Filing — in plain language

Plain language

officially handing a legal document to a court or government office so it goes on the record

• submitting a document to the court
• putting a document on the official record
• officially turning in paperwork

What to watch for

• Filing is more than just sending a document; it means the document is officially received and entered on the record, which is what starts deadlines and makes it count.
• Do not confuse filing with serving: filing gives the document to the court, while service delivers a copy to the other side; both may be required.
• The word can mean the act ('after filing') or the document itself ('review the filing'); a plain rewrite should pick the sense the sentence intends.

Filing Makes It Official. Sending or writing a document is not the same as filing it. Filing means the court or agency formally receives and records the document, and that moment is what starts clocks running and gives the paper legal effect. A plain rewrite should keep the sense that the document was officially put on the record, not merely written or mailed.

Filing Versus Serving. In a lawsuit, filing and serving are two separate steps. Filing hands the document to the court; serving delivers a copy to the other party so they know about it. A document can be filed but not yet served, or the rules may require both. Readers should not treat the two as interchangeable.

Common Misunderstandings by Non-Lawyers.

• "If I mailed it, I filed it." (Not necessarily — filing means the court actually received and recorded it, which may need to happen by a deadline.)
• "Filing with the court means the other side has been notified." (No — that is service, a separate step.)
• "A filing is always a piece of paper." (Increasingly it is electronic, but it still counts as filed only once the system accepts it.)

Legal definition

The act of officially delivering a legal or required document to a court or government office so that it becomes part of the official record. Filing is what makes a document count: it can start a lawsuit, meet a deadline, or put information on record with a regulator. The same word is also used to mean the document that was submitted. Filing is different from serving, which is delivering a copy to the opposing party.

Meanings by context

the document itself: the document that was officially turned in

Examples

Where you'll see it

• court submissions and deadlines
• corporate and securities disclosures
• tax returns
• regulatory submissions

Related terms

• complaint
• motion
• pleading
• service of process
• docket
• clerk of court

Word details

Pronunciation

FY-ling

Part of speech

noun

Origin

English — from 'file' (via Latin 'filum', a thread on which documents were strung) + '-ing'; the act of placing a document on the official record

Domains

civil procedure, litigation, corporate law, administrative law

Frequency

very common

Formality

low