The Clerk’s Office reviews proposed orders for acceptable format prior to routing or approval.  Proposed orders must be submitted using these guidelines. A proposed order that cannot be quickly revised by Clerk’s Office staff to comply with these guidelines will be rejected and an order will be issued to the filing party to re-file a new proposed order.

Sample Proposed Order

PROPER ORDER FORMATS AND GUIDELINES

I. Preparing PDF documents

A.Proposed orders must be created using a word processing program (i.e., Microsoft Word) and then printed to PDF format. For instructions on properly creating a PDF document, click here: Creating a PDF Document - Using a Word Processor

B.DO NOT SCAN proposed orders into PDF format.

C.Proposed orders that are not properly formatted/flattened cannot be uploaded into CM/ECF.  For further information, visit the PACER web site on flattening PDFs.

II. Formatting Proposed Orders

A. Margins:

1.The order must have a one-inch margin.

B. Fonts:

1.ONLY USE the following fonts:

a) Times New Roman (This is the court’s preferred font for Orders.Arial

b) Arial

c) Courier

d) Helvetica

C. Captions:

1. Party Names:

a) Must be in all UPPERCASE LETTERS (e.g., JOHN DOE);

b) Debtor names must include name and any alias(es)

2. Designations:

a) All parties must have an appropriate designation;

b) Must be placed to the right of and below the party’s name;

c) Must appear using upper and lower case (e.g., Debtor, Respondent, Movant)

3. Place “vs” between the opposing party names.

D. Chapter

1. Be sure to specify the appropriate Chapter under which the case is proceeding.

E. Case Number:

1. Case numbers must be formatted as follows:

a) Bankruptcy cases: O-YY-bk-nnnnn-JJJ

b) Adversary cases: O-YY-ap-nnnnn-JJJ

O = office number (“1” for Harrisburg, “4” for Williamsport, and “5” for Wilkes-Barre)

YY = two-digit year of filing

nnnnn = case number

JJJ = Presiding judge’s initials

F. MATTER

1. Include the matter for which the order pertains

III. Content of Order

A. Acceptable starting lines:

1. “Upon consideration of . . . .”  (This is the court’s preferred language for Orders.)

2. “After notice and hearing . . . .” (May be used IF there was a notice and/or hearing on the matter.)

IV. Judge's Signature Area

A. Required Blank Space at the bottom of the page:

1. Leave at least 2" of blank space at the bottom of the page for the Judge’s electronic signature and date. If there is not 2" of space left at the bottom of the page, DO NOT simply add another blank page. Remove the last line from the preceding page and carry it forward on to the last page. The Judge will NOT sign a blank page.

B. DO NOT SUBMIT AN ORDER WITH A SIGNATURE OR DATE LINE, these are automatically inserted with the judge’s electronic signature.

C. DO NOT ADD A SERVICING LIST. Evidence of service upon parties is accomplished with a separate certificate of service.