Everything You Need to Know to E-File in Los Angeles

Los Angeles County goes live with Mandatory Civil Case e-Filing on Monday, 12/3/18.

Here is what you need to know to make an informed decision on how to e-file your documents reliably and without wasting money on needless fees.

Total Transparency on E-Filing Costs in LA County:

• LA County Court charges a $1.75 fee per filing.
• LA hired Journal Tech (JTI) to provide the e-Filing Case Management System.
• Journal charges $1.95 per filing.So, every e-filing in LA incurs a charge of $3.70.
• But one also needs to go through an e-Filing Service Provider or EFSP.  They too add a charge. 

There are at least 60 EFSPs to choose from and they can all be found here:  http://www.lacourt.org/division/efiling/providers.aspx

But not really.

If you click on them, (we’ve clicked through them all) most are just co-branded versions of what amounts to just a few gateways to JTI’s Case Management System.  If you plan to e-file yourself, all that really matters is: “which of those 2 or 3 interfaces do I like? And, what’s the price?”

The pricing structure that is emerging looks like this:

If you e-file documents yourself, you’ll pay between $7.85 and $11.75 per document excluding the actual filing fee associated and payment processing costs (the % charged when you pay by credit card or e-check).  If you have significant monthly filing volume in LA County (significant would be thousands of documents per month) you can likely negotiate your price down with one of the direct interface providers to something closer to $6.00 (as opposed to $7.85-$11.75).

If you hire professional support to e-file documents on your behalf (commonly called “concierge filing”), then you are likely to be charged an additional $30 to $40 dollars per filing.

Here’s how you can save >40% on E-Filing with ABC Legal

 You have access to our supplier bargaining power. Last month we filed 89,000 new cases.  We have negotiated a screaming deal and you get to take advantage of it.

If you are an ABC Legal retainer customer, here’s how it works:

• send us your documents to e-file - we can pick them up on route as usual or you can login  and upload them at www.abclegal.com.
• we will do the work to scan and e-file your documents, and
• you’ll pay just $18.95 for professional ABC e-filing and only about $5 of transaction costs (for LA Court, CMS, and EFSP fees) – this is in comparison to $40 + $9.95.

If you are not an ABC Legal retainer customer, contact us and tell us about your e-Filing (or service of process) needs.

Sleep well savvy Lawyer. You’ve got rock solid service and the best price on California E-Filing!