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Ark. eFlex User's Guide for Filers
eFlex Electronic Filing Manual: User's Guide for Filers
eFlex Electronic Filing – Filer Interface
Arkansas
User’s Guide for Filers
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 2
Introducing Electronic Filing......................................................................................................................... 6
Electronic Filing Basics.............................................................................................................................. 6
Document Preparation Prior to Login....................................................................................................... 6
Getting Started.............................................................................................................................................. 8
Become a Registered User........................................................................................................................ 8
Login.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 1: Login Screen....................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 2: Read and Accept User Agreement..................................................................................... 9
Figure 3: Association with a Role.................................................................................................... 10
Figure 4: Association with an Organization.................................................................................... 10
Figure 5: User Profile Information.................................................................................................. 11
Figure 6: Notification of User Account Request............................................................................. 12
Requesting Forgotten User Name or Resetting Forgotten Password..................................................... 12
Figure 7: Requesting a Forgotten User Name................................................................................. 12
Figure 8: Requesting a Password Reset.......................................................................................... 13
Figure 9: Temporary Password for One-Time Login....................................................................... 13
Figure 10: Changing a Password..................................................................................................... 13
Navigating from the Home Page............................................................................................................. 14
Figure 11: Home Page..................................................................................................................... 14
Logging Out............................................................................................................................................. 15
Figure 12: Notification of Drafts..................................................................................................... 15
Working with Profiles.................................................................................................................................. 15
My User Profile....................................................................................................................................... 15
To view or edit your user profile:........................................................................................................ 15
Figure 13: Modify User Profile........................................................................................................ 16
Passwords............................................................................................................................................... 17
To change your password: .................................................................................................................. 17
Figure 14: Change Password Screen............................................................................................... 17
Login History........................................................................................................................................... 18
To view login history: .......................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 15: Login History.................................................................................................................. 18
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Working with Cases..................................................................................................................................... 19
To View Existing Cases: ........................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 16: List of “Existing Cases” ................................................................................................... 19
Figure 17: Search Cases................................................................................................................... 20
Viewing a Case History........................................................................................................................ 21
Figure 18: Expanded Case History View.......................................................................................... 21
Viewing Certificate of Service............................................................................................................. 22
Figure 19: Service List...................................................................................................................... 22
Notifications............................................................................................................................................ 22
Figure 20: Courtesy Notice of Electronic Filing............................................................................... 23
Accessing Your Notifications............................................................................................................... 24
Viewing Filing Charges............................................................................................................................ 25
To view filing charges: ......................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 22: List of Filing Charges...................................................................................................... 25
Working with eFile...................................................................................................................................... 26
Initiating a New Case.............................................................................................................................. 26
Figure 23: Define the New Case by Selecting the Court................................................................. 26
Figure 24: Select the Subject Matter Division................................................................................. 27
Figure 25: Define the Case by Selecting a Case Type...................................................................... 27
To Add Case Parties and Additional Case Data................................................................................... 28
Figure 26: Begin Creating the Submission on the Case Initiation Page.......................................... 28
Figure 27: Add Plaintiff Information Sample Page.......................................................................... 29
Figure 28: Case Initiation Displays Plaintiff Added......................................................................... 30
Figure 29: Add Defendant Information........................................................................................... 31
Figure 30: Case Initiation Page Displaying Both Parties.................................................................. 32
To Add Documents on a New Case..................................................................................................... 32
Figure 31: Add a Document............................................................................................................ 32
Figure 32: Document Category Drop Down.................................................................................... 33
Figure 33: Document Type Drop Down.......................................................................................... 33
Figure 34: Document Type Requiring Additional Information from User...................................... 35
Figure 35: Document Form Requiring Additional Information from User...................................... 35
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Figure 36: Incorrect Document File Format.................................................................................... 36
Figure 37: List of Added Documents............................................................................................... 36
To Submit the Initial Filing.................................................................................................................. 37
Figure 38: Fee Payment Requirement for Filing............................................................................. 38
Figure 39: Secure Payment Site Information.................................................................................. 39
Figure 40: Filing Submitted Message.............................................................................................. 41
Figure 41: Filing Status.................................................................................................................... 42
To View or Print Documents Associated with A Case: ........................................................................ 42
Figure 42: My Filings Page Displays Filings with Links for Additional Information......................... 43
Figure 43: Viewing Documents from the Filing Status Page........................................................... 44
Figure 44: Court Generated Receipt............................................................................................... 45
eFiling to an Existing Case....................................................................................................................... 46
To Add a Document to an Existing Case: ............................................................................................ 46
Figure 45: Existing Cases................................................................................................................. 46
Figure 46: Yellow Banner on Existing Case Add a Document Page................................................. 47
Figure 47: Additional Information Required when Adding Some Documents............................... 48
Figure 48: Incorrect Document File Format.................................................................................... 48
Figure 49: List of Added Documents............................................................................................... 49
To Submit a Filing to an Existing Case................................................................................................. 50
Figure 50: Review and Approve Page for Existing Cases................................................................ 50
Figure 51: Filing Has Been Submitted............................................................................................. 52
Figure 53: Filing Submitted Message.............................................................................................. 54
Understanding Filing Status.................................................................................................................... 55
Figure 54: Check Filing Status on My Filings Page.......................................................................... 56
To check the status of your submissions: ........................................................................................... 56
Figure 55: View Documents Associated with the Filing from the Filing Status Page...................... 57
Handling a “Rejected ” Status............................................................................................................. 58
Draft Submissions................................................................................................................................... 58
To resume work on a draft filing: ........................................................................................................ 58
Figure 56: List of Draft Filings.......................................................................................................... 58
Appendix A: Creating a PDF and Other Document Display Information.................................................... 59
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 5
PDF Basics............................................................................................................................................... 59
Creating Documents............................................................................................................................... 59
Including Paper Exhibits.......................................................................................................................... 60
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Introducing Electronic Filing
Electronic Filing Basics
Arkansas’s electronic filing (eFiling) system is designed to make the work associated with initiating and
processing a case more efficient for both filers and court personnel. Not only does the web-based filer
interface software allow filers to create documents and submit them to the court electronically, the filer
interface also provides the means for users to view case histories, check the status of submissions, send
follow up documents, and access service lists.
For the court personnel, the software routes the filings to the appropriate personnel for review,
response, generation of additional documents, or further action. When documents are filed
conventionally, once the court personnel scan the documents, the filer interface distributes a courtesy
notice to electronic participants on the case so those participants may access the documents
electronically.
This user’s guide is intended to instruct filers on the features of the eFlex eFiling system. Check the
Arkansas Judiciary eFiling login page at https://efile.aoc.arkansas.gov for additional information on
eFiling instruction opportunities.
In order to progress through eFiling a case with the greatest ease, please follow the steps outlined in this
manual, including document preparation as discussed below. Also, for best results, users are strongly
encouraged to use only the navigation buttons that are displayed on the eFiling interface. These will
appear at the bottom of each page and will give the user options such as Back or Next. Additionally, the
filer may use the menu bar located at the top of each screen just below the Arkansas Judiciary banner.
Another navigation option is the breadcrumb trail displayed at the top of every page. This appears just
under the menu bar, and the active links show the pages the user has visited to get to the current page.
Clicking on any of these links will take the user back to the page listed. It is important to avoid using the
internet browser back arrow during the preparation and submission of a filing.
