Quickstart: Getting Creditor Filing Privileges in the Bankruptcy Court

Introduction

This guide helps creditors get claims filing privileges in every district that doesn’t support ePOC. Once complete, you can use the same Platform form to file a POC in any district. 

1. PACER Setup

Make sure you have a PACER account:

• Follow the official steps if you need to create an account.
• If you are using BankruptcyWatch, our system connects with your normal PACER account. There are no special steps needed.

Make sure that you have a NextGen PACER account:

• Accounts created within the last 4 years are likely to be NextGen
• If your account is more than 4 years old, log in to Manage My Account and check your ‘Account Type.’ It should indicate you have an “Upgraded PACER Account”.  

• Follow the official steps if you need to upgrade your account.

2. General Filing Privilege Request

Some districts don’t allow ePOC filing and others have an unsupported ePOC process. For those districts, you are still able to file claims using Platform or the BankruptcyWatch API, but you will need CM/ECF filing privileges in the relevant districts. 

Requesting filing privileges is really easy through PACER. Each district should take around 1 minute to request. Follow the following instructions for each district that you work in that doesn’t support ePOC. 

• Login PACER at www.pacer.uscourts.gov and click MENU

• Click Log In then, Manage PACER Account

• Log in with your individual PACER account username and password.

• Click the Maintenance tab.

• Select Non-Attorney E-File Registration.

• From the Role in Court drop down list, select the appropriate filing role. Complete all the registration fields and click Next.

• The payment information screen displays. You are not required to set default information. Click Next when finished or to bypass the screen.

• Non-Attorney E-Filing Terms and Conditions: Review the e-filing terms and conditions and the court’s policies and procedures. Check the first box to acknowledge that you agree to the terms and conditions and that checking the box constitutes your signature for registration. Check the second box to acknowledge that you have read and agree to the court’s policies and procedures. Click Submit
• The confirmation page will display. Click Done to close the window.

PACER will forward your request to the court. If the court has questions about your registration, the court will contact you by email or phone. After the court processes your registration, PACER will send you an email.

3. Additional Document Request

Some districts (CT, DC TNW, UT, etc.) may require you to complete and email a request form. Contact us for help gaining access to the common forms.