S.C. E-Filing Attorney Guide: ARG-19-Technical Difficulties

ARG-19: Technical Difficulties

Attorney Reference Guide

2025 © South Carolina Judicial Branch 11/2025 1

Reference Guide Contents:

❖ Technical Issues............................................................................................................................. 1

❖ Technical Failure at the SCJD Court Level................................................................................ 1

❖ Technical Difficulties at the E-Filer or Attorney Level................................................................ 1

❖ Procedures for Filing if a Technical Failure or Technical Difficulty Occurs............................ 2

o Traditional Filing in Person at the Clerk of Court's Office.................................................. 2

o Alternative Method of Submission if the Clerk of Court's Office is Closed...................... 3

❖ Documents That Must Be Timely Served................................................................................... 4

❖ Scheduled Maintenance................................................................................................................ 4

Technical Issues;

Because the world of technology can be complex, technical issues or problems may arise that prevent

the proper E-Filing of documents. The E-Filing Policies and Guidelines (www.sccourts.org/efiling)

govern what steps the E-Filer must take to preserve the time to file in the event of a technical problem.

If preserving the time to file is not an issue, simply file the documents once the technical difficulty has

been resolved.

There are two types of technical issues: 1) Technical Failure with the SCJD E-Filing System and 2)

Technical Difficulty with the E-Filer's system. In either situation, the E-Filer should utilize the

procedures outlined below.

Technical Failure at the SCJD Court Level

A technical failure at the court level is when an unexpected issue with the E-Filing System has

occurred. The issue may result from a failure with the E-Filing System itself or another system that

interfaces with the E-Filing System, such as the statewide Case Management System (CMS), the

Attorney Information System (AIS), the SC.Gov payment processing system, or SCJD's internet service

provider. The Judicial Department will announce, as soon as possible, on the E-Filing portal and

through email notifications that a technical failure has occurred.

Scheduled maintenance is not considered a Technical Failure since the scheduled maintenance will be

announced in advance on the E-Filing portal (www.sccourts.org/efiling) and in the announcement

section on the E-Filing Login page.

Technical Difficulties at the E-Filer or Attorney Level

A technical difficulty at the E-Filer or Attorney level may be caused by many issues, such as browser

issues, file size issues, internet connectivity, and security issues.

ARG-19: Technical Difficulties

Attorney Reference Guide

Procedures for Filing if a Technical Failure or Technical Difficulty Occurs

E-Filers must take some affirmative action if the pleading must be filed that day to be timely. In the

event of a technical failure or a technical difficulty, there are several options.

Traditional Filing in Person at the Clerk of Court's Office

The first option is that the E-Filer may traditionally file the pleading in person at the Clerk of Court's

office, provided the filing is accompanied by a Certificate of Technical Failure or Technical

Difficulties (www.sccourts.org/forms). This certificate will briefly explain the technical problem that

occurred.

Figure 1 -- Certificate of Technical Failure or Technical Difficulties

for an announced SCJD Technical Failure of the E-Filing System

2025 © South Carolina Judicial Branch 11/2025 2

ARG-19: Technical Difficulties

Attorney Reference Guide

Figure 2 -- Certificate of Technical Failure or Technical Difficulties

for an E-Filer's or Attorney’s Technical Difficulty

The attorney must then serve the document by traditional means on all other parties. Even though E-Filing is mandatory, the clerk will accept paper filings from an E-Filer when a Certificate of Technical

Failure or Technical Difficulties is included. If the E-Filer files the pleading in this fashion, no other

steps are required, and the document will be deemed properly filed.

Alternative Method of Submission if the Clerk of Court's Office is Closed

The second option can be used when an E-Filer cannot traditionally file the pleading, for example,

because the attorney works in another county and cannot get to the court house in time, or because it

is after 5:00 pm and the Clerk of Court's office is closed. The E-Filer should utilize an alternative

method of submission to properly perfect the filing. This process is almost identical to the current rule in

the South Carolina Federal District Court, and gives you two options.

2025 © South Carolina Judicial Branch 11/2025 3

ARG-19: Technical Difficulties

Attorney Reference Guide

A. The E-Filer may email the pleading in PDF, together with the Certificate of Technical

Failure or Technical Difficulties, to the Clerk of Court, if email is available. There will be a

dedicated email address in each county to accept such emails. These email addresses can

be found on the E-Filing portal (www.sccourts.org/efiling). The E-Filer must then serve the

filing on all other parties by traditional means.

B. The E-Filer may fax the first and signature pages of the document, together with the

Certificate of Technical Failure or Technical Difficulties, to the Clerk of Court. The E-Filer

must then serve the entire document on all other parties.

Unlike delivering the document in person for filing, emailing or faxing the document is not, in itself, a

proper filing. The E-Filer must E-File the document the next business day after the technical issue is

resolved and pay any required filing fees at that time. The alternative method of submission simply acts

to preserve the time to file. Under this procedure, where a pleading is submitted by alternative means

and subsequently E-Filed, the pleading will be deemed filed at the time of the alternative method of

submission.

Keep in mind that, unlike in the Federal District Court, the subsequently E-Filed document will be time-stamped the same day it is E-Filed, rather than back-dated to the previous day. However, the Public

Index will show that a Certificate of Technical Failure or Technical Difficulties was previously

submitted by the E-Filer, which tolls the time to file.

Attorneys should keep any Certificate of Technical Failure or Technical Difficulties submitted to the

clerk, as well as copies of any email or fax confirmation for their files.

Documents That Must Be Timely Served

The South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure require that a number of documents must be timely

served, rather than timely filed, in order to be perfected. For example, suppose an E-Filer intended to

rely on the E-Filing System to serve an answer, a reply to a counterclaim, a Rule 59(e) motion, or a

notice of appeal. Under the South Carolina E-Filing Policies and Guidelines, the E-Filer can simply

serve that pleading traditionally. In this case, the E-Filer may deposit the pleading in the mail to all other

parties, then e-file the pleading the next day with proof of traditional service. This is consistent with the

South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, which provide that papers required to be served upon a party

must be filed with the court within five (5) days after service.

Scheduled Maintenance

Scheduled maintenance for the SCJD's E-Filing System and scheduled maintenance for the application

of server updates are not considered technical failures since the scheduled maintenance will be

announced in advance on both the E-Filing portal (www.sccourts.org/efiling) and in the announcement

section on the E-Filing Login page (see below). Scheduled maintenance periods do not exempt the

filer from E-Filing and filers should plan accordingly. It is highly recommended that the filers sign up for

email notifications on the Judicial Department's webpage (www.sccourts.org).

2025 © South Carolina Judicial Branch 11/2025 4

ARG-19: Technical Difficulties

Attorney Reference Guide

Figure 3: System Availability Announcement on E-Filing Portal Page

2025 © South Carolina Judicial Branch 11/2025 5