1. Bankruptcy PACER Web Version
1.1 Introduction
1.2 What Is Needed
1.3 Netscape Setup for JavaScript
1.4 Availability
1.5 Registration
1.6 Security
1.7 Cost
1.8 Billing
1.9 Information
Currency
1.10 Saving
1.11 Printing
1.12 Connecting
1.13 Exiting
2. Report Options
2.1 Case Information
Full Summary
Docket
Report
Claims Register
Case Status
Attorney
Trustee
Party
Alias
Associated Cases
History
Filers
Documents
Deadlines/Schedules
2.2 New Cases Report
2.3 Creditor
Mailing Matrix
3. Other Options
3.1 Review
Billing History
3.2 Local Options
3.3 New Login
3.4 Client Code
1. Bankruptcy PACER Web Version
Traditionally, PACER has allowed any user with a personal computer the ability to dial-in to a district or bankruptcy court computer and retrieve official electronic case information and court dockets. Now, PACER is also available on the Internet in a web-based format.
Note: Each court controls its own computer system and case information database; therefore, there will be some variations among jurisdictions as to the information offered. Generic instructions for accessing web-based bankruptcy PACER are offered in this document.
Persons interested in utilizing this service must first register with
the PACER Service Center at 800 676-6856. There is a charge of $.07/page
for information retrieved from this site.
A user will need the following items to access the system. If there is a problem with in-office equipment, contact the equipment vendor (the PACER Service Center cannot provide assistance).
1.3 Netscape Setup for JavaScript
Web PACER software contains JavaScript scripts which perform various edits
on your input transactions. In order for Web PACER to execute these JavaScripts,
you must have Netscape enabled for JavaScript. To do this, follow the
procedure described below:
1. Click the Edit menu, then select Preferences.
2. Click the Advanced category.
3. Be sure the checkboxes for the following Advanced categories
are checked:
a. Enable Java
b. Enable JavaScript
Access to electronic information is available virtually around-the-clock.
Registration is required prior to accessing the case information. Users
with a valid login and password to access PACER for the desired jurisdiction,
will automatically be activated for the Web version of that jurisdiction.
Those who do not have a login and password or experience difficulties accessing
the system, contact the PACER Service Center at (800) 676-6856.
The Web PACER login screen is protected by the secure SSL Web server. This software encrypts information from users as it is sent across the Internet keeping their logins and passwords concealed. When the secure server is being used, the lock at the bottom of the browser will appear locked. A notice may appear indicating movement from a secure document to an insecure document. This message may be disregarded.
To avoid unauthorized use of the PACER system, the PACER Service
Center recommends that you do not leave your terminal unattended after
logging into the PACER system. If you must leave your terminal unattended,
close your open browsers. The PACER Service Center also recommends not
bookmarking pages past the login screen of all Web PACER applications,
and using a password protected screen saver.
The U.S. Congress has given the Judicial Conference of the United Sates, the judicial governing body of the U.S. Federal Courts, authority to impose user fees for electronic access to case information. All registered agencies or individuals will be assessed the charge of $.07 a page.
Generally, a page is defined as 54 lines of data. When charges are accrued, a transaction receipt will appear at the bottom of each html document. This will indicate the number of pages billed for that particular transaction. Detailed descriptions on how document types are counted are listed below
Dockets: Docket reports are generated with form feeds or page breaks marking each page. The number of form feeds or page breaks within each docket are counted and used to determine the number of pages for a particular docket sheet before the document is reformatted for display as an html document. A docket sheet may contain pages with more or less than 54 lines. Note, form feeds and page breaks will not appear in the html formatted document displayed on the screen.
Case Reports: Case reports such as the New Case Listing or Mailing Matrix, which do not have form feeds or page breaks, are determined at the rate of 54 lines per page. The lines are counted from the raw data files before they are formatted for display as an html document on the screen.
Search Results: Search results are also billed at the rate of 54 lines per page. Each hit is considered one line. The lines are counted from the raw data files before they are formatted for display as an html document on the screen.
Images: In the future, some PACER websites will offer images of documents filed in the court. These images will be billed according to the number of pages scanned; therefore, each scanned page equals one billable page.
If information retrieved from a PACER website is printed, the print job will not always match the number of pages billed. The number of pages printed is dependent on individual printer and browser settings. All users are billed the same amount for the same information regardless of the browser settings or printer configurations. A transaction receipt and the Review Billing History option are provided in each court site for reviewing charges.
