Beginning Nov. 9, Freeborn County District Court will offer court users the ability to electronically file and serve court documents through an online portal.

The move to eFiling and eService is part of the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s eCourtMN initiative, which is aiming to replace paper-based court files with electronic files.

“It is very exciting to bring the benefits of eFiling and eService to the people we serve in southeast Minnesota,” said Jeffrey D. Thompson, Third Judicial District chief judge, in a press release. “We’ve been building toward this historic transition to an electronic case record for several years, and I’m pleased that people filing in our courts will soon be able to take advantage of the efficiencies created through these new technologies.”

By the end of October, eFiling and eService is planned to be available in 25 district courts across the state. Between Nov. 2 and Nov. 9, an additional 32 district courts across the state will begin offering eFiling and eService.

The deadline to switch to eFiling and eService is July 1, 2016, for guardians, government agencies, guardians ad litem and sheriffs. It will remain voluntary for other filers, such as self-represented litigants.

The Minnesota Judicial Branch hopes to make eFiling and eService available in all 87 district courts statewide by the end of the year.

The switch to electronic services is a good thing, Assistant Freeborn County Attorney Paige Starkey said.

“It will probably in the long run be faster,” Starkey said.

Assistant Freeborn County Attorney David Walker said the technological change was due, and eFiling will allow the office to generate legal documents and

and file them with the court without printing them on paper, making the office more efficient.

On Nov. 9, eFiling and eService will also be available in the neighboring counties of Mower, Steele, Waseca and Olmsted.

The Minnesota Judicial Branch has posted informational resources, training materials and a three-step guide to starting eFiling and eService at www.mncourts.gov/eFile. The Minnesota Judicial Branch also operates an eFile Support Center for fliers with questions about the eFile and eServe system.

In addition to electronic filing and service of court documents, the eCourtMN initiative includes an array of projects that are utilizing new technology to increase efficiency and expand access to information throughout Minnesota’s justice system, including:

• Providing judges and court staff with new electronic tools to more efficiently review and process court documents within the courthouse

• Creating an electronic portal for government partners, such as law enforcement, prosecutors and public defenders to more efficiently access court documents and records

• Making it easier and more convenient for the public to view electronic court records from across the state at their local courthouses

• Partnering with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to expand use of electronic citations and other charging documents. According to the Minnesota Judicial Branch, these tools allow law enforcement and prosecutors to file citations and complaints electronically, from their office or squad car, with the data automatically transferred to court and law enforcement databases. The use of eCharging and eCitation for adult complaints and adult citations will become mandatory July 1, 2016.