Ky. Sup. Ct. Order 2023-33

Supreme Court of Kentucky

2023-33

ORDER

In Re: Mandatory Electronic Entry of Orders

In 2013, the Supreme Court approved the first Electronic Filing Pilot Project.

The pilot project eventually expanded statewide and, since October 2015,

electronic filing (eFiling) has been available in every county of the Commonwealth.1

Circuit court clerks are processing between 120,000 and 140,000 eFiling

submittals every month, and over 5.6 million eFiling submittals have been

processed since the program’s inception.

To facilitate the eventual goal of an electronic case record, in July 2022 the

Supreme Court began ordering mandatory eFiling of eligible documents for

attorneys in certain case types.2 While the Supreme Court has continued to add to

the list of case types in which eFiling is mandatory for attorneys,3 it has also

strongly encouraged judges to electronically enter their orders into the record,

either on their own or with the assistance of trained judicial support staff. The use

of electronic entry for orders (eOrders) furthers the creation of an electronic case

record and ensures parties are promptly notified of judges’ decisions.

In light of the increasing number of case types in which attorneys are

required to eFile and the steady increase in judges who are trained in and

embracing the use of eOrders, the Court has determined it is appropriate to move

forward with mandatory use of eOrders in specific case types. The Court

recognizes that more time is needed to ensure judges and their judicial support

1 See Administrative Order 2022-65, Administrative Rules of Practice and Procedure, Electronic

Filing in the Kentucky Court of Justice.

2 See Administrative Orders 2022-22, 2022-45, 2022-51, 2023-04, 2023-11, and 2023-21, In

re: Mandatory Electronic Filing in Selected Case Types in the Circuit and District Courts of the

Commonwealth. A list of all Mandatory eFiling Administrative Orders entered by the Supreme

Court can be found here: https://ehelp.kycourts.net/rules-for-efiling/.

3 See Appendix A for a list of mandatory eFiling case types as of September 1, 2023.

staff have sufficient training and necessary equipment to enable the entry of

eOrders.

Accordingly, under Section 116 of the Kentucky Constitution and Supreme

Court Rule 1.010, the Supreme Court hereby ORDERS as follows:

Effective March 1, 2024, all district, circuit, and family court judges shall

electronically enter orders in all case types in which eFiling is mandatory for

attorneys.

In addition to the case types in which eFiling is mandatory for attorneys, the

following AOC forms shall be entered electronically:

1. Notice of Firearm Prohibitions, Form AOC-031;

2. Order Granting/Denying Petition/Motion for Removal of Firearm

Prohibitions, Form AOC-033;

3. Judgment and Order for 60-Day or 360-Day Involuntary Hospitalization

or Involuntary Admission, Form AOC-730; and

4. Disability Judgment, Form AOC-785.

Because of technical limitations, eOrders are not required in the following

circumstances:

1. Orders/documents filed under seal;

2. Docket or calendar orders;

3. Domestic violence orders;

4. Emergency custody orders; and

5. Specialty Court documents.

This Order does not apply to domestic relations commissioners, trial

commissioners, or retired judges who have been appointed as special judges under

Section 110(5)(b) of the Kentucky Constitution.

Entered this 21st day of September 2023.

All sitting; all concur.

____________________________________

CHIEF JUSTICE

Appendix A

Mandatory eFiling case types as of September 1, 2023

1. Real Property – Foreclosure

2. Consumer – Credit card debt collection

3. Tort—Automobile

4. Tort—Intentional

5. Tort—Malpractice—Medical

6. Tort—Malpractice—Other

7. Tort—Premises Liability

8. Tort—Product Liability

9. Tort—Property Damage

10. Tort—Slander/Libel/Defamation

11. Tort—Other

12. Consumer—Seller Consumer Goods

13. Consumer—Seller Consumer Services

14. Consumer—Buyer Consumer Goods

15. Consumer—Buyer Consumer Services

16. Consumer—Fraud

17. Consumer—Other

18. Business/Commercial—Business Tort

19. Business/Commercial—Statutory Action

20. Business/Commercial—Contract Dispute

21. Business/Commercial—Other

22. Real Property—Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship

23. Real Property—Property Rights

24. Real Property—Forcible Detailer—Eviction

25. Real Property—Other

26. Employment—Employment Discrimination

27. Employment—Other

28. Domestic Relations—Dissolution/Divorce with Children

29. Domestic Relations—Dissolution/Divorce without Children

30. Domestic Relations—Paternity

31. Domestic Relations—Custody

32. Domestic Relations—Child Support IV-D4

33. Domestic Relations—Child Support Private, Non-IV-D

34. Domestic Relations—URESA/UIFSA

35. Domestic Relations—Visitation/Parenting Time

36. Domestic Relations—Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights

37. Domestic Relations—Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights

38. Domestic Relations—Adoption

4 Under Administrative Order 2023-28, the deadline for mandatory eFiling in Child Support IV-D cases is delayed six months, until February 1, 2024.