To assess these charges, cookies are used
to uniquely identify users while running a Web PACER application. All the
billable activity saved to the browser can be attributed to the specific
user. For more information about cookies, refer to http://www.cookiecentral.com.
The PACER Service Center sends quarterly
statements. If a client code is entered for a transaction, that client
code will be presented on the statement. Client code features are thirty-two
character text fields provided for tracking charges. A client code will
not appear on the bill unless it is entered at the time of transaction.
Because the client code feature is optional, it must be enforced within
one's office. After every document that contains billable case related
information, you will receive a transaction receipt, showing the
login, client code, pages and cost of the transaction.
The inquiry Internet site is updated from
the main court computer once daily. This will provide access to information
up through the previous day's close of business.
Since this version of PACER is accessed
through a browser, the browser's Clipboard copy and paste functions must
be used to save/transfer information to a desired location. The Clipboard
is a temporary storage area in memory used to transfer information. PACER
information can be copied onto the clipboard and then pasted into files
in other applications. Copying and pasting can be used anywhere in the
Case Information and Reports components of PACER.
To copy, use the mouse to highlight
the text on the screen. To highlight, click and hold down the left mouse
button at the beginning of the text, drag across to the end of the text,
and release the mouse button. The desired text will be highlighted. Under
the browser's Edit drop-down window, select Copy (Ctrl-c) to copy the
highlighted text to the clipboard.
Then in the desired Windows application position
the cursor where you want the data to go, and then select Edit/Paste
(Ctrl-v).
To print a screen, click on the Print button.
If there is a "frame" at the top of the screen (in Query, case information
is separated from the rest of the screen by a line, called a frame), click
on the lower half of the screen before clicking the print button. If there
is not a frame, click in the body of the document before clicking on the
print button.
1. Enter the appropriate URL in the location
site of your browser. Most courts will be located at http://pacer.court*.uscourts.gov.
However, links are also available at www.uscourts.gov
*The court will consist of the court's initials. These initials are the
state abbreviation, the abbreviation of the district (if applicable), and
the first letter of the type of court (b for bankruptcy and d for district).
For example, the Texas Northern Bankruptcy Court will be www.pacer.txnb.uscourts.gov.
2. At the PACER Welcome Page, click on Login to Pacer.
3. Enter assigned PACER login and password at the id and password prompt. An optional thirty-two character text may be entered at the client code field for tracking charges.
4. Click on Submit.
Once you login at one PACERNet site, the Universal Login feature will allow
you to go to any other PACERNet site without having to login again, during
the same browser session.
PACER can be exited at any time by clicking
on the Close box to exit the Web browser or by moving to another Web application.
Please note, the amount of time on-line is not used for billing
(see 1.8 Billing).
The first screen that appears after logging in is the Case Information screen. The option page contains a header frame with case and judge information and optional links to Full Summary, Docket Report, Claims Register, Party, Attorney, Trustee, Alias, Filers Information, History Information, Deadlines/Schedules Information, Documents Information, Status Information, and Associated Cases. If the case selected has been archived, the only options available are: Full Summary, Party, Attorney, Alias, and Trustee.
1. In order to specify a case, enter one of the following fields: case number, party name, party type code, attorney name, social security number, or a tax identification number in the appropriate space and click on search*.
When entering the case year number, you may enter it using either a 2 or 4-digit year. When entering a name or part of a name, it is not necessary to add an asterisk on the end. The program assumes a wildcard search, and will find all names that begin with the string of characters you entered. For example, if you enter the name Green, the application will search for Green*, all names which begin with the character string Green. Name searches will be performed without upper/lower case sensitivity.
When searching by social security number you must enter an exact match, wildcarding is not permitted.
*Only one search criteria may be used. If two or more of the search options are entered in, the latter will be searched. For example, if a case number is entered and then the social security number is entered, the case number will be erased as soon as the Search button is clicked.
2. If there is more than one match for the criteria entered, a picklist will be displayed. If more choices exist than will fit in the display area, scroll bars will be present to the right of the selection box. Either the mouse or arrow keys* may be utilized to scroll up or down through the choices. The number of the matching parties or cases will be provided at the end of the listing.
3. To select a case or party, click on the arrow to the left of the selection or click on the selection itself.
*Note: If the arrow keys are not responding, click on the active screen.
