What is Pay.Gov?

Pay.Gov is a government-wide payment collection service of the United States Department of the Treasury. All CM/ECF transactions that require a filing fee must be paid through the Pay.Gov system. After completing a CM/ECF transaction which requires a fee, the Pay.Gov website will automatically open in a new Internet browser window, also known as a "pop-up" window. You MUST disable pop-up blocking in your Internet settings or preferences.

How do I access Pay.Gov to pay my filing fees?

A payment window appears when an event is selected in CM/ECF which requires a filing fee. After reviewing the final docket text of CM/ECF entries, a payment window will appear. Do NOT use the Back button during the payment of fees. If the "Pay Now/Continue Filing" screen is displayed and you don't want to pay the fee at that time, click the "Continue Filing" button and navigate to the menu of your choice using the CM/ECF menus. If the Pay.Gov credit card payment screen(s) is displayed and you don't want to pay the fee at that time, close the pop-up window and navigate to the menu of your choice using the CM/ECF menus on the main browser window.

What credit cards are accepted?

The following credit cards (or plastic cards) can be used: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.

How do I know if my credit card transaction is approved?

If the credit card transaction is approved, a transaction receipt will appear with the transaction number confirming payment. It is recommended that you print a copy of this receipt for your records. If the payment is declined, contact the card-issuing bank to determine why the card was declined. If you entered an email address in the payment window, you will receive a copy of the receipt from Pay.Gov.

What if the payment information screen does not appear when completing a transaction?

Access Reports - Internet Payments Due to pay the filing fee.

A pop-up blocker installed on your browser may prevent the credit card module screen from appearing when you try to pay filing fees in ECF. You must either disable the blocker or modify the settings to allow pop-ups from our CM/ECF web site to access the Pay.Gov site and process the credit card transaction. You may also temporarily disable pop-up blocking by holding the "Ctrl" key on your computer keyboard (refer to MS Windows "help" for more information).

I was filing numerous pleadings requiring a filing fee and paying online, when all of a sudden my card was declined. What happened?

If a payment is declined, contact your credit card company to determine why the card was declined. It could be that you will need to increase your daily limit.

How do I file a bankruptcy case if the debtor is paying filing fees in installments?

When filing your installment case, be sure to select “Installment” for the method of payment from the statistical information screen. When prompted with a screen showing the full filing fee amount, change the fee amount as appropriate. A final confirmation screen will appear with the amount to be charged to the credit card, verify that this amount is correct before continuing.

What if I prefer to make all my payments at the end of the day or after all of my transactions?

CM/ECF has a report located at Reports - Internet Payments Due which lists all payments that have not been paid. This report should be run at the end of each day to check for outstanding payments due. All payments are due on the same day of the transactions.

What if I use the Internet Payments Due report to pay all transactions for the day, and the payment window does not come up (i.e. blank screen)? 

Depending on the browser you are using, you may need to clear your private data, i.e., cache, cookies, and on temporary files. Otherwise, a pop-up blocker installed on your Internet browser may prevent the credit card module screen from appearing when you try to pay filing fees in CM/ECF. You must either disable the blocker or modify the settings to allow pop-ups from our CM/ECF web site to access the Pay.Gov site and process the credit card transaction. You may also temporarily disable pop-up blocking by holding the "Ctrl" key on your computer keyboard (refer to MS Windows "help" for more information).

I received an error message during the payment process. I may have pressed the Submit button twice. What should I do?

Call the court. Either a receipt writer or the financial department will log into Pay.gov and determine if a duplicate payment was processed. If a duplicate payment was processed and it is on the same day as the transaction, the financial department can void the duplicate charge. If the duplicate payment is not determined until the day after the transaction, a refund request would need to be submitted.

How do I review/reconcile payment history?

CM/ECF has a report that can be used to reconcile credit card charges for filing fees. From Reports - Internet Payment History, type in the desired date range. The report will list all payments that have been made for filing fees using the credit card module in ECF (Pay.Gov).

It is after 5:00 PM, do I still need to pay the same day, or can I pay in the morning?

No. All fees should be paid on the day of filing. If payments have not been processed by the end of that same business day, the user will receive an email message reminder of the balance due. In addition, if 24 hours expires and an outstanding balance remains, the system will prevent the user access to CM/ECF except to pay for the filing fees.

What if I do not see the Internet Payment Due report when logging in to pay?

If you do not see the Internet Payment Due report, verify that you are logged in with the same CM/ECF login ID and password as was used to add the fee.  Also, make sure you are logging into CM/ECF and not PACER.

What happens if I am overcharged and need a refund?

The filer should remit a request in writing explaining the situation, the amount involved, the case number, and, if possible, the transaction number provided by Pay.gov.

I logged into CM/ECF and I cannot access the Bankruptcy and Adversary menus, what is wrong with the system?

All filing fees for CM/ECF transactions must be paid on the same day. If outstanding payments have NOT been paid within 24 hours, the system will disable access to your account except to pay the fees through the Reports menu. An email will be generated to the user to inform them of the potential “lockout.” The email will contain a report listing the outstanding balance.

My card declined when completing a transaction. When I attempt to complete the transaction again, the following error message is generated: "The system cannot process your request. The transaction is detected as a duplicate collection." How do I make my payment?

The filer should contact the Clerk’s Office CM/ECF Support Desk and identify the problem. The appropriate steps will be taken to correct the problem so that the filer can make the payment.