The sender of the facsimile transmission shall pay to the trial court clerk a service charge for each facsimile filing in the amount of five dollars ($5.00) plus one dollar ($1.00) per page of the facsimile filing (including the cover sheet). Payment of the service charge, accompanied by a copy of the facsimile filing cover sheet, shall be received by the trial court clerk not later than ten (10) calendar days after the facsimile filing. The facsimile service charge shall be paid by the sender as provided in this rule and shall not be taxed as court costs, subject to the following exception. If the sender is either a party who has been allowed to proceed on a pauper’s oath or an attorney for such a party, timely payment of the facsimile service charge under this rule is suspended, and the charges shall be taxed as court costs.
Tenn. R. Civ. P. 5A.04
Advisory Commission Comments [2004].
Rule 5A is adopted to provide for the filing of papers in the trial court by facsimile transmission. Rule 5A.02(4), however, expressly provides that certain documents (listed in that subparagraph) may not be filed via facsimile transmission. In addition, the Commission points out that Rule 5A does not authorize the service of documents by facsimile transmission. See Rule 5A.02(5) (requiring, in pertinent part, compliance with all applicable rules of court governing service of papers). Please refer to Rule 5, Tenn. R. Civ. P., for the provisions in these Rules governing the service of pleadings and other papers after the filing of the original complaint; amended Rule 5.02 permits service by fax if filing by fax is permitted.
Rule 5A.02(1) requires the trial court clerk to maintain a dedicated telephone line for the clerk’s facsimile machine. In those jurisdictions in which it is not feasible for each clerk to maintain a dedicated telephone line for facsimile filing, it is the Commission’s intent that the respective clerks may jointly maintain a dedicated telephone line for the use of the various clerks. For example, the Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk & Master in such a jurisdiction may share a dedicated telephone line for facsimile filings in their respective courts.
TENNESSEE COURTS
UNIFORM FACSIMILE FILING COVER SHEET
TO (COURT CLERK): ____________________________________________________
WITH (COURT): ____________________________________________________
CLERK’S FAX NUMBER: ____________________________________________________
CASE NAME: ____________________________________________________
DOCKET NUMBER: ____________________________________________________
TITLE OF DOCUMENT: ____________________________________________________
FROM (SENDER): ____________________________________________________
SENDER’S ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
SENDER’S VOICE TELEPHONE NUMBER: ____________________________________
SENDER’S FAX TELEPHONE NUMBER: ____________________________________
DATE: _______________ TOTAL PAGES, INCLUDING COVER PAGE: ___________
FILING INSTRUCTIONS/COMMENTS (attach additional sheet if necessary):
Unless authorized by the Court, a facsimile transmission exceeding ten (10) pages, including the cover page, shall not be filed by the clerk.