4. Once the specified case has been selected,
a list of available case information options will be given. Simply click
on the desired option to retrieve the information. The following is a description
of what each option provides.
Full Summary
- This will provide a basic summary of the specified case. The information
provided on the Full Summary is as follows:
Case Number: The case number for the target case.
Case Title: The case title for the target case. "Debtor 1 and Debtor 2" for
bankruptcy cases; "Plaintiff 1 vs. Defendant 1" for adversary proceedings.
Case Type: The case type of the target case. bk for bankruptcy case;
ap for adversary proceeding; mp for miscellaneous.
Chapter: The chapter of the target case.
Asset: The asset flag for the target case. y signifies "asset case"; n
signifies "not asset case"; u signifies "unknown".
Voluntary Flag: v signifies that the target case is a voluntary bankruptcy
case; i signifies that it is an involuntary one.
Judge: The judge assigned to the target case.
Office: The divisional office for the target case.
Fee: Fee status for the target bankruptcy case. p signifies that the case
filing fee has been paid; i signifies that the case is an installment case
and that the final installment has not yet been paid.
Joint Flag: y signifies that the target case is a joint bankruptcy case;
n signifies that it is an individual case.
Reopen: The number of times the target case has been reopened.
Reopen Date: If reopened, the filed date of the docket entry which reopened
the case.
Filed Date: The filed date of the petition in a bankruptcy case or the
complaint in an adversary proceeding.
Term Date: If closed, the filed date of the closing docket entry.
Reterm Date: If reopened, the previous closing date.
Disposition (Disp): If the target case has been closed, the final disposition.
County: The county code for the case.
Flags: If any case flags are present on the target case, they will appear
here. Flags are locally designed and may contain such items as "CLOSED", or
"CLAIMS", "MONEY", etc.
Discharged Date: The date the order of discharge was entered.
Status: The next major milestone in the target case.
Trustee: If the target case is a bankruptcy case, the trustee assigned.
Trustee Phone: The phone number for the trustee.
Trustee City: The city from the assigned trustee's address.
Party: All parties added to the target case.
Attorney: Attorneys in the case.
Docket Report - This will provide the docket report for the specified case in oldest to newest event order. Information included in this report is the title and number of the case; the date filed; the judge assigned to the case; related cases; the parties and their attorneys, each event with document number (if applicable), the date filed; and the docket entry information. Also, included is an option to produce a docket report for a specified date range.
The default begin date is set to 01/01/1931,
this date represents the beginning of time for this application. This date
is being used to achieve year 2000 compliancy.
Note: Docket reports for
very large cases, if not limited by dates, can take a long period of time
to run. Therefore, it may be best to run longer dockets after business
hours.
Claims Register
- This will provide a list of claims with relevant information for the
specified case. A search may be run by entering a claim number, a range
of claim numbers, or leaving blank to retrieve all claims. This report
may be sorted alphabetically by creditor name, or numerically by claim
number. Once the report is run, the information displayed for each claim
includes the case number; claims bar date; debtor's name; "creditor for" name
(if applicable); creditor name and address; claim number; date claim filed;
nature of claim; filed late; deficiency; unliquidated; amount; class; total;
amount allowed; order action; duplicate of; duplicate by; amended of; amended
by; remarks; description; and government bar date.
Note: Claims registers
for very large cases, if not limited by range, can take a long period of
time to run. Therefore, it may be best to run longer claims after business
hours.
Case Status -
This will provide the current status for the specified case (e.g., Awaiting
Closing Order). Included in the information is the status itself; the
date the status was established; and the event that established
the status.
Attorney
- This will provide all attorneys associated with the specified case. Included
in the information displayed is the name and address of each attorney; the party
represented; whether the attorney has been terminated from the case; and
whether the attorney is pro se.
Trustee -
This will provide the trustee(s) assigned to the specified case. Included
in the information displayed is the trustee's address; telephone number; date assigned;
and date terminated.
Party - This
will display all parties associated with the specified case. Included in
the information displayed is the name and address of each party; the type of party
(e.g. debtor, defendant, etc.); and the parties terminated date from the case (if applicable).
Alias - This
will provide a list of parties for the case (with the type of party included).
From there, you may select any one of the parties; the alias, if there is
one, will be displayed.
