The Electronic Document Submission System (EDSS) is designed to allow individuals not represented by an attorney to submit on their own behalf properly signed and formatted PDF documents to the Court for filing as an alternative to mailing or bringing the documents to the courthouse.    All partnerships, corporations, and other business entities must be represented by an attorney duly admitted to practice as specified in SC LBR 2090-1, except for limited circumstances provided in SC LBR 9011-2.

Docketing Procedure/Deadlines:

• If accepted for filing by the Court, the document will be considered filed as of the date and time it was uploaded and submitted through EDSS.  A document submitted using EDSS is not officially docketed until the Clerk's Office has electronically filed the document in the CM/ECF system.
• Documents submitted using EDSS must be reviewed by the Clerk's Office and, if accepted for filing, will be electronically filed on the case docket within three (3) business days of submission.
• Documents concerning a scheduled hearing must be submitted to EDSS no later than 10:00 a.m. three (3) business days prior to the scheduled hearing unless a different response deadline has been set by notice, applicable rules, or Court order.  Failure to do so may result in denial of any relief requested in that document.  

Filing Requirements: 

• Bankruptcy petitions and proofs of claim are not permitted to be filed via EDSS.  If you would like to file a bankruptcy petition, please see information concerning Electronic Self-Representation (eSR) here.  A proof of claim must be submitted through ePOC.
• Filing with EDSS is governed by the Bankruptcy Code, Federal Bankruptcy Rules, and the Local Bankruptcy Rules.
  • Users must comply with SC LBR 5005-4 and documents must include a handwritten signature. 
  • Users must comply with the privacy protection requirements of Fed. R. Bankr P. 9037 and SC LBR 9037-1. 
  • ECF users must file using CM/ECF and may only use EDSS in the event of a technical failure pursuant to Local Rule 5005-4.
• If a document is submitted for the incorrect case, the individual must amend or withdraw the document filed in error.  No changes to a document can be made once the document has been submitted through EDSS.  If a document submitted using EDSS is rejected, the Clerk's Office will send a notice explaining the reason the document is being returned and not filed with the Court (e.g., no record of named debtor(s)/case number, illegible document, etc.).
• Only PDFs are allowed and pictures are not accepted unless scanned to PDF (Apple devices(link is external) | Android devices(link is external)). PDFs that cannot be opened or are illegible will be rejected and will not be filed with the court.
• If your document(s) requires a filing fee, please click here for information on current fees and payment types. 

EDSS CANNOT be Used If:

• You do not have a working email address;
• You are submitting a document for a non-individual (e.g., corporation partership, LLC); or
• You are an attorney representing a client (unless SC LBR 5005-4(c) applies), or you are a petition preparer.

DISCLAIMER: The use of EDSS requires some computer literacy and the Court cannot help you use your own equipment.  If you are not comfortable using your computer, scanning documents and/or creating and manipulating PDFs, please deliver your documents in-person or by mail to the Court in Columbia.

WARNING: It is important to remember that when signing some forms to be submitted for filing, you may be declaring under penalty of perjury that the information provided is both true and correct.  Federal law provides severe criminal penalties for bankruptcy crimes, which include false statements, intentionally filing false or incomplete forms, false claims, perjury, concealment of assets, filing multiple times using false information or real information in multiple jurisdictions, bribery, and filing under a fictitious name.  18 U.S.C. §§ 152 and 3571 provide penalties of up to 5 years imprisonment, a potential fine of up to $250,000, or both. 

**DO NOT complete the information below if you are attempting to upload a petition to open a bankruptcy case.  Use the Court’s Electronic Self-Representation (eSR) tool to complete a bankruptcy petition.  Any petitions uploaded to EDSS will not be processed and no bankruptcy case will be opened.**