Bucks Cnty. C.P. Rule 4.7A

Rule 4.7A Electronic Filing

(a) Any legal filing permitted under the Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court Rules may be

filed electronically with the Office of the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court (“Clerk”) under

the procedures set forth in this rule and consistent with the procedures set forth in

Pa.O.C. Rule No. 4.7.

(b)(1) All legal papers to be electronically filed shall be presented in portable document

format (“.pdf”).

(b)(2) Legal papers may be submitted to the Clerk in hard copy format. In that event,

the Clerk shall electronically scan such legal paper into .pdf format and maintain it in

that format. Any legal paper scanned into .pdf format may be returned to the filing

party for maintenance pursuant to Pa.O.C. Rule No. 4.7(c)(3).

(c)(1) All legal papers filed electronically shall be filed through the Clerk’s Electronic

Filing System (“Electronic Filing System”). A web address and link providing general

access to the Electronic Filing System shall be provided on the Clerk’s webpage,

appearing on the County of Bucks website, www.buckscounty.gov.

(c)(2) Parties shall register with the Electronic Filing System to file legal papers

electronically. Registrants shall provide their name, mailing address, email address,

telephone number and other identifying information as required by the Clerk.

(c)(3) Registration for use of the Electronic Filing System shall constitute the

registrant’s agreement, pursuant to Pa.O.C. Rule No. 4.5(a)(1), to accept service of all

notices, opinions and orders from the Clerk or the Court via electronic means.

(c)(4) The Clerk shall accept payment for all filings via credit and debit cards, or by

any other form of payment approved and adopted by the Clerk.

(d)(1) Upon receipt of an electronically filed legal paper the Clerk shall provide the

filing party with an acknowledgment of the filing which includes the date and time the

filing was received by the Electronic Filing System. The Clerk shall also provide the

filing party with notice that the legal paper was accepted for filing. If the legal paper

is not accepted for filing, the Clerk shall promptly notify the party presenting the

document for filing that it was not accepted and the reason therefor. All

acknowledgements and notices under this subsection will be sent via email to the

address provided by the filing party.

(e)(1) The Clerk shall maintain an electronic copy of all legal papers filed.

(e)(2) The Clerk shall provide hard copies of any filed and electronically maintained

legal papers to the Court as required by the Court.

(f)(1) Signature. The electronic filing of legal papers by a filing attorney or party (“the

filing party”) utilizing the username and password associated with the filing party by

the Electronic Filing System shall be deemed the filing party's signature on the legal

papers submitted and shall constitute a certification by the filing party:

(a) that the original hard copy of the legal paper was properly signed, and where

applicable, verified pursuant to Pa.O.C. Rule No. 4.7(c)(1);

(b) that the original hard copy of the legal paper is being maintained as provided

by Pa.O.C. Rule No. 4.7(c)(3); and

(c) if the filing party is an attorney, of the filing party's right to practice in the

Commonwealth and of authorization to file the legal paper.

(f)(2) All legal papers submitted for filing using the Electronic Filing System must at

minimum identify the filing party by name in a signature block placed at the conclusion of

the legal paper. Should a legal paper fail to comply herewith by not identifying the filing

party as required, or by identifying the filing party as a person other than the registered

filer under whose username the legal paper is submitted, such legal paper shall not be acted

upon pending notification to the filing party pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(d)(8) and the

filing party coming into compliance herewith.

(f)(3) Verifications, affidavits and any other documents included in an electronically

filed legal paper that are signed by a person other than the filing party shall be manually

signed, scanned in .pdf format, and attached to or included as part of the electronically

filed legal paper.

(f)(4) Documents requiring the signature of more than one non-filing party, including

documents signed by more than one party in counterparts (e.g., stipulations) shall be

manually signed, scanned in .pdf format, and attached to or included as part of the

electronically filed legal paper.