Associated
Cases - This will provide cases related to the target case. Information
included is the member case number; the type of case; and the case title.
You can click on the associated case listed and the program will take you
to the Available Case Information Options. From there, you may select any
one of the options for the associated case.
To get back to the original case, click on the "Back" button of
the browser.
History -
This will provide all the public events docketed to the specified case. Included
in the information is the document number (if applicable); the date filed;
a description of the event; and the docket text of the
event. Sort sequence is: filed date, document number.
Filers - This
will provide a list of all parties who have filed documents for the specified
case. Information included in the list of all documents that each filer is
responsible for include the document number; filed date; description of
document; and the docket text of the document.
Documents
- This will provide all the documents associated with the specified case.
Included in the information is the document number; date filed; description of
document; filer of the document; and docket text of the document. Sort
sequence is: filed date, document number.
Deadlines/Schedules
- This will display the pending hearings/deadlines for the specified case.
Included in the information is the description of the deadline/schedule;
the filed date; the due date and time; and the docket text.
The New Cases Report allows you to view
certain case information for cases which have been entered into the
court's database during a specified range of docket dates. It is
generally used to view new cases which have been entered the previous day
or previous week. The output can be in 'raw data' (or unprocessed)
format, or a formatted
report, depending on which option you specify when running the report.
The report is sorted first by docket date, then by case number and party name.
Only debtor, joint debtor, plaintiff, and defendant participants are listed
in the report. The information included in the report is case number,
party's name and address, social security or tax id number,
filing date, and the chapter.
When selecting the 'raw' format the data is displayed accordingly:
Case Year|Case Sequence|Chapter|Date Filed|Court Name|Last Name|First Name|
Middle Name|Generation|Social Security Number|Tax Id|Street Address|Address 2|Address 3|City|State|5 Digit Zip Code|4 Digit Zip Code Extension
To run the report: 1. Click on New Cases Report from
the Report Options.
2. Enter a specific date range. If a date
range is not entered, the begin date will default to 'yesterday' and the end
date will default to 'today' date.
3. Specify the format of the output. The
options will be either raw data or report format.
4. Click on Run Report.
The Creditor Mailing Matrix allows you
to view creditor matrix information in either 'raw' (or unprocessed
format, a 'one column label' format, or a 'three column label' format.
When selecting 'raw' format the data is displayed accordingly:
Case Number|Name of Creditor|Address 1|Address 2|Address 3|Address 4
If one or more of the above fields is blank, the information is shifted
to the left, for example:
Case Number: 96-12345 The 'raw' data would appear as:
96-12345|Bugs Bunny|12345 Bunny Road|Washington, DC 12345|||
To run the report:
1. Click on Creditor Mailing Matrix
from the Report Options.
2. Enter a case number for the requested
creditor mailing matrix.
3. Select the format of output. The options
will consist of a one column, a three column, or a raw data format.
4. Click on Run Report.
This option provides billing history for
the jurisdiction being accessed. Included in the Billing History is the
date the transaction was run, the time it started, the number of pages
for the transaction, the client code (if applicable), the description of
the type of information provided(i.e., a docket report, case summary),
and the search criteria entered to run the search.
1. Click on Review Billing History
from Other Options.
2. Choose the order of output by either
Date or Client code/Date. If Date is chosen, the transactions will be listed
chronologically by date. If the Client code/Date is chosen, the transactions
will be grouped by client code in order by date with a sub total for each.
3. Enter a start and end date for the billing
transactions in the specified location. If dates are not entered, the defaulted
transactions will run through the first of the current month and the current
day.
4. Click on Run Report.
This option is locally developed by the
court.
This option will provide the login and
password to be reentered or changed.
1. Click on New Login from Other
Options.
2. Refer to 1.13.
This feature will provide a means for tracking
charges by client for later billing. In order for a client code to appear on a statement,
it must be entered and updated prior to a search. It can be changed and
updated several times during a session. When the client code is changed, you will always begin the new session at the Case Information screen.
The client code field is located below
the list of Other Options, as seen by the frame to the left.
1. Enter up to thirty-two characters in
the Client code field.
2. Click on Update*.
*If the update is not invoked,
the client code entered will not be accepted.
Name of Creditor: Bugs Bunny
Address 1: [blank]
Address 2: 12345 Bunny Road
Address 3: [blank]
Address 4: Washington, DC 12345