Before adding any party to a case, search for that party using appropriate "search strategies". If the system finds the correct name, select it to help eliminate different versions of the same party name. Even something as simple as "United States" can cause ambiguity if it is entered in different forms.

When searching for debtors, the more search clues you provide, the more likely you are to find the exact party for which you are searching. For example, if you search for a last name of Grant, ECF may return a list of a hundred parties with that last name. However, ECF will return a single party, or indicate there is no match for that criteria, if you search for a last name of Grant with a Social Security number of 333-22-1111.

When searching for creditors, it may be necessary to conduct multiple searches. First, search for the entire creditor name (e.g., World Communications). If that is not successful, you can search for part of the creditor's name (e.g., World Comm or just World). If there are articles in the title such as "A" or "The," you may or may not need to include the article in the search. For example, a search request for The Timely Times may not produce a result, but a search request for Timely Times will be successful.

An unsuccessful search for A. & A. Metals might be successful if you search without punctuation (i.e., A & A Metals).

If the party is not found, ensure the party is involved in a bankruptcy case or adversary proceeding in the Northern District of Texas. ECF in the Northern District of Texas' ECF only provides case information regarding cases filed in this District. Also, if a case more than 10 years old, the docket sheet and related documents may not be available for public view.