If a pro se party who is an inmate is confined in an institution that has a system designed for handling legal mail, a notice of appeal and any other paper the inmate may file with the Court and serve by mail on the adversary is timely if it is deposited in the institution’s internal mail system on or before the last day for filing. In addition, the paper mailed to the Court and the adversary must either (1) include a notarized statement or declaration stating under penalty of perjury the date of deposit with the internal mail system and that first-class postage is being prepaid, or (2) bear evidence such as a postmark or date stamp showing the date of deposit and prepaid postage. If not provided, the Court in its discretion may permit the inmate to file the statement or declaration later. Form 7, Declaration of Inmate Filing, which suggests a form for the declaration, can be found on the Court’s website.

Last modified at 12/1/2016