Document Preparation Prior to Login
For most types of cases, the filer will need to attach documents with the initial filing. For the most part,
those documents and any additional documents that are submitted at a later time need to be submitted
as Adobe Acrobat PDF files (Portable Document Format), Microsoft® Word 2003 or higher, or Corel
WordPerfect® 10 or higher files. Most documents that are submitted as part of a filing will not need to
be changed, other than receiving a time stamp, during the filing or clerk approval processes. There are
some documents, such as proposed orders, that are exceptions to this rule and must be submitted only
as Microsoft® Word 2003 or higher or Corel WordPerfect® 10 or higher files so that the changes that
must be made as the proposed order becomes an order can be made on the document. It is best to have
these documents prepared before logging into Arkansas Judiciary filer interface.
The requirement for submitting documents as .pdf, .doc, .docx, or .wpd files also applies to paper
exhibits such as copies of contracts or copies of cancelled checks. The easiest way to prepare such
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exhibits is to scan and save them as PDFs. However, the filer could also scan the paper exhibits, save
them as an image such as a .jpeg, and import them into a word processing document of the types listed
above. Because color scans add to the file size, it is highly recommended that black and white settings
be used with a lower resolution setting of 300 dpi (dots per inch) when scanning paper exhibits (unless
the loss of the color degrades the value of the evidence).
Note: Although the Arkansas Judiciary will accept a wide variety of formats on documents submitted by
eFilers, the final, permanent storage of all documents submitted will be in a PDF format. The Arkansas
Judiciary system will be responsible for electronically converting all non-pdf documents to a pdf file
format. Many factors, such as fonts used in the creation of a word-processed document, can affect the
appearance of the final pdf document. If a filer wants to be sure her documents are permanently stored
appearing exactly as they do on her own computer, it is best for the filer to create the pdf version of the
documents and submit those with the filing. If a filer does not have the ability to convert documents to
pdf, choosing commonly used fonts such as Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial, or Calibri will greatly
increase the chances that the converted document will appear like the original. PDF files submitted to
the court should not be form fillable or contain any metadata.
The eFlex system interacts with conversion software to convert word processing documents to pdf
documents. Tybera Development or the eFlex system doesn’t own or control the conversion software.
The conversion software is licensed to Arkansas Judiciary. If there are issues involving the conversion
software, the Arkansas Judiciary system must contact the conversion software vendor directly for
technical support.
If you need instruction on creating a PDF file, please refer to Appendix A at the end of this user guide.
Note: Individual document size is limited to 10 MB. Multiple documents can be included in a single
submission. The size limitation for an entire submission is 30 MB.
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Getting Started
Become a Registered User
Pursuant to Section 10 of Administrative Order 21, the following persons shall be permitted to become
registered users: (1) licensed Arkansas attorneys; (2) non-Arkansas attorneys permitted to practice pro
hac vice in Arkansas; (3) litigants appearing pro se in a particular case in which the court has mandated
electronic filing. Filers must complete all three steps below to begin electronic filing.
1. Attend online training (register at http://www.tybera.com/arkansas.htm). After attending
training attorneys will be eligible for one hour of general CLE credit. Please provide feedback
after your training by following this link. Attorneys may request CLE Credit by completing this
form and mailing the signed printed form to the Office of Professional Programs.
2. Mail a one-time account registration fee of $100, payable to the “Bar of Arkansas” to the
following address:
Electronic Filing Registration
Administrative Office of the Courts
625 Marshall Street
Justice Building, Suite 1100
Little Rock, AR 72201
If you are requesting an attorney or pro hac vice account, your name, bar number, and email address must accompany the payment.
If you are a pro hac vice attorney, you must also provide a letter of good standing from your
local bar.
If you are requesting a Pro Se account, AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF PRO SE REQUEST FOR
ELECTRONIC FILING ACCOUNT available at this link must accompany your payment.
3. Request an account online and “Accept” the Electronic Filing Account Request User Agreement
at https://efile.aoc.arkansas.gov/.
Login
To begin eFiling you must first go to the “Login” page located at: https://efile.aoc.arkansas.gov and
request an account if you do not already have one.
The “Login” page is the place where the system administrator may communicate with filers by posting a
message providing links to rules or forms or by posting a message notifying users of upcoming system
maintenance.
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Figure 1: Login Screen
1. To begin the registration process, click on the Request Account button on the login page.
Figure 2: Read and Accept User Agreement
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2. The “User Agreement” page will open. After reading the user agreement, accept the terms by
selecting the proper radio button, and click Submit. The “User Roles” page will appear.
Figure 3: Association with a Role
3. Each user must have an assigned role. Select the ATTORNEY or PRO SE role from the list by
marking the appropriate radio button and clicking Next. The “Select a Company” page will
appear.
Figure 4: Association with an Organization
4. Each user must be associated with an organization. On the “Select a company” page, use the
drop-down menu to select a company that is already a part of the eFlex community. Pro Se
requesters should select the PRO SE Company. Attorneys who need to create a new
organization account should select “New” and fill in the text box with the company name for
which an account is being established. Make sure you use the legal name of the company.
5. Click Next. The “Request a User Account” page will display.
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Figure 5: User Profile Information
6. Fill in the textboxes with the appropriate information. Fields marked with an asterisk are
required.
7. Be sure that the password you select is one you will remember, contains eight characters,
including a special character (such as an exclamation point, asterisk, or period), and is different
from your user name.
Note: Non attorney filers may have different required fields. Some information, such as your user name,
user identification number or bar number, cannot be modified after you register.
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8. Click Submit.
Figure 6: Notification of User Account Request
9. A page notifying you that a user account has been requested appears and displays basic user
information including the company with which the user is associated. Click OK to return to the
“Login” page. Once you have completed the registration process and your account has been
approved, you will receive an email message that your account is approved. You can then log in
to the eFiling system with your user name and the password you established during the
registration process.
Requesting Forgotten User Name or Resetting Forgotten Password
1. If you have forgotten your password, on the “Login” page, click Forgot Your User Name. A page
will appear asking you to enter the primary email addresses associated with your account.
Figure 7: Requesting a Forgotten User Name
2. Fill in your primary email address, and click Submit.
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3. Check your email account for a message sent from the eFlex system. It will contain your user
name.
4. If you have forgotten your password, on the “Login” page, click Forgot Your Password. The
“Request Password Reset” page will appear.
Figure 8: Requesting a Password Reset
5. Enter your user name and click Submit.
6. An email containing a link will be sent to the address listed on your user profile. Upon clicking
the link, you will be directed to a page with a temporary password that you may use to login to
the eFlex system.
Figure 9: Temporary Password for One-Time Login
7. After login, proceed to the “Change Password” page. You may also access this page by selecting
My Profile > Change Password from the menu bar located at the top of most pages.
Figure 10: Changing a Password
8. Enter the temporary password in the “Password” field.
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9. Create a new password following the password requirements and type it into the “New
Password” field. Be sure that the password you select is one you will remember, contains eight
characters, including a special character (such as an exclamation point, asterisk, or period), and
is different from your user name.
10. In the “Confirm New Password” field, re-type the password exactly as you entered it in step 6.
11. Click Submit to save your changes.
12. Be sure you notify your legal assistant, or any others who may enter your filings for you, of the
change in password.
