IMPORTANT. Please read the following Terms of Service carefully before accessing the Office of Administrative Hearings E-Filing Portal. This agreement was last updated on June 2, 2022. All updates become effective when posted.

1. GENERAL TERMS OF AGREEMENTS; MODIFICATIONS AND VALIDITY

1.1 The Office of Administrative Hearings E-Filing Online Portal allows public users (“the Users”) to submits filings to the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”) secured case management system known as eCourt.

1.2 The term User refers to individuals and/or organizations creating an account with the E-Filing Portal for the purpose of electronic case filing. An individual entering into this Terms of Service agreement on behalf of an organization represents that the individual is authorized to act on behalf of the organization.

1.3 By agreeing to the E-Filing Portal Terms of Service, Users accept that OAH has sole discretion to provide access to the E-Filing Portal.

1.4 The E-Filing Portal and its content are protected by applicable copyrights, and other proprietary rights and laws. Using the E-Filing Portal does not give Users rights or licenses of any kind to the E-Filing Portal, its software, or its content.

1.5 User may refer to the Portal’s Help and Support section and the OAH Rules of Practice and Procedure (“OAH Rules”) for further information about properly filing documents through the E-Filing Portal.

1.6 User agrees that OAH may modify the Terms of Service agreement from time to time for any reason in its discretion. By agreeing to the Terms of Service agreement, User waives the right to be notified about future changes to the Terms of Service. OAH may post notice of such modifications on the Portal’s Help and Support section. By using the E-Filing Portal after the modification User accepts such modifications.

1.7 The provisions of these Terms of Service shall survive the expiration or termination of a User’s accounts.

2. USER OBLIGATIONS

2.1 By registering for an E-Filing Portal account and using the E-Filing Portal, the User agrees to adhere to OAH Rules.
2.2 Users must be of legal age and fully able and competent to agree to the Terms of Service, and to abide and comply with these Terms of Service.

2.3 To register for an account, the User must provide complete and accurate registration information, including email address, username and password, mailing address, telephone number, or other information as specified by OAH.

2.4 Users agree to provide accurate and complete registration information, and a User must update the registration information if any of that information changes.

2.5 By registering for the E-Filing Portal, a User agrees not to let anyone else use the User’s email and password to access the E-Filing Portal and to take responsibility for anyone who access the E-Filing Portal with the User’s information.

2.6 Users should use the current version of a web browser, such as Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, or Brave.

2.6 Users acknowledge and understand that only portable document format (“PDF”) files can be uploaded to the E-Filing Portal, and the maximum file size limit for uploads is 100 MB.

2.7 By using the E-Filing Portal, Users consent to receive case information electronically in accordance with the OAH’s Rules.

2.8 Users agree not to transmit any worms or viruses or any code of destructive or malicious nature.

(A) IMPROPER USE OF SERVICES
(1) Users agree to use the E-Filing Portal solely for case-related purposes.
(2) Users are expected to uphold a conduct free of harassment, threats, abuse, and intimidation. By agreeing to these terms, Users agree to not to use the E-Filing Portal for illegal activity under the District of Columbia law, including but not limited to any activity listed in D.C. Code § 22-851(b), which prohibits intimidating, interfering with, or retaliating against any District official or employee, while the official or employee is engaged in the performance of the employee’s duties, and any other applicable law.
(3) Users must not develop, produce, copy, or disseminate any product based upon the E-Filing Portal without written permission from the Chief Administrative Law Judge.
(4) Users must not use any software that collects, intercepts, or otherwise mines information or content from the E-Filing Portal.
(5) Users are solely responsible for the knowledge of and adherence to any and all laws, statutes, rules, and regulations pertaining to the use of the E-Filing Portal.
(6) Improper use of the E-Filing Portal will result in User being denied access to future use of the Portal and/or OAH may file action against the User under the District of Columbia law.

3. OAH RIGHTS RESERVED
3.1 OAH reserves the rights to:
(A) Deny access to the E-Filing Portal.
(B) Block or stop any activity on the E-Filing Portal that impacts its performance.
(C) Monitor compliance with the Terms of Service and audit any access to the E-Filing Portal.
(D) Temporarily take the E-Filing Portal offline for periodic upgrades and/or xroutine service.
(E) Reject a filing if it does not meet the standards set forth in the OAH Rules.

4. DISCLAIMERS AND WARRANTIES

4.1 Users accept the risks of using OAH’s e-filing Portal, understanding that OAH does not warrant that the e-filing portal will be universally available or error-free.

4.2 Data compiled by the E-Filing Portal is provided “As Is.” OAH does not make any representations or warranties and shall not have any liability regarding the accuracy, reliability, completeness, processing, or availability of the data in OAH’s Online Portal.

