Vt. eFiling: Mental Health Docket E-Filing Guide

MENTAL HEALTH

DOCKET EFILING GUIDE

EFSP v1 January 2026

Contents

INTRODUCTORY NOTES.......................................................................................................................... 3

SCOPE OF THIS FILER GUIDE............................................................................................................... 3

SYSTEM NAME UPDATES.................................................................................................................... 3

ACCESSING EFILE AND SERVE................................................................................................................. 3

REGISTRATION....................................................................................................................................... 3

TRAINING AND SUPPORT....................................................................................................................... 4

FILING A NEW MENTAL HEALTH CASE..................................................................................................... 4

SUBSEQUENT FILINGS INTO EXISTING CASES.......................................................................................... 5

SEARCHING FOR A CASE..................................................................................................................... 5

MOTIONS FOR REVOCATION.............................................................................................................. 6

FAMILY DIVISION GUARDIANSHIP AND ACT 248 REVIEW CASES......................................................... 6

ESERVICE................................................................................................................................................ 6

VIEWING CASE RECORDS........................................................................................................................ 6

INTRODUCTORY NOTES

SCOPE OF THIS FILER GUIDE

This guide is NOT intended to be a comprehensive guide to use of the eFile & Serve System. It provides

supplemental division-specific guidance for eFiling in the Family Division. Detailed instructions about

registering and using the eFiling system are available at:

https://odysseyfileandservecloud.zendesk.com/hc/en-us and additional Vermont-specific user guides

and other information and training materials about electronic filing are available on the Vermont

Judiciary’s website at Electronic Filing | Vermont Judiciary

SYSTEM NAME UPDATES

The Vermont Judiciary’s electronic case management and electronic filing systems have recently been

rebranded by the vendor that produces them (Tyler Technologies), resulting in some updates to the

labels by which those systems are known. For the court’s case management system, the name

“Odyssey” has been replaced by “Enterprise Justice” or “EJ” for short. For the electronic filing system,

the name “Odyssey File & Serve (OFS”) has been replaced by “eFile & Serve” (EFS), with our specific

Vermont version also being referred to as “eFileVT.” It is understood that many internal and external

users may still refer to these systems as Odyssey, and that is perfectly acceptable for purposes of

communication to the court and among court users. This notice is being provided to offer context as to

why the court’s updated instructional materials and announcements will no longer reference the

“Odyssey” systems. If there are any questions or concerns about these changes please feel free to

reach out to itsupport@vtcourts.gov.

ACCESSING EFILE AND SERVE

All Vermont Courts have adopted universal eFiling in all dockets through the eFile &Serve (EFS) system,

which is a web-based platform accessible from any modern browser on a computer or mobile device.

EFS can be accessed via a link on the Vermont Judiciary’s website’s eFiling page at:

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-access/electronic-filing or

directly at: https://efilevt.tylertech.cloud/OfsEfsp/ui/landing

REGISTRATION

Registration for eFiling is free and simple. All that is required is a valid email address. There are

different registration options for firm/organizational users and independent users such as self-represented litigants. Instructions on how to register are found in the user guides and other materials

in the help resources on the EFS site.

NOTE: All users including attorneys and self-represented litigants who choose to efile must self-register.

Court staff cannot complete registrations on behalf of filers or edit any user’s registration information.

TRAINING AND SUPPORT

 For general information and questions about use of the efiling system, on the EFS homepage

https://efilevt.tylertech.cloud/OfsEfsp/ui/landing there is a help section, accessible via

clicking on the small question mark in the upper right of the home screen,

 Vermont-specific guides about filing in various division and case types are on the Judiciary

website’s efiling page https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermontjudiciary/electronic-access/electronic-filing

 There is also a Judiciary efiling helpdesk for Vermont-specific efiling procedural questions

efilesupport@vtcourts.gov.