Navigating from the Home Page
The “Home Page” is your starting point as a filer and is the default screen you see when you login. All
the basic filer functions are accessed by clicking the appropriate button listed on the home page. You
can also navigate using the menu bar that appears at the top of most pages on the website. Roll the
mouse over the listings on the menu bar to become familiar with options not available in the list of
buttons at the left of the home page. For instance, on the menu bar the “My Profile” drop down list
allows you to access pages to view and modify profile information, including changing your password.
Figure 11: Home Page
Your user name appears on the right side below the banner.
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Note: This is a web application. Your web session will terminate automatically if there is no activity on
the webpage for 20 minutes. A session is considered active as long as you are interacting with the web
server. For example, if you do not click a Next or Submit button within 20 minutes, the session will time
out and log you off the system. When the system logs you out, the screen doesn’t change. It appears
that you’re still logged on; however, as soon as you click a button, you will be asked to login. Typing in a
text field does not count as being “active.”
Logging Out
1. Click the Logout button listed on the right side of the menu bar. A “Logout” page will appear.
Figure 12: Notification of Drafts
2. Review the list of incomplete filings. Prior to completing user logout, the eFlex system notifies
users of drafts they may have in process. Because eFlex saves information entered for a filing
after the addition of parties or documents, a user is able to begin a filing and leave the eFlex
session before finalizing the filing. The eFlex system also automatically executes a save action on
incomplete filings when a user selects Logout. The information entered will be saved in draft
form and accessible for completion on subsequent logins.
Working with Profiles
My User Profile
When you register for an account, you are required to provide profile information that can be edited or
updated later as needed. Periodically you might see a pop-up asking you to verify the current profile
info. There is an option to change your profile information as seen in the example below. The default for
the pop-up reminder is every 90 days unless the system administrator configures it to be more or less
frequent.
To view or edit your user profile:
1. Select My Profile > My Profile from the menu. The “User Profile” page will appear and
display the information entered when the user account was created or modified.
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Figure 13: Modify User Profile
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2. To change the information in the user profile, click Modify User Profile to cause the “Modify
User Profile” page to appear. Fields that display a textbox may be modified.
Note: You MUST maintain the correct primary email address associated with this account in order for
the eFlex system to communicate with you about activity that has taken place on your cases. If you
change your email account, then you must record the new email address on your user profile to receive
Notifications of Electronic Filing (NEFs) for your cases.
3. Optional: The alternative email addresses are provided so that someone else can receive
email notices when you receive courtesy notices on your cases. This may be used for
partners or assistants.
4. Optional: The eFlex system default is to automatically send users emails notifying them of
status updates for action taken on their filings. If you do not wish to receive email updates
on status changes for received filings, approved filings, partially approved filings, or rejected
filings on all of your cases, select the appropriate radio button to discontinue that service.
5. Click Submit to save the changes you have made and be returned to the “User Profile” page.
Note: If a change is required to fields without a textbox, the user will need to contact the system
administrator at courts.efiling@arkansas.gov. For instance, a system administrator is able to change a
user’s assigned role or the organization with which the user is associated.
Passwords
You may change your password whenever you want. Periodically changing your account password is a
wise security measure. We recommend that your password be something that you can remember but is
difficult for others to figure out. The Arkansas Judiciary eFiling system password requirements state the
password must be eight characters in length, contain a special symbol such as a dollar sign or period,
and be different from your user name. A good password has symbols, upper and lower case characters,
and numbers. Passwords are case sensitive.
To change your password:
1. Select My Profile > Change Password from the menu bar at the top of the page or, from the
“User Profile” page, click Change Password.
Figure 14: Change Password Screen
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2. Enter the temporary password in the “Password” field.
3. Create a new password following the password requirements and type it into the “New
Password” field.
4. In the “Confirm New Password” field, re-type the password exactly as you entered it in step
3.
5. Click Submit to save your changes.
6. Be sure you notify your legal assistant, or any others who may enter your filings for you, of
the change in password.
Note: When you are changing your password using the “Forgot My Password” feature on the “Login”
page make sure you type in the new temporary password in the first password field. Don’t try to
remember your old password because it has been changed.
Login History
The “Login History” screen shows your login failures to help you monitor any unauthorized login
attempts.
If your account has too many login failures, the system will automatically suspend your account for 30
minutes. If this occurs, call support to reset your password or try again in 30 minutes. Changing your
password on a regular basis is one way to help avoid unauthorized access to your account.
To view login history:
1. Select My Profile > View Login History from the menu. The “Login History” page appears
displaying a list of the login attempts along with the date, login result, and IP address of the
requesting machine.
Figure 15: Login History
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Working with Cases
There are three options under the menu bar option labeled “Cases”. They are:
“Existing Cases”
“Notifications”
“Filing Charges”
When you initiate a new case or send in a follow-up filing, even if it is just a notification, the case
number is added to the “Existing Cases” list if you are a participant, and the eFiling system recognizes
that condition. From the menu bar, clicking on Existing Cases will allow you to access a list of cases on
which you are a registered participant.
To View Existing Cases:
Click Existing Cases on the home page or select Cases > Existing Cases from the menu bar.
Figure 16: List of “Existing Cases”
From here you can:
1. Limit or expand the number of cases listed by clicking on the “Number of Cases Displayed Per
Page” drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the page.
2. Optional: Search for cases not listed by filling in the case number and the case title in the search
boxes at the top of the page and then clicking either History or Certificate of Service. This
feature is helpful if you have not efiled on a case but need to view the case history or review the
list of participants that need service in paper.
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3. The “Show Active,” “Show Inactive,” and “Show Both” radio buttons at the right side above the
list of cases is another means of filtering what is displayed on the page. The system default is
“Show Active.”
4. Filter the cases listed by selecting the “Inactive” checkbox to the right of a case on which there is
no current activity. The default setting for the “Existing Cases” page is “Show Active” so cases
flagged as “Inactive” will not be displayed on the “Existing Cases” list.
Note: If action is taken on a case you have marked as “Inactive,” you will receive notifications of that
action and can then reset the flag to active so the case will display on your “Existing Cases” list.
5. To reset a case as “Active,” select the Show Inactive radio button on the right side above the
list. When the inactive cases appear on the page, un-check the “Inactive” checkbox for the entry
that has become active. The entry will be reset to “Active” and will display on your “Existing
Cases” active list.
6. Optional: Click the Search Cases button to be directed to a page where you can search the
eFlex system for cases on which you have filed. The search does not access the clerk’s case
management system. Enter part of the title or case number information as requested, and click
Search. Cases fitting the criteria will be displayed on the “Search Cases” page.
eFilers: As a registered user you may see public cases listed here that you have not eFiled on. If you
are indexed by the clerk as a party on a case, the eFiling system will update your list as soon as
anyone on the case submits something through the eFiling system on that case.
Pro Se Filers: If you are a Registered Filer, cases you are currently participating in may not
automatically show on your list. The reason for this may be that you are not listed in the case
management system with the same party identification number.
Figure 17: Search Cases
Optional: Access additional information about the cases listed on the page by clicking on the
“Case Number” link to view the “Case History” or on the “Certificate” link to view the lists of
both electronic participants and the list of participants who will need notifications in paper.
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Viewing a Case History
1. From the “Existing Cases” page, click either the “Case Number” link or use the textboxes to
enter the case number and participant’s last name then click History. A secondary page will
open.
Figure 18: Expanded Case History View
2. Click the +/- near the upper left corner of the page to show or hide participants such as
plaintiffs, defendants, or attorneys listed on the case.
