PDF requirements for e-filing in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (e-filing)

What the court requires

The limit is 3 MB per document. Philadelphia's First Judicial District runs its own e-filing system (not PACFile). Under Philadelphia Civil Rule *204.1, every file must be 3 MB or less, so exhibits usually need to be split into several files.

“All files must be no larger than 3MB each.”

Common reasons filings are rejected

• A file is over 3 MB.
• A scanned exhibit was not split into 3 MB files.
• The PDF is password-protected or has security restrictions.
• The PDF is password-protected or has security restrictions, so the court's system can't open it.

Questions about the Philadelphia Common Pleas's PDF rules

What is the maximum PDF file size for the Philadelphia Common Pleas?

3 MB per PDF.

What should I do if my PDF is too large for the Philadelphia Common Pleas?

Split it into consecutive parts that are each under 3 MB, never cutting a page in half, and file the first part as the main document and the rest as attachments named in order (for example "Exhibit A, Part 2 of 3"). For scanned documents, re-scanning in black and white at 300 dpi often shrinks the file enough to avoid splitting. Docket Prime can split the file for you in your browser.

Does the Philadelphia Common Pleas require text-searchable PDFs?

It is recommended. Documents saved directly from a word processor are searchable and much smaller than scans; for paper documents, OCR adds searchable text.

What page size does the Philadelphia Common Pleas accept?

Letter size (8.5 × 11 inches) is expected. Legal-size or A4 pages may print badly or be refused, so resize them to letter.