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Rule 5A.02 – Filing Procedures

May 14, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Tennessee

(1) The trial court clerk shall accept papers for filing by facsimile transmission as provided in this rule. The trial court clerk shall maintain a dedicated telephone line for the clerk’s facsimile machine.
(2) Any document filed by facsimile transmission shall be accompanied by the uniform cover sheet set forth in the comment to this rule stating: the caption of the case; the trial court docket number; the title of the transmitted document; the number of pages of the facsimile transmission (including the cover sheet); the sender’s name, address, voice telephone number, and facsimile telephone number; and the date of the facsimile transmission. The cover sheet shall also contain clear and concise instructions as to the filing of the transmitted document.
(3) The filing of the original document shall not be required after facsimile filing. The sender shall retain the original document in the sender’s possession or control during the pendency of the action and shall produce such document upon request by the court or any party to the action. Upon failure to produce such document, the court may strike the document filed by facsimile transmission.
(4) The following documents shall not be filed in the trial court by facsimile transmission:

(a) Any pleading or similar document for which a filing fee and/or litigation tax must be paid (excluding the facsimile service charge), including, without limitation, a complaint commencing a civil action, an appeal from the general sessions court to the circuit court, and an appeal to a trial court from an inferior tribunal, board or officer;
(b) A summons;
(c) A will or codicil to a will; a bond; or any pleading or document requiring an official seal;
(d) A confidential document that the court previously has ordered to be filed under seal;
(e) A notice of appeal.
(5) No facsimile filing shall exceed fifty (50) pages in length, including the cover sheet, unless authorized by the court; absent such authorization, a facsimile transmission exceeding fifty (50) pages, including the cover sheet, shall not be filed by the clerk. A facsimile filing may not be split into multiple facsimile transmissions to avoid this page limitation. All documents filed by facsimile transmission shall comply with all applicable rules of court, including, without limitation, rules governing the content and form of pleadings and other papers; the signing of pleadings, motions and other papers; and the service of all papers.
(6) The original document sent by facsimile transmission shall be on letter-sized paper (8 ½ by 11 inches). Originals on larger-sized paper may be reduced prior to facsimile transmission if the reduction to 8½ by 11 inch paper renders a legible and complete copy of the original.
(7) The clerk is not required to notify the sender by return facsimile transmission or voice telephone call that the facsimile document has been received by the clerk or that the facsimile document has not been received in its entirety. This provision shall not relieve the clerk of any notice requirements imposed by law or by the court.

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Tenn. R. Civ. P. 5A.02

Amended per order December 21, 2016, effective July 1, 2017

Advisory Commission Comment [2017].

Rule 5A.02(5) is amended to increase the page limit for facsimile filings from ten (10) to fifty (50).