3. Click the +/- to the left of the “Case History” column entry to view additional information.
4. Click a link under the “Case History” column to download that particular document. Your
ability to access the documents will depend on the case type, case security level, docket
security level, and document security level.
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Viewing Certificate of Service
1. From the “Existing Cases” page, click either the “Certificate” link or use the textboxes to
enter the case number, court, and case title, and click Certificate of Service.
Figure 19: Service List
2. A secondary page will open. The “Service List” view will list the electronic participants first.
Those participants who need to be notified in paper will be under the heading “The
following people should be served conventionally.”
Notifications
As part of your account registration, you provided an email address and were given the opportunity to
include additional email addresses. The eFlex system automatically generates emails to communicate
with participants when action is taken on their cases. All email addresses entered in your profile will
receive email messages of both types of notifications generated by the system. The email notification
will contain a link to the efiled documents that can be accessed after the username and password is
entered. The email may not include the all the details of the submissions depending on the security level
of the case. The official notice is accessed through the filer interface and will have all the documents
and case information.
The two types of notifications that can show in your notification list are:
“Notice of Electronic Filing” (NEF)
“Notice of Conventional Filing” (NCF)
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A “Notice of Electronic Filing” (NEF) is a notice of documents that are filed on a case electronically. For
participants on the case that do not have an eFiling account, the Arkansas Judiciary requires that you
continue the practice of service to those participants in paper and includes your certificate of service as
part of your documents in this case.
Figure 20: Courtesy Notice of Electronic Filing
When you receive a “Notice of Conventional Filing,” (NCF) it means a paper document was submitted to
the court, and the clerk scanned the documents into electronic format to be recorded. Links to these
scanned documents are included in the notification. You may have received a paper copy of these
documents from the filer if they submitted their documents in paper; however, many Pro Se filers do
not understand the rules of service and fail to distribute the service properly. The NCF help the filers
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know when this occurs, or it may simply be faster than the time it takes to receive the service in the
mail.
Once you have efiled on a case and been added as a party to that case by the clerk of court, the case
number is stored in a database, and your user name is associated with that case. When someone else
sends a follow-up submission on any case on which you have been indexed as a participant, you will
receive an email and the notification list will be updated with the submission information.
Notifications generally go out when the court records a submission. Notifications are also sent when the
submission is accepted or “Returned Not Filed” by the clerk.
Accessing Your Notifications
1. To access your notifications from within the email, you can click on the link embedded in the
email. This will launch a web browser and take you to the eFiling “Login” page. Once you
log in, you will be directed to the “Notification Listing.” (If you already have the eFiling
application open, it is not recommended to open a new session by logging into a different
browser window.)
Note: If you do not get your email messages, you can still log in and view your notifications. The eFiling
system holds all notifications, access to the details of the notifications, and the ability to download the
documents for a period of time determined by the Arkansas Judiciary, usually 90 days.
2. To access your notifications from the “Home” page, click on the Notifications button. Beside
the Notifications button on the “Home” page there may be a number in parentheses such
as (10). This number represents the number of notifications you have not yet accessed and
does not include the notifications that you have already accessed.
3. You can also access your notifications from the menu bar Cases > Notifications.
Figure 21: List of Notifications
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4. An unopened envelope icon will appear to the left of each email notification you have not
yet viewed.
5. Click the email link of the submission you wish to view. A secondary page opens where you
can view the service list for the case. The list indicates both participants who have been
served electronically by the court and a list of those participants who will need to be served
by traditional, paper means.
6. A sub-listing of each email will display the documents that were filed with the case. Click on
the document link to download a PDF of the document onto your local computer.
7. The envelope icon will change to an open envelope after you have viewed the email.
8. After you have viewed the email notification and downloaded the related documents, you
can delete the notification by selecting the checkbox to the left of the notification and
clicking the Delete button.
Viewing Filing Charges
Some documents that you file require court fees. Before you submit anything to the court, the final step
is to review the data and documents in your submissions. The eFlex system automatically queries the
Arkansas Judiciary system to calculate fees and displays those fees on the “Review and Approve” page
for the filer. If one of the documents you included requires a court fee, there are several payment
options including a subscription account billed by Information Network of Arkansas, payment with a
credit card, or payment by electronic check. Currently, credit cards accepted for payment of fees include
Discover, MasterCard and VISA. There are also waiver options provided including indigent status or
monthly billing from the court for certain Arkansas agencies. When payments are made, eFlex records
the payments and keeps track of payment information for the last twelve months. If you go to the court
and make a payment directly to the clerk, those payments will not appear in eFlex. eFilings accepted by
the clerk will list the final receipt number issued by the courts case management system.
To view filing charges:
1. Select Cases > Filing Charges from the menu.
Figure 22: List of Filing Charges
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2. The current month is displayed by default. Select a month from the “Report Month” drop-down list. Information about each payment made during that month, including the case
number, case title, method of payment, and the amount is displayed.
Working with eFile
There are four options under the menu bar option labeled “eFile”. They are:
New Case
Existing Case
My Filings
Draft Filings
Initiating a New Case
Prior to initiating a new case, prepare all documents associated with the case ahead of time. Be sure
they are saved as a PDF, .doc, .docx, or .wpd and are under the 10 MB size limitation. For more
information on document preparation, see the “Document Preparation Prior to Login” and the
“Appendix A” sections of this manual.
Note: Remember that an AOC Cover Sheet must accompany every newly filed case. Section II(b) of
Administrative Order Number 8 provides that, “The court clerk shall not accept an initial pleading which
is not accompanied by the appropriate completed form.” The forms are available for download at
https://courts.arkansas.gov/aoc/forms.cfm.
Only the Prosecuting Attorney’s office will have the authority to initiate a Criminal or Juvenile
Delinquency case. Other case types may be initiated by any electronic filer.
1. From the home page, click the New Case button or select eFile > New Case from the menu bar
at the top of most pages on the website. A “Court” page will appear.
Figure 23: Define the New Case by Selecting the Court
2. Click on the description of the court you will be filing with. The link will cause “Case Category”
page to appear listing the available subject matter divisions within the court you selected.
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Figure 24: Select the Subject Matter Division
3. Further define your submission by clicking on the appropriate court’s division link. This will
cause the “Case Types” page to appear.
Figure 25: Define the Case by Selecting a Case Type
4. Select the link for the appropriate case type. The “Case Initiation” page for the selected case
type will appear.
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To Add Case Parties and Additional Case Data
Figure 26: Begin Creating the Submission on the Case Initiation Page
1. Optional: If your organization has an office filing system for cases, in the “Client #” textbox enter
the appropriate filing information for your organization’s tracking purposes. This number only
has meaning to your office personnel/office filing system. It is in no way connected to the court
system. The number is included only for your convenience.
2. Optional: If applicable, in the text box adjacent to “Claim Amount” enter the monetary amount
of damages you are requesting. This is stored only for statistical purposes.
3. Select the “non-jury” or “jury” radio button to indicate whether you intend to request a jury
trial.
4. Click Add My Parties. The “Add a Party” page will open.
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Figure 27: Add Plaintiff Information Sample Page
5. The Add My Parties button allows you to add the plaintiffs, appellants, and petitioners that you
represent if you are an attorney. As an attorney, the eFiling system automatically associates you
to the parties you enter using the Add My Party button. If you are a Registered Filer/Pro Se, the
eFiling system automatically adds you as a party on the case.
