NextChapter uses event codes to file documents with your court's CM/ECF system. These are the same codes you'd select if you were filing directly on the court's website. Each court sets up its events a little differently, and courts change their filing steps from time to time. When that happens, we rebuild the event code in NextChapter to match.
Why we need your help: PACER has removed access to court testing sites for all software companies, including NextChapter. That means we can no longer walk through a court's filing steps ourselves to see what an event asks for. We rely on the screens you see when you file.
The more closely we can see exactly what the court asks for, the faster and more accurately we can build it. This article walks you through what to send.
When to send a request:
Request | Use it when… |
Add | You regularly file a document for your court and the event code isn't available in NextChapter. |
Update | A previously functional event code now fails, gets stuck, or files with the wrong docket text. This usually means the court changed its filing steps. |
Remove | An event code or form is outdated. (e.g. the court abrogated the local form it's tied to). |
💡 Check first: Open your court's District Notes article. The Event Codes section lists every additional form NextChapter can currently file for that court.
What we need from you:
Your court
The district and division (e.g., Georgia Middle or GAMB).What type of request this is
Add, update, or remove. For an update, include a sentence on what's going wrong.The event name exactly as it appears in CM/ECF
Include the category path you click through to find it. For example: Bankruptcy › Motions/Applications › Extend TimeScreenshots of every CM/ECF screen (the most important part)
Walk through the event on the court's website and take a screenshot of each screen, from selecting the event through the final docket text screen.Be sure we can see:
Every dropdown, checkbox, and radio button, and which option you choose
Any free-text fields (like a description) and what you normally enter
Prompts to link to another docket entry, select a party, or attach a document
Any fee or notice screens
The final docket text preview
⚠️ Stop before you submit. You can click through right up to the final screen without filing anything. Just don't click the last Next/Submit unless you actually intend to file. Please also redact any SSNs, account numbers, or other sensitive client information.
🤝 Prefer we do this part for you? Reach out to schedule a time, and our team can log in to your PACER account and capture this information and the screenshots for you. We'll just need two things from you: your approval to access your PACER account, and a one-time MFA code at the time we log in.
For Updates
When an existing code stops working, it's usually because the court changed a step in its filing process. Send us an example, including:The NextChapter case where it happened (client name or case ID)
The event code you used
A short description of what happened
We'll review the filing details on our end from there.
How to send it:
Send everything in one message through the in-app chat (bottom right of NextChapter) or email support@nextchapterbk.com. Attach screenshots directly or share them as a single PDF.
Copy-and-paste template:
Event Code Request
Court (district/division):
Request type (Add / Update / Remove):
CM/ECF event name + category path:
For updates, example case + what happened:
Screenshots attached: Yes / No
What happens next:
Our team reviews your request and will reach out if anything is missing.
Once we have everything we need, the request is added to our development queue.
We'll let you know when the event code is live in NextChapter.
✅ Need to file now? Timing varies based on the court and our development queue. If you have a deadline, file that document directly on the court's CM/ECF site in the meantime. You can still file everything else through NextChapter as usual.
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