4.3 All warranties, express or implied, statutory, or otherwise, including, without limitation, any warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, good and workmanlike product or service or otherwise, are disclaimed by OAH and waived by User.

4.4 The data in the E-Filing Portal is stored in OAH’s server. By agreeing to this Terms of Service Agreement, the User consents to having any data provided to OAH through the E-Filing Portal, including personal information, transferred to, and processed by OAH’s server.

4.5 OAH will retain the electronically filed documents following OAH’s Record Retention Schedule.

4.6 Users acquire no ownership or intellectual property interest in the system, its content or related materials, including but not limited to User ID or password; user profile information; user interface design, format, or content; titles or terminology; logos or other artwork. Users agree that all such intellectual property is the sole property of the OAH or its vendor, and that no such content may be reproduced without permission.

4.7 To the fullest extent allowed by law, OAH disclaims all warranties regarding the e-filing Portal.

(A) LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES AND INDEMNIFICATION
(1) By using this service, users shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless OAH’s employees, agents, and contractors from and against all liabilities, damages, claims, losses, and expenses arising out of, or in any way related to the Users’ acts, omissions, or breach of these Terms of Service or any access, use, storage, or disclosure of OAH data, as well as noncompliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
(2) By offering the Portal’s Help and Support Service, OAH makes no representations of providing online support.
(3) OAH shall not be liable for the use of information, content, or material accessed using the Portal or its contents, nor shall it be liable for any delays in the receipt of messages.
(4) This Terms of Service agreement does not create an obligation for OAH to uninterruptedly provide an e-filing service.

5. DOCUMENT TRANSMISSION AND FILING COMPLETE

5.1 A document is deemed to be electronically transmitted to the E-Filing Portal when the User receives an email confirming receipt. If no confirmation email is received, the User must retransmit the document and receive a date stamp from the E-Filing Portal before the document can be considered electronically filed.

5.2 A document is electronically filed when the document is received by the OAH Clerk’s Office during regular business hours. If an electronic submission of a paper is received by OAH outside of regular business hours, then the paper is deemed to be filed when OAH is next open.

5.3 A document is accepted through the E-Filing Portal when the Clerk of Court approves the paper submitted and the User receives a confirmation email showing the date and time of acceptance.
 

5.4 OAH takes no responsibility for the contents or size of the filing.

(A) DISCLAIMER OF POTENTIAL PERFORMANCE RELATED ISSUES
(1) User is solely responsible for loading and transmitting documents correctly and in a timely fashion, for confirming receipt and for checking notices, including emails for rejected filings.
(B) CONVENIENCE SERVICE

(1) User agrees the E-Filing Portal is a convenience service, and that users can make and will have available to them, alternative arrangements to file any necessary documents in the event that the E-Filing Portal is unavailable or malfunctioning. User acknowledges that the timely filing of appeal requests, motions, briefs, and other documents in compliance with statutes, regulations, and OAH rules is the sole responsibility of the User.
(2) OAH is neither responsible for any misinterpretations of the rules governing e-filing nor the results from such misinterpretation. It is the responsibility of the User to read OAH Rules, this Terms of Service agreement, and follow any other applicable instructions.

6. PRIVACY POLICY
6.1 To use and access the E-Filing Portal, a User must provide personal information to create an account. This personal information may include the User’s name, address, zip code, phone, email, job title, workplace, or organization a User’s belong to; and the User’s username and password.
6.2 OAH may utilize information provided by the User to create and manage the User’s account, communicate with the User about the User’s case, account, and information at the E-Filing Portal, process the User’s documents, and manage and update OAH’s database.
6.3 Any information provided through the E-Filing Portal will be stored in OAH’s servers in the District of Columbia.
6.4 OAH may collect information about a User’s device, operating system, browser, access domain, and other system settings, and a User’s device’s IP address.
6.5 User’s username and password safeguards personal information against unauthorized access. OAH has administrative safeguard procedures in place to limit access to a User’s personal information. Only OAH’s employees, agents, and contractors can have access to User’s personal information for administrative and maintenance purposes.
7. MISCELLANEOUS
7.1 Entire Agreement. This Terms of Service agreement constitutes the sole agreement of the Parties with respect to its subject matter. It supersedes any written or oral agreement or communication between the Parties.
7.2 Notices. By using the E-Filing Portal, Users agree that all notices from the E-Filing Portal will be sent to the email provided to register.
7.3 Severability; Entirety. Users agree that the terms of this Terms of Service agreement are severable. If any part of this Terms of Service agreement is determined to be unenforceable or invalid that part of the agreement will be interpreted in accordance with applicable law as closely as possible, in line with the original intention of both parties of the agreement. The remaining terms and conditions of the agreement will remain in full force and effect.
7.4 Headings. Headings are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of this Agreement.
7.5. Applicable Laws. The law of the District of Columbia applies to this Agreement.