6. Select the “Company” or “Person” radio button to indicate whether the party is an individual.
7. Use the “Party Type” drop down list to select the correct party type.
8. Fill in all the fields for which you have information. This will assist the clerks in determining
whether a case should be transferred to another division. The case data requested may vary
depending upon which court receives the filing.
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Note: Fields marked with an asterisk are required by this system; however, this does not mean those are
the only fields you must fill in. Sometimes other information is not known, and in that case, you are not
required to fill out fields of information you do not have. However, if you have the information, it is best
to provide it. If the clerk would expect the information and it is not provided, then the clerk may reject
the submission or require you to send in an additional submission with more information.
9. Optional: Section VII(a)(8) of Administrative Order 19 provides that “all home and business
addresses of petitioners who request anonymity when seeking a domestic order of protection”
are confidential. Select the box next to “Confidential Address” to request confidential
treatment of the address.
10. Click Next. This will return you to the “Case Initiation Page.”
Figure 28: Case Initiation Displays Plaintiff Added
11. Optional: Add additional plaintiffs following the same procedure listed above.
12. Click Add Other Parties. The “Add a Party” page allowing you to add defendants, respondents,
appellees etc. will appear.
Note: The Add Other Parties button does not associate you to the parties you are adding. You will have
the option of adding the attorney for the defendant. If you do not have both the attorney’s name and
the attorney’s bar number, do not add the attorney for the defendant.
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Figure 29: Add Defendant Information
13. Use the “Party Type” drop down list to select the correct party type.
14. Fill in all the fields for which you have information.
Note: Fields marked with an asterisk are required by this system; however, this does not mean those are
the only fields you must fill in. Sometimes other information is not known, and in that case, you are not
required to fill out fields of information you do not have. However, if you have the information, it is best
to provide it. If the clerk would expect the information and it is not provided, then the clerk may reject
the submission or require you to send in an additional submission with more information.
15. Click Next. This will return you to the “Case Initiation Page.”
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Figure 30: Case Initiation Page Displaying Both Parties
16. Optional: Add additional defendants following the same procedure listed above.
To Add Documents on a New Case
1. Click Next on the “Case Initiation” page. The “Add a Document” page will display.
Figure 31: Add a Document
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2. Optional: Use the drop-down menu to select a “Document Category.” Although this is optional,
the “Document Category” selection narrows the scope of the “Document Type” list, making it
easier to find the correct “Document Type” from the list of documents shown. You can leave
the “Document Category” list at the blank default. This will cause the “Document Type” list to
display all possible documents that could be eFiled on this “Case Type.” If you are struggling to
find the right “Document Type,” leave the “Document Category” blank to see all the documents.
Some documents may be required in order to file a case. The system will present the required
documents for filing before you are able to add optional documents.
Figure 32: Document Category Drop Down
3. From the “Document Type” pull-down menu, select the type of document you are going to add
to this submission. You can add more than one document to this submission, but it must be
done one document at a time, repeating each of the “Add Document” steps for each document.
Figure 33: Document Type Drop Down
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4. Optional: Enter any “Additional Text” in the text field provided. This additional text helps the
clerk, judge, or other participants understand more about the document. For example, if you
are adding a motion, you may want to give more information about the purpose of the motion.
5. Locate the document you have prepared by clicking on Browse. The operating system “Open
Dialog” will display. Browse to locate your document on your computer or your company’s
computer network, select the document, and then click on the Open button. This will return
you to the “Add a Document” page with the file path to your document displayed in the
“Document Location” field.
6. Click the Add button. If the document is large, you will see a message “UPLOADING DOCUMENT.
PLEASE WAIT”. This process will copy the document from your local machine to the court
servers. Once the transfer is complete, repeat the steps 2 through 7 on this page to add
additional documents.
7. Some documents require additional information. (To generate a summons using eFlex, select
the Summons Issued document type) If this is so, clicking Add will cause a screen to display
requesting the additional information. This system generated form is referred to as a
“Document Form.” Fill out the displayed form as completely as you can and select the
appropriate service notices, click Next. Your documents will be added to the case at this time.
8. Option: Select the “Sealed” checkbox to indicate that the document contains information that is
considered confidential under Administrative Order 19, but which is required to be filed with the
court under Ark. R. Civ. P. 5(c)(2)(B), which provides,
An un-redacted copy of the case record with the confidential information included shall
be filed with the court under seal. The un-redacted copy of the case record shall be
retained by the court as part of the court record of the case. It is the responsibility of
the attorney for a party represented by counsel and the responsibility of a party
unrepresented by counsel to ensure that confidential information is omitted or redacted
from all case records that they submit to a court. It is the responsibility of the court,
court agency, or clerk of court to ensure that confidential information is omitted or
redacted from all case records, including orders, judgments, and decrees, that they
create.
The clerk will be able to protect the document from public access during the review and
approval process.
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Figure 34: Document Type Requiring Additional Information from User
Figure 35: Document Form Requiring Additional Information from User
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Note: You must file documents in the accepted format and length. Please see instructions for
“Document Preparation Prior to Login” at the beginning of this guide or “Appendix A” at the end of this
guide. Failure to attach documents in the correct format will generate an error message.
Figure 36: Incorrect Document File Format
9. Each time you add a document, the document entry is displayed in the lower section of the
page. The picture below shows that a “Complaint” and a “Summons” were added with no
additional text. The size of each document is also included on the entry.
Figure 37: List of Added Documents
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10. Optional: If you click on the “View Document” link of each entry, the eFiling system will copy
the document stored in the Court Judicial Branch servers back to your local machine so you can
view what you uploaded.
11. Optional: Click the “Edit Data” icon next to any listed document to change the information you
entered that was associated to that document. If there is no information collected that is
associated to that specific document, no “Edit Data” icon will be displayed for that document
entry. For more information about these special documents, refer to the “Special Document
Types” section of this user manual.
12. Optional: If you uploaded the wrong document, you can click on the red “X” icon under the
“Remove” column. This will remove that document from your submission, allowing you to add
the correct document.
13. Optional: Click the Cancel button to discard the submission you just created. This will remove
the documents from the eFlex servers and eliminate the submission information.
14. Optional: Click Move to Draft if you want to finish this submission at a later time. Each time you
click on a Next button, the eFlex servers are updated and the partial information you have
entered in this process is recorded with the documents. If your session times out because of
inactivity, you will be required to log in again. From the “Login” page, go to Draft Filings to
finish your submission.
15. On the “Add a Document” page click the Next button at the bottom of the page. The “Review
and Approve Filing” page will display.
To Submit the Initial Filing
The fee you owe is displayed on the “Review and Approve” page. Payment of fees must be completed
before the filing will be submitted to the court. The “Review and Approve” page gives you several
payment options. The “Pay for filing” radio button below “Payment Method:” will redirect you to the
Information Network of Arkansas payment portal. There you may submit a payment by Visa,
MasterCard, or Discover credit cards, an eCheck, or add the fees to your INA subscription account for
subsequent billing. In addition to the statutory filing fee, you will be assessed a $20 electronic filing fee
authorized by Administrative Order 21 to maintain and support the electronic filing system.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 38
Figure 38: Fee Payment Requirement for Filing
In some cases, a waiver of immediate payment may be the appropriate option to select. Some reasons
for selecting the waiver option include indigents, statutory fee waiver, and others. Look at the waiver
options to determine if any apply. Make sure you include appropriate affidavits to support any waiver
option you may have selected. Do not select waivers to avoid payment. The clerk may reject a
submission for non-payment.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 39
1. Optional: From the “Review and Approve” page, you can also go back to change the case
information, which includes the party information, by clicking on the Change Case Data button.
