CM/ECF FORMATTING STANDARDS
 

 

Login Names and Passwords:

Logins and passwords are case sensitive.

 

Case Numbers:  

Format used should be YY-BK-NNNNN 

 

Adversary Numbers: 

Format used should be YY-AP-NNNNN 

 

Time Fields:  

Time fields should be in the hh:mm format with the appropriate radio buttons selected for AM or PM.

 

Date Fields:  

Date fields should be formatted as either mm/dd/yyyy OR mm/dd/yy
 

Social Security Number(SSN), Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or Employer Identification Number (EIN):

Enter the whole number WITH the hyphens.

Social # (nnn-nn-nnnn)

ITIN # (nnn-nn-nnnn)

EIN # (nn-nnnnnnn)
 

Telephone Numbers:

The preferred format for telephone numbers is (210) 222-3333.

Zip Codes: 

Always use the full nine digit zip code if it is provided. Ex: 17025-0223
 

Debtor Information:

In most instances, you will NOT find debtors or joint debtors when you search the CM/ECF database. You will have to add them to the database and the case as a new party.

All fields must start in the left most position. There should not be any spaces at the beginning of the field.

DO NOT use special characters such as: “#” “ ” , [ ], %, ~, ½, ^, { }. These characters may cause problems especially with BNC noticing.
 

Debtor Name:

            Individuals:   Begins with a capital letter for the First, Last and Middle names. The rest is in lowercase letters and are listed in three (3) fields, Last, First and Middle. 

Wallace D. Smith DDS

Any Suffix (except for generation) should be entered at the end of the last name field.

                                    First Name Field:                    Wallace

                                    Middle Name Field:                D

                                    Last Name Field:                    Smith D.D.S.

 

   Business:   Business names should be entered ENTIRELY in the  Last   Name box.

                                     United Services Fidelity and Guaranty
 

  Generation Field:

                                 (Shows in the docket entry and on the case header.)

                                   Should be used for the Debtor. (Ex. Jr, IV, etc.)

  Title Field:

DO NOT USE.

                        If someone has a title, enter it in the First Name Field. (i.e., “Dr. John Smith” = First Name field “Dr. John” and Last Name field “Smith”)
 

  Party Text Field:

(Information entered in this area appears in the docket header but not in the docket text or on notices.)

Used when a party is acting in the capacity as Trustee or additional information for the party name is included, This will be entered in the Party Text Field. (Ex. Party = John Doe, “Trustee for _______________” or Partners Incorporated, “an Arkansas Corporation”). 

John Smith, Administrator of the Estate of Sylvia Smith

Coleman Dairy, an Arkansas Corporation

Catherine V. Ruiz, Official Administrator of Lottery Winnings
 

Parties and Creditors:

Use Upper and Lower case for ALL NAMES and capitalize the first letter of a proper noun.

Always remember to pick a party role when adding parties. (Ex. Defendant, Plaintiff, Auctioneer, etc.)

Name and address (together) for each creditor cannot be more than 6 lines total.

ONE line ONLY for the Party/Creditor Name with a maximum of 50 characters including spaces.   

No more than FIVE lines for the Address with a maximum of 40 characters per line including spaces.

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING ADDRESSES   The Postal Service routes an envelope by reading the address from the bottom right to the top left. ALL addresses should be entered with this in mind. They look at the address in this order: Zip Code then move to the left to the State then further to the left to the City which should all be on the last line.   Then it is read up to the previous line. PO Boxes take priority over Street Address Street Address takes priority over Building Name Building Name take priority over Suite Number/Letter

 

            Example:  

         NAME (1 line only)    CREDITOR/PARTY NAME               (max. 50)

         ADDRESS1                APT 6                                              (max. 40)

         ADDRESS2                GEIGER BUILDING                        (max. 40)

         ADDRESS3               228 WALNUT STREET                      (max. 40)

          ADDRESS4                PO BOX #                                       (max. 40)

        ADDRESS5              HARRISBURG PA 17101-0898          (max. 40)

 

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STYLE CONVENTIONS FOR NAMES AND ADDRESSES
 

These style conventions apply to both names and addresses entered in the CM/ECF application AND names and addresses entered for creditors.

Party Names 

When you search for a party, you will probably find the party in the CM/ECF database. Parties such as Ford Motor Credit are added to many different cases. Ideally, there should be only one Ford Motor Credit party in the database. This greatly simplifies searching when adding parties and querying cases.

Even something as simple as United States can cause ambiguity if everyone is entering it differently. (Ex. United States, U.S., United States of America, U.S.A., US, U.S., U.S.A., USA).

Anything involving the United States or United States of America should be entered as U.S. Dept of ... or U.S.A. Dept of ....

Similar Names

Even if the name you need is not exactly the same as the name which appears in the pick list (i.e., Ford Motor Co. instead of Ford Motor Company), select it to see if the address is the same. If so, use it. The key is to select the party with the same address.

When typing names that have upper and lower case letters or hyphens, do not insert spaces.

 

    Patricia De’LaGarza             Patricia De’LaGarza                (same)

    Patricia DeLaGarza             Patricia DeLaGarza                (same)

    Patrick MacDougal              Patrick MacDougal                 (same)

     Patricia Saint-John                Patricia Saint-John                   (same)

     Mary Smith-Baker                Mary Smith-Baker                   (same) 

 If an individual does not have a middle name, leave that field blank even if they have (NMI) on the document.

If a party has multiple names as in the below example, add the extra names in the Middle Name box.

