted electronically whenever possible, and must be accompanied by proof of service or acceptance of service when required by the rules of court. If there is no practical means of submitting an electronic or digitally imaged endorsed draft, the manually endorsed document must be filed in the clerk's office. The clerk must accommodate the imaging of the document into electronic form and must retain the original endorsed document.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 1:17 is the framework for electronic filing and service in Virginia courts. It applies in any court that has set up an electronic filing system meeting this rule’s standards, and it operates alongside the specific rules for civil circuit court cases (Rule 3:3), criminal circuit court cases (Rule 3A:23), general district court (Rule 7A:7(c)), and juvenile and domestic relations district court (Rule 8:8(f)). The rule defines its key terms — Electronic Document, Data-link, E-Filing Portal, electronic filing, Electronically Filed Case, and Hyperlink — and then sets operational standards a filing system must meet: documents must be stored without loss or alteration, scanned for viruses, secured against tampering, and tied to a verified sender identity; remote access is limited to judges, court personnel, licensed attorneys, and registered pro se parties; payment information must be handled securely; unauthorized network access is barred; and the system must maintain backups and disaster recovery.
The rule’s filing and service procedures cover the practical mechanics of an Electronically Filed Case: documents must generally be Electronic Documents in PDF format, attorneys receive a registered user ID, and the clerk must provide a way to review and copy the electronic file. A document is deemed filed when the E-Filing Portal receives it, even outside business hours, though a document received on a weekend, holiday, or closed day is deemed filed the next open day; both the filer and the court receive electronic confirmation of the filing. A filer bears the same responsibility for a proper, complete, and readable filing as in paper practice, with specific procedures for technical failures at the Portal. The rule also tells the clerk how to handle defects — an incorrect or missing fee, or a document filed under the wrong case number — and requires the clerk to accommodate non-electronic documents when electronic filing is not practical, and to record how orders are entered and by whom. Hyperlinks between parts of the same filing or between documents in the same case are allowed, but hyperlinks to outside documents or websites are not.
Finally, the rule adapts several other Rules of Court to the electronic setting. Service after the initial process must generally be electronic, effective as provided in Rule 1:12; the clerk’s filing-date annotation under Rule 1:4(h) need not be made physically on the pleading; counsel’s email address must appear as Rule 1:4(l) requires; an approved electronic identification serves as a signature for purposes of Rule 1:5 and Code § 8.01-271.1; notarized, sworn, or otherwise certified documents follow Title 17.1’s electronic notarization provisions; and draft orders under Rule 1:13 may be served, endorsed, and objected to electronically, with a fallback to manually endorsed paper documents when no practical electronic means exists.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is a document considered filed in an electronically filed case?
On the date the E-Filing Portal receives it, regardless of whether that happens during normal business hours. If the Portal receives it on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or a day the clerk’s office is closed, the document is deemed filed the next day the office is open.
What format must electronic filings use?
Portable Document Format, or PDF, under Rule 1:17(d)(4), unless the court gives notice that another format is approved.
What happens if the E-Filing Portal has technical problems and I miss a filing deadline?
Counsel must provide the clerk, on the next business day, all documentation of the attempt to file, any delivery failure notice received, and a copy of the document. If the Portal was unavailable due to technical problems during the last filing hours of a business day, the clerk’s office is deemed closed that day solely as to that attempted filing, and Code § 1-210(B) and (C) govern how the deadline is computed.
Can I include a hyperlink to an outside website in an electronically filed document?
No. Rule 1:17(d)(10) permits hyperlinks between portions of the same document or between documents filed in the same case, but prohibits hyperlinks to other documents or to external websites.
Does an electronic signature count as a real signature under Rule 1:17?
Yes. The approved electronic identification that accompanies a document when filed constitutes that person’s signature for purposes of Rule 1:5 and Code § 8.01-271.1.
Amendment History
Last amended by Order dated January 15, 2025; effective March 17, 2025.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia, published by the
Supreme Court of Virginia. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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