(Refer to previous instructions to add or remove parties.)
2. Optional: You can go back to change the documents you have included in this submission by
clicking the Add/Remove Documents button. This will re-direct you to the “Add a Document”
page. (Refer to previous instructions to add or remove documents.) You can also click the Back
button at the bottom of the “Review and Approve” page to go back to the “Add a Document”
page.
3. Optional: You can cancel and discard this submission by clicking on the Cancel (Delete) button.
This will remove the documents on the Court servers and delete any information about this
submission that was not sent.
4. Optional: You can leave your submission in draft state and finish it later by clicking on the Move
to Draft button.
5. Pro Se Filers: In the Special Filing Instructions for the Clerk box you must include your driver
license number or state ID number. Failing to include this information may result in the filing
being rejected or not being listed as a party to the case properly.
6. Click on the Submit the Filing button to file the submission. You will see a dialog box asking if
you are ready to submit your filing.
7. If you owe fees, after clicking OK on the dialog box, you will be directed to “GovPay,” a PCI
certified secure payment site.
Note: Credit card information must be re-entered with each filing as, according to the Payment Card
Industry (PCI) standards, the system does not record or retain credit card information.
Figure 39: Secure Payment Site Information
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 40
8. Your charges are displayed on the opening GovPay with the different payment options.
9. If you would like to submit a payment directly from a bank account, select “Pay by ECheck” and
click Continue. You will need to have your bank routing number and bank account number in
order to complete payment.
10. Enter the required information and submit your payment by clicking the Confirm button.
11. After reviewing the information displayed, click Submit. The eFiling system will contact the
payment process to collect money and then transfer the submission for the clerk to review or
for the judge to review.
12. If you would like to submit payment through a Discover, MasterCard, or VISA, select the “Pay by
Credit Card” radio button on the GovPay opening page. You will need to have your credit card
number and CVV number printed on the signature panel on the back of the card in order to
complete payment.
13. Enter the required information and submit your payment by clicking the Confirm button.
14. After reviewing the information displayed, click Submit. The eFiling system will contact the
payment process to collect money and then transfer the submission for the clerk to review or
for the judge to review.
15. If you would like to submit a payment for it to be billed through your INA subscription account,
select “Subscription” and click Continue. You will need to have your INA subscription user name
and password to complete the payment.
16. Enter the required information and submit your payment by clicking the Confirm button.
17. After reviewing the information displayed, click Submit. The eFiling system will contact the
payment process to collect money and then transfer the submission for the clerk to review or
for the judge to review.
18. If your payment is successful, “Your Filing has been Submitted” message is displayed as shown
below.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 41
Figure 40: Filing Submitted Message
19. When this message is displayed, it means your payment was successful and your submission is
being transferred for review.
20. Optional: Click on the Filing Status button if you wish to review the status of your submission.
The status may take a few minutes to update. If you continue to refresh the status page, you
will see the status of your submission change. “Awaiting Approval” means payment is
processed and has been received by the court’s servers, and the submission is waiting to be
recorded. When the submission has completed review and approval at the court, your
submission will have a “Filed” status. If you sent in a “Proposed Order,” a “Filed, Presented to
Judge” status simply means the proposed order is available for the judge to review. It does not
indicate that the judge has signed the document.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 42
Figure 41: Filing Status
21. Click the Home link on the menu or any other link to go to a different point in the eFile
application.
To View or Print Documents Associated with A Case:
The “Filing Status” page will allow you to view or print documents that were filed with your case.
To access the “Filing Status” page, select Filing Status from the “Home” page or eFile>Filing Status from
the menu bar at the top of any page.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 43
Figure 42: My Filings Page Displays Filings with Links for Additional Information
1. The “My Filings” page will appear, allowing you to search for the case you need. Click on the link
under the “Status” column, and you will be directed to the “Filing Status” page for that
particular case.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 44
Figure 43: Viewing Documents from the Filing Status Page
2. The documents you originally submitted may be viewed by clicking the link under “View
Documents” in the listing above the first horizontal line on the page. These documents do not
have the court’s time and date stamp.
3. Below the first horizontal line on the page, you will find a “Response” section. It is in this section
that you will be able to view or print documents that have been processed by the court. The
documents listed in the “Response” section will include a court time/date stamp and, if
required, the court’s electronic signature. In the “Response” section, any document that is
listed as “generated.pdf” is a court generated, required document that is based on the
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 45
document you filed with the case initiation. Do not open the “form.xml” link as this is simply
computer code that the system administrator can use for information in case troubleshooting is
necessary.
Note: Once you have opened a document listed under the “Response,” it is imperative that you print it
or save the signed document to your local machine using a “Save As” command as “Response”
documents will be removed from your eFiler view after 90 days.
Figure 44: Court Generated Receipt
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eFiling to an Existing Case
Filing to an existing case is similar to filing a new case.
To Add a Document to an Existing Case:
1. Click Existing Cases on the home page or select eFile > Existing Case from the menu bar on
the top of any page. The “Existing Cases” page will appear.
Figure 45: Existing Cases
2. If you are not yet registered as a participant on the case, you must enter a case number and
participant's last name. Click eFile in the upper section of this page. This action will check to
see if this case was initiated electronically in the eFiling system.
3. If you entered the wrong case number or did not enter a Party’s last name properly, you will
receive an error message, and you must repeat the process.
4. If you are already registered on the case, you can select a case from the list on the page.
5. From either method of selecting a specific case, the “Add a Document” page will display.
The “Add a Document” page allows a filer to distinguish between an existing case and a new
case by means of a yellow banner near the top of the page for an existing case. A new case
has no such banner.
Note: If there is no Case Title listed, that may mean you are not currently an active party on the
case or that you are not authorized to view party information on that case type.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 47
Figure 46: Yellow Banner on Existing Case Add a Document Page
6. Optional: Use the drop-down menu to select a “Document Category.” Although this is optional,
the “Document Category” selection narrows the scope of the “Document Type” list, making it
easier to find the correct “Document Type” from the list of documents shown. You can leave
the “Document Category” list at the blank default. This will cause the “Document Type” list to
display all possible documents that could be eFiled on this “Case Type.” If you are struggling to
find the right “Document Type,” leave the “Document Category” blank to see all the documents.
7. From the “Document Type” pull-down menu, select the type of document you are going to add
to this submission. You can add more than one document to this submission, but it must be
done one document at a time, repeating each of the “Add Document” steps for each document.
8. Optional: Enter any “Additional Text” in the text field provided. This additional text helps the
clerk, judge, or other participants understand more about the document. For example, if you
are adding a motion, you may want to give more information about the purpose of the motion.
9. Locate the document you have prepared by clicking on Browse. The operating system “Open
Dialog” will display. Browse to locate your document on your computer or your company’s
computer network, select the document, and then click on the Open button. This will return
you to the “Add a Document” page with the file path to your document displayed in the
“Document Location” field.
10. Click the Add button. If the document is large, you will see a message “UPLOADING DOCUMENT.
PLEASE WAIT”. This process will copy the document from your local machine to the Court
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 48
servers. Once the transfer is complete, repeat the steps 2 through 7 on this page to add
additional documents.
