Practice Pointer: Contacting the Court

For general inquiries, contact the clerk’s office at ecfhelp@cafc.uscourts.gov. The clerk’s office is in Room 401 of the Federal Circuit building, and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on workdays. After the office closes on workdays, papers may be deposited until midnight in a night box at the garage entrance on H Street NW, between 15th Street and Madison Place. However, parties represented by counsel must submit all documents electronically through the Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF).  Filings must be completed before midnight Eastern Time to be considered timely filed on that day.  Inquiries to the clerk's office by telephone about pending motions are discouraged, as the clerk's office has many pressing duties. One should never contact a judge or the office of a senior staff attorney via telephone about a motion; the clerk’s office is unable to transfer any calls to a judge’s chambers.