New York State Unified Court System, Suffolk County Supreme Court Electronic Filing Protocol

For technical issues with the e-filing system, including problems with your user name/password or consenting/removing consent to e-filing, please contact the N.Y.S. E-Filing Resource Center:
E-Mail: nyscef@nycourts.gov
Phone: 646-386-3033
Fax: 212-401-9146

For assistance using the e-filing system, or to sign up for training please consult the User Manual and Training Resources web page.

Documents That Have Been Returned for Correction

For assistance with documents that have been returned for corrections, please contact the department that returned the document AFTER reading the reason(s) for the return. Those reasons will be located in the body of the “Returned For Correction” e-mail that you received.

Documents Filed in Error

PLEASE DO NOT ASK THE CLERKS OFFICE TO RETURN DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN FILED IN ERROR.
When a document has been e-filed, it is served on all participating parties and marked FILED with the Suffolk County Clerk’s Office. The procedure to correct a filing error is outlined below:

PART 202. Uniform Civil Rules For The Supreme Court & The County Court
202.5-b. Electronic Filing in Supreme Court
(d) Electronic Filing of Documents.
(3) Filing and receipt of documents; notification.
(iii) Correction. If a document filed electronically is subsequently discovered to contain confidential data – including but not limited to trade secrets, information protected by confidentiality agreement, or personal confidential information as defined by statute or court rule – or otherwise to have been filed in error, the filer or another party or affected person may (1) notify the parties and any non-party filers in the action of the confidentiality issue or other error raised by the filing, and of his or her intention to seek judicial relief to correct the filing; (2) following such notification, request that the appropriate County Clerk, exercising his or her administrative discretion, place the document temporarily in "restricted" status on the NYSCEF site, to be made available for viewing by court staff and the parties but not the general public; and (3) file an application to correct the filing by order to show cause within five business days of such notification (or such time as the court may direct), including a request for preliminary injunctive relief limiting interim disclosure of the document at issue. Unless otherwise directed by the court, any document placed in restricted status in response to such a request shall be returned to public view upon expiration of this five day period. The Chief Administrator of the Courts shall promulgate forms to implement this process.

EF-24 - Notification of Confidentiality Issue or Error
EF-25 - Request for Restricted Status

If the parties agree, the Suffolk County Supreme Court will also accept a fully executed stipulation to remove/return documents without the need for judicial intervention. Often, the most appropriate and efficient method to correct an error is to file a new document, labeling it Amended.

Conversion to E-Filing

To convert a paper case to e-filing, you must complete either the EF-10 or EF-28 form, found on the NYSCEF website. After the form is completed, you must upload the form to the e-filing system by clicking the Supreme Court link on the welcome page, and then following the Convert Paper Filings to E-Filing instructions on the bottom of the page. All parties listed on the initiating documents must be entered on the Add Parties page or the application will be rejected. Additional documents may not be uploaded to the system until after the County Clerk uploads the minutes and the applicant has been notified that the case has been converted. All documents filed prior to conversion will NOT be uploaded to the e-filing system but will be listed in the Minutes. Paper (hard copy) documents will be retained by the Suffolk County Clerk’s Office. For a detailed step by step conversion guide, please visit our Conversion to E-Filing Protocol Guide.

Mandatory E-Filing

E-filing is mandatory in all civil matters EXCEPT:

• CPLR Art. 70 proceedings
• CPLR Art. 78 proceedings
• Election Law proceedings
• Matrimonial matters
• Mental Hygiene Law Matters

Mandatory in Part (Commencement):

• Consumer credit actions as defined in CPLR § 105(f)
• Residential foreclosures as defined in RPAPL § 1304

Consensual/Voluntary:

• All civil matters that are neither mandatory nor mandatory in part are considered Consensual/Voluntary matters.

Unrepresented Litigants

Unrepresented (pro se) litigants are EXEMPT from mandatory e-filing and may file hard copy (paper) documents with the court. Litigants are encouraged to view the Unrepresented Litigant Fact Sheet and consider the benefits of e-filing. The Unrepresented Litigants Home Page can assist court users in creating an account and filing documents.

Hard Copy Filing

When submitting hard copy documents as provided in the Uniform Rules for the Court, such copies shall be originals and bound using ONLY a two hole-punch, with pronged fasteners, and include only un-tabbed exhibit pages to allow for scanning. The document shall have attached thereto, facing outward, a Notice of Hard Copy Submission – E-filed Case on its last page, if required. A working hard copy of any such document shall be submitted with tabbed exhibit pages to the Court. Documents that cannot be easily scanned will be retained in the County Clerk’s Office in hard copy form, as they will not be uploaded to the e-filing system.

Discovery Materials

Unless permitted by Uniform Rule §202.5-b(j), NO discovery materials shall be filed electronically.

Contact Information

For general information please contact the Suffolk County Clerk’s Office at (631) 852-2000 or Suffolk County Supreme Court at: (631) 852-2401 for Civil matters or (631) 740-3868 for Matrimonial matters.

Date: February 2, 2024
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