11. Some documents require additional information. If this is so, clicking Add will cause a screen to
display requesting the additional information. Fill out the displayed form as completely as you
can, and click Next. Your documents will be added to the case at this time. For example, to
become the attorney of record for the defendant in an existing case, use the ENTRY OF
APPEARANCE or ANSWER document to become associated with the defendant.
Figure 47: Additional Information Required when Adding Some Documents
Note: You must file documents in the accepted format and length. Please see instructions for
“Document Preparation Prior to Login” at the beginning of this guide or “Appendix A” at the end of this
guide. Failure to attach documents in the correct format will generate an error message.
Figure 48: Incorrect Document File Format
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 49
12. Each time you add a document, the document entry is displayed in the lower section of the
page. The picture below shows that a “Motion” was added with additional text. The size of the
document is also included on the entry.
Figure 49: List of Added Documents
13. Optional: If you click on the “View Document” link of each entry, the eFiling system will copy
the document stored in the eFlex servers back to your local machine so you can view what you
uploaded.
14. Optional: Click the “Edit Data” icon next to any listed document to change the information you
entered that was associated to that document. If there is no information collected that is
associated to that specific document, no “Edit Data” icon will be displayed for that document
entry. For more information about these special documents, refer to the “Special Document
Types” section of this user manual.
15. Optional: If you happened to upload the wrong document, you can click on the red “X” icon
under the “Remove” column. This will remove that document from your submission, allowing
you to then add the correct documents.
16. Optional: Click the Cancel button to discard the submission you just created. This will remove
the documents from the eFlex servers and eliminate the submission information.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 50
17. Optional: Click Move to Draft if you want to finish this submission at a later time. Each time you
click on a Next button, the eFlex servers are updated and the partial information you have
entered in this process is recorded with the documents. If your session times out because of
inactivity, you will be required to log in again. From the “Login” page, go to Draft Filings to
finish your submission.
18. On the “Add a Document” page click the Next button at the bottom of the page. The “Review
and Approve Filing” page will display.
To Submit a Filing to an Existing Case
In general, there are no fees for follow-up filings; however, there are a few documents that do require
fees. The fee amount you owe is displayed on the “Review and Approve” page. Payment of fees must be
completed before the filing will be submitted to the court. The “Review and Approve” page gives you
several payment options. The “Pay for Filing” radio button will redirect you to a payment site that will
also allow you to pay by Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit cards, eCheck, or subscription account
billed through INA.
Figure 50: Review and Approve Page for Existing Cases
Note: If you are not already listed as a party to the case, the eFiling system will display a warning
message.
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1. Optional: From the “Review and Approve” page, you can also go back to change the case
information, which includes the party information, by clicking on the Change Case Data button.
(Refer to previous instructions to add or remove parties.)
2. Optional: You can go back to change the documents you have included in this submission by
clicking the Add/Remove Documents button. This will re-direct you to the “Add a Document”
page. (Refer to previous instructions to add or remove documents.) You can also click the Back
button at the bottom of the “Review and Approve” page to go back to the “Add a Document”
page.
3. Optional: You can cancel and discard this submission by clicking on the Cancel (Delete) button.
This will remove the documents on the Court servers and delete any information about this
submission that was not sent.
4. Optional: You can leave your submission in draft state and finish it later by clicking on the Move
to Draft button.
5. Pro Se Filers: In the Special Filing Instructions for the Clerk box you must include your driver
license number or state ID number. Failing to include this information may result in the filing
being rejected or not being listed as a party to the case properly.
6. Optional: “Add Entry of Appearance” will allow you to add an “Entry of Appearance” without
uploading a document. If the clerk would expect a document to be uploaded and it is not, then
the clerk may reject the submission. This option should only be used if a document is not
required to be provided to the clerk.
7. Optional: “Add New Parties” will allow you to add additional case participants to the case;
plaintiff, petitioner, respondent, defendant, garnishee, executor, claimant etc. and also add the
attorney that represents this party if applicable.
8. If you do not owe fees, click the Submit the Filing button. A message will appear indicating your
filing has been submitted. Click the Filing Status button at the bottom of the message to be
returned to the “My Filings” page.
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Figure 51: Filing Has Been Submitted
9. In some cases, a waiver of immediate credit card payment may be the appropriate option to
select. Some reasons for selecting the waiver option include indigents, statutory waivers, and
others. Look at the waiver options to determine if any apply. Make sure you include
appropriate affidavits to support any waiver option you may have selected. Do not select
waivers to avoid payment.
10. Optional: You can cancel and discard this submission by clicking on the Cancel (Delete) button.
This will remove the documents on the Court Judicial Branch servers and delete any information
about this submission that was not sent.
11. Optional: You can leave your submission in Draft state and finish it later by clicking on the Move
to Draft button.
12. Click on the Submit the Filing button to file the submission.
13. If you owe fees, after clicking OK on a dialog box, you will be directed to GovPay, a PCI certified
secure payment site.
Note: Credit card information must be re-entered with each filing as, according to the Payment Card
Industry (PCI) standards, the system does not record or retain credit card information.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 53
Figure 52: Secure Payment Site Information
14. Your charges are displayed on the opening GovPay with the different payment options.
15. If you would like to submit a payment directly from a bank account, select “Pay by ECheck” and
click Continue. You will need to provide your bank routing number and bank account number in
order to complete payment.
16. Enter the required information and submit your payment by clicking the Confirm button.
17. After reviewing the information displayed, click Submit. The eFiling system will contact the
payment process to collect money and then transfer the submission for the clerk to review or
for the judge to review.
18. If you would like to submit payment through a Discover, MasterCard, or VISA, select the “Pay by
Credit Card” radio button on the GovPay opening page. You will need your credit card number
and CVV number that is printed on the signature panel on the back of the card in order to
complete payment.
19. Enter the required information and submit your payment by clicking the Confirm button.
20. After reviewing the information displayed, click Submit. The eFiling system will contact the
payment process to collect money and then transfer the submission for the clerk to review or
for the judge to review.
21. If your payment is successful, “Your Filing has been Submitted” message is displayed as shown
below.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 54
Figure 53: Filing Submitted Message
22. When this message is displayed, it means your payment was successful and your submission is
being transferred for review.
23. Optional: Click on the Filing Status button if you wish to review the status of your submission.
The status may take a few minutes to update. If you continue to refresh the status page, you
will see the status of your submission change. “Awaiting Approval” means payment is
processed and has been received by the court’s servers, and the submission is waiting to be
recorded. When the submission has completed all the steps at the court, your submission will
have an “Filed” status. If you sent in a “Proposed Order,” a “Filed- Presented to Judge” status
does not mean the proposed order is accepted; it simply means the proposed order has reached
the point where a judge can review the document.
24. Click the Home link on the menu or any other link to go to a different point in the eFile
application.
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Understanding Filing Status
Whenever you eFile something to the court, the status of your filing is updated to reflect its progress.
Each filing will be updated with several different statuses. Some happen so quickly that you may not see
all the status changes. The “My Filings” page displays the status of each submission as it is updated until
the final status of “Accepted” has been posted. You may use the Go button near the top of the page to
“Refresh” the page view. A filing can have the status of
Package Pending - The submission is being prepared for clerk review but not yet sent.
Packaged - The submission is prepared and sent for clerk review.
