Security and Privacy
1. Who can access the E-Filing System?2. Is my E-Filing user id and password the same as my AIS user id and password?Only registered users can access the E-Filing System. Registered users include members of the South Carolina Bar who have agreed to the E-Filing Terms and Conditions and who have registered via AIS; active and retired Circuit Court Judges, Clerks of Court and their staff; and Business/Financial/Office Managers of Law Firms who have registered in the E-Filing System.
3. Is a new user id required if I change law firms?Yes. The E-Filing system authenticates you via AIS. It also retrieves your email address(es) and name from AIS.
4. What should I do if I feel my password has been compromised?No. But it is critically important that the attorney's AIS information be updated in a timely manner. In particular, the Attorney's firm name and email addresses must be changed within 5 days. If you have shared your user credentials with paralegals or other attorneys at your old firm, you should change your password in AIS immediately.
5. Who is responsible for redacting documents?If you even suspect that your password has been compromised, you should change your password in AIS immediately and notify the South Carolina Judicial Department IT Helpdesk at (803) 734-1200.
6. What if I need to redact information from a previously filed document, where a mistake was made with regard to redacting?The attorney is responsible for redacting documents before they are filed with the Clerk of Court. This is true for both E-Filed and traditionally filed documents.
7. Who can view my case documents in E-Filing?In such an instance, the attorney should receive permission from the court to file an amended document and then E-File the amended (redacted) document together with a Confidential Reference List, if the newly redacted information is relevant. The Clerk will then secure the previous document.
8. Will the system allow for the filing of confidential documents?Registered E-Filers, Law Firm Financial Users, Judges and their Law Clerks, and the Clerk of Court staff may view case documents in E-Filing as long as the cases are not sealed or expunged.
9. Who can view these confidential documents?Yes. Confidential Reference Lists are E-Filed in the system together with the redacted document they reference.
10. How do I file sealed documents?Confidential documents may only be viewed by attorneys who are a party to the case, Judges and their staff, and select (management level) Clerk of Court staff members.
11. Who can view sealed documents?Sealed documents must be traditionally filed. They should not be E-Filed.
12. Do sealed and/or confidential documents ever appear on the Public index?Only Judges and their Law Clerks can view sealed documents, and sealed documents will not appear in the E-Filing system.
13. Do sealed and/or expunged cases ever appear on the Public Index?Neither sealed nor confidential documents are accessible via the Public Index. There may be a viewable action code stating that the document exists, but it cannot be viewed on the website.
14. Are the Law Firm Financial Managers vetted in any way before they can gain access to the system?No. Properly sealed and expunged cases will never appear on the Public Index.
15. What information can the Financial Managers see?Yes. When an account request has been made in E-Filing, the request is reviewed by the E-Filing System Administrator, who will contact the Firm where the requestor claims employment. Only after receiving verification of employment and position will the Administrator grant the user account.
The Financial Manager User may view all the charges made to their Firm's credit cards for a selected time period. They may also view non-confidential documents and cases via the Case History.