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Federal Courts

Federal District Court Exhibit Requirements

Comprehensive guides for 11 of the busiest and most influential federal district courts. Learn local rules, CM/ECF specifications, and judge-specific practices for each district.

11 District CourtsCM/ECF Filing SpecsJudge-Specific Rules
Prepare ExhibitsFRCP Overview
35 MB
Typical File Size Limit
CM/ECF
Universal E-Filing System
FRCP 26
Federal Discovery Rules

Select Your District

2nd Circuit

SDNY

Southern District of New York

Manhattan, White Plains

Securities, commercial, white-collar

9th Circuit

CDCA

Central District of California

Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana

Entertainment, IP, immigration

7th Circuit

NDIL

Northern District of Illinois

Chicago, Rockford

Commercial, patent, civil rights

3rd Circuit

D.Del.

District of Delaware

Wilmington

Corporate, patent, bankruptcy

9th Circuit

NDCal

Northern District of California

San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland

Tech IP, securities, antitrust

5th Circuit

EDTX

Eastern District of Texas

Tyler, Sherman, Texarkana

Patent litigation hub

9th Circuit

SDCal

Southern District of California

San Diego

Immigration, patent, maritime

2nd Circuit

EDNY

Eastern District of New York

Brooklyn, Central Islip

Civil rights, commercial, immigration

5th Circuit

NDTX

Northern District of Texas

Dallas, Fort Worth

Patent, commercial, energy

1st Circuit

D.Mass.

District of Massachusetts

Boston, Worcester, Springfield

Biotech/pharma IP, securities

3rd Circuit

DNJ

District of New Jersey

Newark, Trenton, Camden

Pharmaceutical patent hub

Quick Comparison

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Federal districts, circuits, specialties, and court filing portals
DistrictCircuitSpecialtyCM/ECF
SDNY2nd CircuitSecurities, commercial, white-collarCourt filing portal
CDCA9th CircuitEntertainment, IP, immigrationCourt filing portal
NDIL7th CircuitCommercial, patent, civil rightsCourt filing portal
D.Del.3rd CircuitCorporate, patent, bankruptcyCourt filing portal
NDCal9th CircuitTech IP, securities, antitrustCourt filing portal
EDTX5th CircuitPatent litigation hubCourt filing portal
SDCal9th CircuitImmigration, patent, maritimeCourt filing portal
EDNY2nd CircuitCivil rights, commercial, immigrationCourt filing portal
NDTX5th CircuitPatent, commercial, energyCourt filing portal
D.Mass.1st CircuitBiotech/pharma IP, securitiesCourt filing portal
DNJ3rd CircuitPharmaceutical patent hubCourt filing portal

Universal Federal Requirements

FRCP Rule 26(a)(3) governs pretrial disclosure of exhibits.
Electronic filing required for represented parties unless the court allows paper
PDF/A format preferred for long-term archival
Bates numbering required for most document productions
Local rules supplement (and sometimes modify) FRCP
Individual judge practices may override local rules
35 MB typical file size limit (varies by district)
OCR/text-searchable PDFs required by many judges

Related Resources

FRCP Overview

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure guide

State Courts

50 state exhibit requirement guides

All Resources

Checklists, guides, and templates

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