PDF requirements for e-filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington

What the court requires

An exhibit larger than 50 MB must be filed in separate segments, each under 50 MB. When a record is split, the first PDF is the main document and each additional part is an attachment named by its page numbers (for example "Pages 93-163"). Documents over 100 pages also need a paper courtesy copy for the judge. The court has suggested keeping a single transaction under 200 MB.

Common reasons filings are rejected

• An exhibit or record is over 50 MB as one PDF.
• Split parts are not named by their page ranges.
• The paper courtesy copy for documents over 100 pages is forgotten.
• The PDF is password-protected or has security restrictions, so the court's system can't open it.

Questions about the E.D. Washington's PDF rules

What is the maximum PDF file size for the E.D. Washington?

50 MB per PDF. The court recommends keeping all files in one filing under 200 MB in total.

What should I do if my PDF is too large for the E.D. Washington?

Split it into consecutive parts that are each under 50 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 E.D. Washington require text-searchable PDFs?

The published rules we found don't require it. 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 E.D. Washington 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.