FILING A NEW MENTAL HEALTH CASE

NOTE: It is recommended that you set up templates by filing type to streamline your filing process and

ensure a consistent format on filings. When using a template, you will need to fill in the information for

each Respondent as well as any other information particular to that case and attach the correct

documents. Information about using templates can be found here: How Do I Create Templates and

How Do I Use Them? – Odyssey File and Serve Cloud

1. Select your location.

2. Select the category of “Probate of Mental Health.”

NOTE: This is simply a product of the required system configuration and does not represent

any change in jurisdiction or venue of the MH case types listed in #2 below, which are still

heard in the Family Division.

3. Select Case Type, then click Save Changes. Available Mental Health case types are:

 Application for Involuntary Treatment

 Application for Continued Treatment

 Application for Involuntary Medication

 Warrant for Emergency Examination

4. Fill in the parties.

 The Applicant should be the Dept of Mental Health as a Business Entity (switch button from

“person” to “entity”).

 In the “Party CMS ID” field, enter “21785”. This is the Enterprise Justice ID# for the DMH

entity- this will ensure that duplicate entities are not created during the filing process. This

can be set on your templates.

5. For the Respondent information you will need to fill in the name, date of birth, and address with

each filing (i.e. not on the template).

6. Add any additional parties/participants such as the physician/psychiatrist by clicking “Add

Another Party.”

7. Click Save Changes when all parties are entered.

8. Under filings, when initiating a new case, select Initial Filing - Confidential as the code under

which you will attach the application/other initiating document.

9. The Application should be uploaded as the lead document under the “Initial Filing –

Confidential” filing code.

 Other substantive documents related to the application (e.g. the physician’s

statement) may be combined in the same lead PDF document as the application.

Alternatively, if needed, such documents may also be added as attachments to the

lead document.

 Cover letters and certificates of service should NOT be included in the same PDF

document as the application. Those two documents can be combined into one PDF

and included as an attachment to the lead document.

 If you are filing any additional motions/independent requests for relief, they should

be added as a separate filing in the envelope (click “add another filing” and select

the appropriate motion code).

10. Click Save changes after each attachment.

11. Under fees, select your waiver account and the filing attorney.

 The waiver account needs to be set up by the firm administrator as a payment

method.

12. Check the submission agreements and click summary.

13. Click Submit if all looks good.

14. You will receive an email confirming the submission of the envelope.

SUBSEQUENT FILINGS INTO EXISTING CASES

SEARCHING FOR A CASE

When making a subsequent filing into an existing case you will need to know the case # and

county/location. Party names are masked in MH and other confidential case types and will not return

on searches. However, a search on the county and case number will return the case. The older VTADS

(legacy system) case numbers will work for searches in their original formats including the county

docket letters at the end.

MOTIONS FOR REVOCATION

File these as subsequent filings into the existing case in which the order in question was issued. These

do NOT need to be new and separate cases.

FAMILY DIVISION GUARDIANSHIP AND ACT 248 REVIEW CASES

These cases were never entered into the old case management system so not all existing/closed cases

may be available in the eFiling system. If you cannot locate a case of one of these types to file into in

EFS, please contact the court to have them either enter the case in Enterprise Justice or direct you

regarding filing by alternative means.

ESERVICE

The eFiling system contains an eService feature that allows filers to simultaneously submit documents

to the court and serve them on opposing parties/counsel who are also registered in the eFiling system.

Vermont’s Rules for Electronic Filing require service of filed documents on other eFilers to take place

through the system unless the parties agree in writing to an alternative method. Please see the

eService Guide and other related materials on the Judiciary’s eFiling page for further details on using

the Serve function.

When a filing is submitted through the eFiling system but is served on any parties through any

alternative means (because the recipient is not an eFilersor because there is an agreement between

the parties), the filer must also submit a certificate of service in compliance with applicable rules.

VIEWING CASE RECORDS

Case records (docket entries, orders, etc.) cannot be viewed in the eFiling system. Case records are

available on the Vermont Judiciary Public Portal at https://portal.vtcourts.gov/Portal. A user guide for

the Public Portal is linked on the home page of the site.