Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District
Local Rules

Rule 21. Filings by Self-Represented Parties

(a)    Subject to the limitations and requirements of this rule, self-represented parties may file documents in this court as follows:

(1)   A document that does not require a filing fee may be filed by

(i)     facsimile transmission, provided the document, together with any supporting documentation, does not exceed 20 pages;

(ii)   e-mail attachment, provided a single email and its attachments does not exceed ten megabytes; or

(iii) hard copy, delivered by hand, mail or shipping service.

(2)   A document that requires payment of a filing fee shall be presented by hard copy, delivered by hand, mail or shipping service, together with acceptable form of payment or a written request for waiver of the filing fee.

(b)   Facsimile or e-mail filings received at the Court on or before 11:59:59 p.m. will be considered filed as of that day.  Time of receipt will be the time printed on the document by the court’s facsimile machine or recorded on the e-mail by the court’s e-mail server.

(c)    Legal files and transcripts, including supplements thereto, may NOT be filed by facsimile transmission.

(d)   E-mail filings shall be sent to sdcoa@courts.mo.gov.  The e-mail message shall include the caption of the case, case number and the party filing the document.

(e)    All email attachments shall be in a “portable document format” (PDF), as defined in Court Operating Rule 27.02(c).  All transcripts, motions, suggestions and briefs filed by e-mail attachment shall be in a PDF searchable format. 

(f)    All filings must comply with all applicable requirements of the Supreme Court Rules and this district’s Special Rules.

(g)   Any waiver of the provisions of this rule shall be ruled on by the Chief Judge or, in the Chief Judge’s absence, by the Acting Chief Judge of the Court.

Comment: While email filing under this rule is not a part of the Missouri Courts’ eFiling system, the PDF document formatting requirements are the same.  A self-represented party desiring to email file a PDF attachment under this rule may find the eFiling PDF information on the court’s website helpful.  To access that information, go to www.courts.mo.gov and click or tap on “Electronic Filing” under “Quick Links.”