A “How To” Guide
Electronic filing, also known as e-filing, has been a mandatory requirement within the Court of Protection sector for over three years now, with the pilot scheme launching back in October 2019. To ensure that an assessment can take place, the Bill of Costs, N258B, and Authority for Assessment must be e-filed on the CE-File system. At R Costing, we carry out e-filing on your behalf in addition to providing guidance and training on how to e-file successfully, with tips on how to ensure your filing does not get rejected.
What’s changed since 2019?
The recent Electronic Bill of Costs (COP-E) pilot has created additional categories within the CE-File system. When filing COP-E, you must ensure that you select the category “E-Bill” to ensure your bill is categorised correctly and to avoid your filing being rejected – and further delays getting your costs assessed. We are currently producing the COP-E for all clients’ and if you would like further guidance regarding the COP-E please contact us or refer to our previous Inside Law issues for guidance and tips.
Another positive step the court has taken is allowing clients to file their supporting documents electronically via a separate platform called the Document Upload Centre (DUC). Although not mandatory, this is a huge step forward for clients who prefer to work “paperless.” Previously, all supporting documents had to be printed for ahead of an assessment at considerable paper and resource costs.
Using the DUC
Using the DUC, clients can submit the full file of papers following their e-filing acceptance within 28 days. However, the court must be notified of your intention to use the DUC, either;
- on a case-by-case basis. Where you still intend to provide paper supporting documents for some matters, you must leave a comment stating that you wish to file the supporting documents via DUC when e-filing your Bill of Costs, or
- if you intend to use it for all your matters, you must email the Senior Costs Officer, providing an email address to link to the DUC account and stating that you will be permanently uploading files via the DUC
When uploading a file to the DUC, the file should be
- in PDF format,
- clearly labelled multiple bundles (e.g.1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3) to assist the costs officer navigating the file
- in chronological order from oldest to newest,
- important documents, such as the OPG102, OPG105, client care information, and any disbursements should be located at the front of the bundle
- include the SCCO case reference number as the file name, and the Protected Party’s surname, and you will need to input relevant information into the correct section to ensure that the supporting documents are uploaded to the correct case.
Once all required fields are completed, the supporting papers will be uploaded, and you will receive an email confirming this. We have found that 90% of our clients now use the DUC rather than providing paper files, as it is a quicker and more efficient way to provide the supporting documentation required, given their current preference for working “paperless.”
It is recommended that a bundle preparation software is used to ensure documents are in chronological order, and a hyperlinked contents page is preferred for ease of navigation. Again, at R Costings we undertake this on your behalf as part of our COP service and we work closely with the cost officers to ensure that the bills prepared correlate precisely with the bundles provided for assessment.
If you have any questions or queries about CE-Filing or the Document Upload Centre, please contact Megan at megan@rcostings.co.uk, or refer to our updated training webinar. Additionally, we can provide on-site/remote training specifically for CE-Filing and other COP issues.