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FAQs
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What is the procedure for the redaction and/or restricted access to a document filed with the court?
Upon entry of an order granting a motion to restrict access, the court will restrict access to the document as addressed in the order.
Once the court restricts access, the document can be re-filed with the redacted information.
The clerk's office does not delete PDF files. If a person's social security number/private information is filed in a PDF document, than the document will go out to all filers who receive electronic notice for that case. In essence the damage has been done. The order to restrict access can only restrict access to viewing a document in PACER.
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Does the court keep a record of the credit cards used by an attorney to pay on-line?
The clerk's office does not keep a record of credit cards used. The court's website offers the On-Line Credit Card Module guide for assistance with paying your fees on-line.
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How do I obtain copies from a case that has been archived?
You may request copies of documents directly from the Archive Center in Fort Worth. Their phone number is 817-551-2000. You can also find Archive information on the order form off the court's website. You will need to contact the help desk at 214-753-2600 to obtain the transfer and location number of the case in order to fill out the order form.
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Are the Bankruptcy Court forms available in Spanish?
The Court does not provide documents or forms in any language other than English.
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How does a creditor becomes a registered ECF user?
If you are already a Bankruptcy ECF creditor filer registered in another district, you need to:
1. Complete the Creditor Registration Form.
2. Provide supporting documentation as proof of your registration with another Bankruptcy Court. (i.e. notice of electronic filing, welcome/log in screen, e-mail from court assigning login and password, ECF Training Completion Certificate, etc.)
3. Return the registration form along with the supporting documentation to:
United States Bankruptcy Court
Attn: ECF Registration
1100 Commerce St., Rm. 1254
Dallas, TX 75242
or email to
If you are not already registered with another court you will need to:
1. Complete the online CM/ECF Creditor Tutorial.
2. Once you have gone through the tutorial you will then need to complete the Connectivity Exercise attached to the Creditor Registration Form. This exercise will be completed in the CM/ECF Training Database.
3. In order to obtain a login and password to access the training database you will need to contact the ECF Helpdesk at (214) 753-2600 or ecfhelp@txnb.uscourts.gov
4. When all of the steps outlined above have been completed you will mail or email the Creditor Registration Form along with the connectivity exercise to:
United States Bankruptcy Court
Attn: ECF Registration
1100 Commerce St., Rm. 1254
Dallas, TX 75242
or email to
Once the court receives the registration form with the connectivity exercise (if required) we will review it to ensure all of the requested information has been provided. If the registration form complies with all of the requested information then an ECF live login and password will be issued and e-mailed to the address provided on the registration form.
If you submit an incomplete ECF Registration form, the form will be returned to you requesting the required information and you will have to re-submit the registration form and supporting documentation.
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How can a person who is filing without attorney representation find out more information about bankruptcy?
Those filing without an attorney - called pro-se debtors - can obtain information through the court's website at www.txnb.uscourts.gov . Choose the Filing Resources tab to begin your research.
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If a Debtor moves or changes their address and has notified the Trustee in the case, should they also notice the Court?
Debtors and/or their attorneys should always remember to keep addresses current with the court. If they move and fail to change their address, they will not receive notices from the court which could result in dismissal of the case.
In order to update addresses with the court, simply send us a Notice of Change of Address. The notice does not to be in legal format, if you are not an attorney we would accept the notice in the form of correspondence. You will need to provide the case number, debtor's name(s), and new address. Include the titile "Notice of Change of Address" to more easily identify what you are requesting and ensure it is filed correctly and promptly.
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Why am I not receiving emails from the ECF system?
There are a few reasons that you may not be receiving emails from the ECF system:
Your email box may be blocked or locked. Perhaps your email box is full (or was full when the email was sent) or you are overdue on paying any fees required for you to access the internet or your email, so your provider may have restricted your email in some way. These emails bounce back to the court and will not be re-sent.
Your email address could not be found on the internet, or by your email server. We get many bounces which are the result of email servers being down/offline/configured wrong/etc., or when the email server does not recognize the recipient's address. These emails bounce back and will not be re-sent.
Invalid or outdated email address. You may have moved firms, changed email addresses, etc. Your registration is yours (not the firm's) and you are required to keep your contact information current and accurate. These emails bounce back and will not be re-sent.
Failing to associate yourself with a party in a case when filing a document can also prevent you from receiving ECF notices. When you file a document in a case for the first time, the ECF system will not recognize your login and prompt you to check a box to make an association between you and the party you are filing on behalf of.
"Spam" or junk/bulk email protection may be blocking or filtering the ECF emails due to how the emails are being addressed. All ECF emails have common characteristics. Quite often these emails get filtered to a protected email folder on your email server which can only be accessed by the administrator on the system, or may be automatically deleted. These emails may or may not bounce back (usually they do not) and will not be re-sent.
This last one can be a major problem since some email spam protection blocks emails which are not sent specifically TO: the recipient. Since ECF by definition sends "bulk" email, ECF emails may be blocked and there is nothing that the court can do about it on our end.
The good news however is that all email spam protection allows for what is commonly called a "White List". White Lists are email addresses which are allowed to come through despite any other email filtering or protection. ("Black Lists" in contrasts are never allowed.)
ECF highly recommends that the email address,
BKECF_LiveDB@txnb.uscourts.gov be added to your White Lists, or even better, add the wild-card: *uscourts.gov, so that any email from any U.S. Court entity can get through. This must be done by your email systems administrator. -
Once I register, will the system send me all the previous emails? Can emails that I didn't get be re-sent? I deleted the ECF email, can you send me another?
No. New users will only get emails occurring after their registration is complete AND a document is filed using the newly issued login. Otherwise, if the attorney wants to begin receiving email notifications, but is not prepared to file a document, then he/she can add the case number under the "email information" section of your ECF account.
Simply check the box "Send Notices in these additional cases" and enter the case number in the text box to the right in the following format: XX-XXXXX. Click "Return to Account Screen" and then click "Submit" to accept the changes.
Since the ECF system only sends out emails when the efiling occurs, there is no way to re-send emails that were previously sent.
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How do we add an additional e-mail address to my ECF account so someone besides the attorney will get Notices of Electronic Filing?
1. Log in to ECF with your ECF login (not your PACER)
2. On the Blue-Bar, click on Utilities, then choose Maintain Your ECF Account.
3. At the bottom of the main screen, click on the Email Information button.
4. Check the box that reads "to the secondary address" under the "Send the Notices Specified below" section
5. Add the email address(es) in that text box (follow each address with a comma or carriage-return).
IMPORTANT: Make sure there are no blank spaces in any of the email fields, especially at the end of the address, or ECF will give you and error about invalid address.
6. Click on "Return to Account screen" at the bottom of the Email Info page (do not click the "Back Button" on the browser).
8. Click on "Submit" at the bottom of the primary Maintain User Account screen.
NOTE: You may see a list of cases in which the attorney's participating. You should spread the changes to all of them by selecting "Update All" and then clicking "Submit".