NYSCEF PDF filing requirements
NYSCEF (New York State Courts Electronic Filing) is New York's e-filing system for civil and family court matters. NYSCEF has specific technical requirements that differ from federal CM/ECF.
File size: NYSCEF caps individual documents at 10 MB per document and 50 MB per filing (as of current published guidance). This is significantly lower than CM/ECF's 50 MB per document. Large appendices and exhibit sets need to be split into separate uploaded documents.
Text-searchable: NYSCEF requires text-searchable PDFs. Scanned documents must be OCR'd before upload.
Page size: New York court rules specify that papers must conform to court formatting requirements. Standard US Letter (8.5×11) is the safe choice.
No encryption: password-protected PDFs are rejected.
PrepFile's E-Filing Checker can be configured with a 10 MB threshold for NYSCEF review. Use the file size field in the checker options and enter 10.
Note: NYSCEF requirements are subject to change. Always verify against the current NYSCEF User Guide and any applicable court-specific supplemental rules. This page is advisory guidance only.
Open the tools — free, no upload
Before filing in NYSCEF
- Open PrepFile's E-Filing Checker, set the file size limit to 10 MB.
- Drop in your PDF and review the results.
- If file size exceeds 10 MB, split exhibits into separate documents.
- If searchability fails, run OCR and re-check.
- Review NYSCEF's current filing guide at nycourts.gov for current requirements.
Questions
Does NYSCEF require PDF/A?
Not as a general requirement as of current guidance. Standard text-searchable PDF is acceptable. Check the NYSCEF User Guide for any recent changes.
Can I file exhibits as a ZIP in NYSCEF?
No — individual PDF documents are required. Each exhibit must be a separate uploaded PDF file.
What is the maximum number of documents in one NYSCEF filing?
NYSCEF limits vary by court. Check your specific court's NYSCEF configuration. As a practical matter, upload each principal document and each exhibit separately.