Guidance

Create and manage your account

Updated 22 November 2021

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-use-the-hmcts-e-filing-service/create-and-manage-your-account

1. Before you start

Before using this guide, please visit our main guidance page on the HMCTS E-Filing service for citizens and professionals. This explains:

  • what the E-Filing service is
  • what you need to know before you start
  • what happens after you have submitted a filing
  • other ways to submit filings (if you cannot use the E-Filing service)
  • how to get further advice and support

To use the E-Filing service, you’ll need to make sure that you have all your documents and information to hand. This includes:

1. digital versions of anything you wish to send to HMCTS:

  • court or tribunal forms
  • evidence in support of a claim

2. your payment details

If you experience any technical issues, please email efilesupport@justice.gov.uk.

2. Create an account and log in

1. Visit the E-Filing service login page and select ‘Register as an E-Filer’.

2. Complete the registration form using your email address as your username. There is guidance on the screen for creating your password. Select ‘terms and conditions’ to understand how HMCTS uses your data.

3. If you are representing yourself choose ‘Other’ in ‘Type of User Account’.

4. If you are a legal professional choose ‘Solicitors Firm’. If your firm is registered, your email address will link your account to your firm. If your firm is not registered, an error will show. Choose ‘Other’ and then contact E-Filing support to register your firm. Your account will then be linked to your firm within 24 hours.

5. If you are a barrister or counsel you can use ‘Barrister Chambers’ in ‘Type of User Account’. You will have access to submit filings but will not be able to access cases – these will be for your instructing solicitors to manage.

6. For ‘Default Location’ the options are ‘All Courts’, ‘London Courts’ or ‘Outside of London Courts’. Choose ‘All Courts’.

You can change this later by clicking on your name in the homepage heading bar and selecting ‘My Account’. You will be able to edit your information in the same way as the registration form.

7. Once the form is complete select ‘Save & Next’.

8. A confirmation message will appear when your account is created. You will also receive an email.

9. Follow the link in the email to go back to the login page. If you have not received the email, please check your junk folder. If it’s not in there, please contact efilesupport@justice.gov.uk.

10. Enter your email address (username) and password and select ‘Login’. If you forget your login details, please select the forgot password link underneath the login page and follow the instructions provided.

11. When you have logged in, you will see a homepage where you can customise your dashboard.

12. If you enter your password incorrectly, your account will lock. You must wait 2 minutes before you can log back in. You can reset your password from the login screen.

On the homepage you will find buttons for specific actions you can take.

1. ‘Case Search’ – this is where you can search for any cases where you are a party.

2. ‘Create Filing’ – this is where you create the filing.

3. ‘Filings’ – you can select to see your filings ordered, or ‘queued’ by status (draft, submitted, rejected, approved, error).

4. My Matters – for legal professionals only. Search and find cases that are associated to your solicitors firm.

5. ‘Public Search’ – this is where you can search for other cases on the system.

6. ‘Create Office Copy Request’ – this is where you can request copies of documents.

You can get back to the dashboard from any other screen by clicking on the ‘HM Courts & Tribunals E-filing Service’ heading at the top of the screen.

The speech bubble icon next to your name tells you how many notifications you have.

4. Change your notification preference

You can select if you would prefer to receive any notifications by email, within the portal or both. If you do not change this, you will receive notifications in both ways by default.

1. Select the arrow next to your name in the heading at the top of the screen and then choose ‘My Account’.

2. This will open the ‘User Administration’ window. In ‘User Information’ select the ‘Notification Type’ dropdown and choose ‘All’ for both, ‘Application Notifications’ or ‘E-Mail’.

3. Select the ‘Save’ button to save the changes.

4. If you want to stop getting emails, go back to ‘My Account’ and under ‘Notification Type’ select ‘Application Notifications’.

5. If you will be filing on behalf of a legal firm, you can link your account with your firm by selecting ‘My Account’, navigating to the bottom of the page and selecting ‘View Associated Legal Organisations’.

5. Customise your dashboard

You can customise the dashboard to display boxes showing statuses of filings so you can view any alerts or activity on your account. The E-Filing service calls these boxes ‘widgets’

Follow these steps to add each widget.

1. From the ‘Home’ box, select the ‘Configure’ cog button.

2. From the ‘Edit Dashboard’ box, select the widgets you want to see on the dashboard. Then select ‘Save’.

The widgets will appear on your dashboard. Updates to your filings will appear within the appropriate boxes.

3. You can move the widgets into a different order on the screen using ‘click and drag’. Click on the black title bar of the widget you want to move and drag it to a new position.

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