Received - The submission has received a time stamp and will be placed in a queue for further
processing.
Payment Pending – An error occurred during the payment process and the filing may not have
been submitted to the clerk. Go to the “My Filings” page and click “Make Payment” to reenter
the payment information.
Awaiting Approval - The submission is in a queue for further processing by the clerk.
Filed: A clerk has reviewed your information and a receipt of the results has been returned. If
your submission only contains a Proposed Order then the status of ‘Filed’ only means that the
Proposed Order has been transferred to the judge for action but it does not mean any official
action was taken.
Receipt Pending - An error occurred in communications. Call the eFiling administrator.
Rejected - Submission was denied. See the note from the clerk for an explanation.
Filed-Presented to Judge –Accepted and routed to a Judicial Queue for a judge to review. This
means that even though the submission has been filed, the proposed document may not have
been reviewed at this time, but it has been presented to a judge.
In Draft/Resubmitted - This submission was “Rejected,” and the filer used the old submission to
create a new submission. The status of this submission has no future value, and the filer needs
to look at the new submission status.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 56
Figure 54: Check Filing Status on My Filings Page
Each entry in the list represents the status of a filing.
Each entry on the “My Filings” page is temporary and is deleted after a certain period of time. The
period of time this information remains is configurable by the eFiling administrator, but is usually not
less than 30 days.
Note: You should check each entry. Although a status is complete, there may still be a note from the
Clerk of the Court informing you of some condition. Be sure to check each receipt.
To check the status of your submissions:
1. From the Home page, click My Filings or click eFile > Filing Status from the menu bar at the top
of any page.
2. Optional: Filter the list by using the calendar icons to select a starting and ending date. Then
click Go. If you leave the end date blank, the system default is today’s date.
3. Click the “+” symbol in the “Filing ID” column to display the documents associated with the
filing.
4. Optional: Click the document name link that appears when you click the “+” symbol to
view/download the document.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 57
5. Click the filing “Status” on the right to display additional details about the filing. This will include
information such as the time-stamp on your submission.
Figure 55: View Documents Associated with the Filing from the Filing Status Page
6. Optional: On the “My Filings” page that appears after clicking the link, view/download the
document by clicking the “View Document” link.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 58
Handling a “Rejected ” Status
If a submission is “Rejected,” the receipt will include a reason field. Although some reasons are entered
automatically by the system, for example, if one of the documents contained a virus, the clerk typically
types in the reason for the rejection.
1. When a submission is “Rejected,” a Resubmit button appears next to the status.
2. Click Resubmit to automatically create a new submission based on the previously rejected
submission.
3. Change what was rejected by either deleting the document in question or correcting the
information entered.
Note: The “Filing Status” screen is not where you should look for case information; instead, click
My Filings on the “Home” page.
Draft Submissions
The “Draft” feature acts as a backup if you are disconnected from the internet. Whenever you begin
creating a new submission, eFlex records data each time you advance to the next screen, including any
document data you have loaded. If your internet connection goes down, the system creates a draft of
your submission. When you're back online, you can continue the process where you left off. Each time
you log out, you will be prompted if you have any partially completed submissions.
To resume work on a draft filing:
1. Click eFile > Draft Filings on the menu bar to see a list of partially completed submissions.
Figure 56: List of Draft Filings
2. Click the “Filing Description” name to return to the last page you worked on.
3. Continue with the submission. For most submissions the default is to go to the “Add a
Document” page. If you need to back up to the “Case Initiation” page on some submissions,
press the Back button on the “Add a Document” page.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 59
Many times filers forget they already resubmitted the filing. You can delete entries if you no longer
need the information or if you completed the submission by starting over. Each time you log off the
eFiling system, if there are entries in draft status, you will be notified that you have entries in draft, and
you will have to answer whether you want to exit or not.
Appendix A: Creating a PDF and Other Document Display Information
PDF Basics
PDF (Portable Document Format) is a popular format created by Adobe® Systems Incorporated.
Documents using this format can be read by Adobe Reader®, a free application available from the Adobe
website. This type of document is considered a final form document because it is not designed to be
edited. It is fixed and appears the same on nearly every machine using Adobe Reader, making it a
convenient way to ensure that the information you are sending is being viewed in the same layout
format as you intend it to be. A PDF document has the extension “.pdf” appended to the file name.
If you have a PDF printer driver installed, you can create PDF documents directly from Microsoft® Word.
Some word processing applications, such as Corel® WordPerfect®, include a PDF printer driver as part of
the application. There are several vendors that sell PDF printer drivers. Also, you can search the internet
for free PDF creators such as CUTE or 995.
Creating Documents
All documents except “Proposed Orders” may be submitted as PDF files. There may be limited
exceptions to this rule. You should review the acceptable file formats when attaching each document to
your submission. Filers should not upload documents that are form fillable, include metadata, or are
locked in any way.
You should prepare “Proposed Orders” in a word processor and submit them in one of the following
formats:
Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx)
Microsoft Word 98 - 2003 (.doc)
WordPerfect 6 – 12 (.wpd)
To create your original documents, whether “Proposed Orders” or other documents, you will need a
word processing application such as Microsoft Word, or WordPerfect. You need to use standard fonts
when you are creating the original document. Times New Roman or Arial fonts are common and
generally convert to PDF consistently. The font you select also needs to be a “TrueType” font. Selecting
standard fonts will help ensure the document formatting converts correctly.
Note: All documents eventually will be converted to PDF files. “Proposed Orders” submitted in a word
processing format will be converted by the court later in the eFiling process.
Filer Interface User’s Guide - 60
Adobe Acrobat® X Pro will integrate directly with Microsoft Word. If you have purchased and installed
Acrobat with the plugin, then in Microsoft Word you will see an Acrobat® tab on the right side of the
menu bar. When you have your original document file opened, the “Create PDF” will allow you to save a
copy of the document as a PDF. Another common way to create PDF documents is to install a PDF
printer driver. There are some free PDF printer drivers available as well as products you can purchase.
Adobe Acrobat® Standard or Pro editions include printer drivers.
Including Paper Exhibits
With your submission you may need to include copies of paper documents such as a copy of a contract,
or a copy of a cancelled check. Paper documents must be submitted in a court-accepted electronic
format. To do this you must have access to a scanner. The easiest way to format the scanned
documents is as a PDF file. In your scanner control dialog box, be sure to select the “Scan to PDF”
option. This option will create a file ready to attach to your filing.
You may also scan the paper document to an image file ending in .jpeg or .jpg. Images with those file
formats are not accepted by the Arkansas Judiciary, but you may insert the image into a word processing
document. When the word processing document is saved with the appropriate file extension (.doc,
.docx, or .wpd), the file is ready to include in your filing.
Pay attention to court requirements for file size, color, and resolution. We request that you use black-
and-white settings with a low resolution (300 dpi) resulting in 25 to 50 KB per page in size. Using color
adds to the size of the file, so you should only scan using color settings when color is a vital element of
the exhibit. If your scan includes color, and then lower the resolution enough to reduce the file size but
not to destroy the ability to view the image. See your scanner's user documentation for more
information. In some situations it may be necessary to divide one large document into several smaller
ones.
Provenance
- Source
- eflex.arcourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-30
- Edition
- 2026-09-30
- Content hash
7c0398599c6186795d69f412728ee1e970a1d702396c14cb39ed30f179e4939e
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.