 

                         Example:       Robert Kramer Johns Martin 

                              Last Name:                      Martin

                               Middle Name:                 Kramer Johns

                               First Name:                     Robert

If a party has a hyphenated last name such as below, The whole hyphenated name would be placed in the Last Name field.

                        Example:        Mary Ellen Smith-Baker

                              Last Name:                      Smith-Baker

                              Middle Name:                 Ellen

                              First Name:                     Mary
 

Business names 

            The ampersand (&) should be spelled out as the word "and" if it is used in the following manner where it is between two words.

Cameron & Associates  enter as  Cameron and Associates

 

If the business name contains a letter and an ampersand, then the ampersand symbol (&) can remain but before and after it must be removed so that searches in CM/ECF can be performed on the business name.

 B & D Company  enter as   B&D Company

J. & J. Trucking  enter as  J. & J. Trucking

Avoid abbreviations unless it is part of a company name on the petition or pleading. *Note below: There may be times when you do not have enough space in a field, in this case you will need to abbreviate.

Zero Motor Company should not be Zero Motor Co.

First Federal Association should not be Federal Assoc.

*The Economic Growth Corporation of North America could be

The Economic Growth Corp North America
 

Party Addresses

Use c/o to indicate "In Care Of" not the % (percent) symbol. Enter the c/o as on the documentation unless space is restricted then you should remove the c/o line.

Manuel Ortega, Jr.

c/o Manuel Ortega, Sr.

6612 East 6th Street

 PO Box 123

El Paso, TX 79901

Abbreviate post office addresses without a space or the period between the P and O.

 

 

Use digits for numbers in addresses if the address needs to be shortened for space restrictions. Otherwise use the spelled out number if provided on the document.

3224 East 26th Street

425 6th Street

1 Valley Plaza

When there is a street address as well as a post office box address for a debtor, put both if space allows. If space is restricted, add only the post office box address.

 

 When needed, use the second and/or third line of the address for building name, suite number, floor, firm name, or attention.

Arthur Andersen and Associates

Attn: Terri Brooks

John Hancock Building, Suite 2600

8723 Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL 60604

 

                        Would be:       NAME          Arthur Andersen and Associates

                                                 ADDRESS1   Attn: Terri Brooks

                                                 ADDRESS2   Suite 2600

                                                 ADDRESS3   John Hancock Building

                                                ADDRESS4   8723 Michigan Avenue

                                                ADDRESS5   Chicago, IL 60604

The city, state, and ZIP generally must be the only information on the last address line. The exception to this is foreign addresses. See below for more information on foreign addresses.

Movants, Plaintiffs, Defendants

Add mailing addresses for parties. This information is very important for prompt service.

Make sure to always select a party role when adding parties (ex. Defendant, Plaintiff, Accountant, etc.).

 Foreign addresses

Must have the full name of the post office and country of destination printed in capital letters.

The country name or APO destination must be the only information on the bottom line of the address.

Addresses can be formatted this way through the Party Information or Creditor Maintenance.

Eliminate the data in the City, State, Zip and Country fields by placing the entire address (Except for country) into Address Lines 1 - 44. The Country should be on the last line by itself and should be in ALL CAPITAL letters.

            Example:

            NAME (1 line only)            Taro Tanaka

            ADDRESS1                      Awata Horiike-cho 373-27

             ADDRESS2                      Higasgiyana-ku Kyoto, 605-0038

             ADDRESS3                      JAPAN                                       

            ADDRESS4                      You may not need to use these 2  

            ADDRESS5                      lines. They are here if needed.   

 

            NAME                               Alfonso Diaz 

             ADDRESS1                      Rio de Danubec y Rio Florido 

             ADDRESS2                      CD. JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA 

             ADDRESS3                      MEXICO #1050                                    

            ADDRESS4                      You may not need to use these 2             

            ADDRESS5                      lines. They are here if needed.   

 

             NAME                  Sgt. John Smith

             ADDRESS1      If you would need 5 lines, you would make sure you

             ADDRESS2    placed the country or APO designation on the   last line

             ADDRESS3                      C Company 237 Armor

            ADDRESS4                      Unit #21103, Box 512

            ADDRESS5                      APO AE 09014

Searching Hints:

                -      Enter one field of data for each search (i.e., do not enter the last name AND the social security number). 

               -     Enter the first few characters of the last name to search. You must enter at least two.

               -   Try alternative search clues if your first search is not successful.

                -    Partial names can be entered

                -    Wildcards (*) should only be used within characters in a search. For example, “Sm*” will not work; however, “Sm*h” will work since the wildcard is followed by a character.

               -  Social Security or EIN number searches should include the hyphen.

 

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ABBREVIATIONS

States & Territories

 

 

Graphic Directions

 

North     =   N                               Northeast       =     NE

South     =   S                               Southwest     =     SW

East        =   E                               Southeast       =     SE

West      =   W                              Northwest     =     NW

 

Street Designators

Streets should be entered as they appear on the document; however, if space restrictions exist use the below abbreviations.

 

Avenue                                           Ave

Boulevard                                      Blvd

Highway                                        Hwy

Interstate Highway                         IH

Lane                                               Ln

Street                                              St

Road                                               Rd

 

Invalid Characters

          The following characters ARE NOT to be used in CM/ECF.

 

                   %               Must be spelled out as “percent” or use “c/o” for “care of”

                   @               Must be spelled out as “at”

                   ~                  Do not use

                   $                   Do not use

                   &                   Must be spelled out as “and” except if used in a   company name that has a single letter and space before it (ex. L & H).  These situations it is permissible but the spaces before and after it must be removed (ex. L&H) due to CM/ECF searching requirements.

                   #                   Must be spelled out as “pound” or “number”