Efiling Vendor Access to Justice Alignment Checklist
When considering electronic filing service provider vendors use a checklist to ensure that their products and services align with your court’s access to justice goals.
This sample includes some requirements you may include in your court’s vendor checklist. Courts can work together to develop measures for these items and create tests or protocols they can run to determine if a vendor meets specific requirements.
| Customer support options are available and accessible for all court users (e.g., online help center, telephone hotline, in-person help desk, etc.) | |
| Efiling service fees, including fees for additional services, are easy to find and understand. | |
| Fee waiver system that includes efiling fees is in place for low-income users. | |
| Plain language instructions for using the efiling system are embedded in the system, including clear definitions and no legalese. | |
| The user interface is simple, modern, and follow current design conventions and standards. | |
| The user interface is mobile-friendly. | |
| The system has built-in checks that minimize the negative consequences of accidental or unintended user actions. | |
| The system is easy to find on search engines and connects seamlessly with court websites. | |
| Connections and links are available to free help resources (e.g., legal aid websites, document assembly tools). | |
| Data collection practices and privacy policies are documented and easy for court users to find and understand. | |
| Comprehensive user testing is performed by the vendor before release to ensure that all court users can easily use the system. | |
| Easy-to-use tools are available for users to report system issues and provide feedback on their experiences using the system. | |
| The user interface is available in multiple languages. | |
| The system meets the WCAG standards for accessibility required for government websites in your state.46 | |
| The system is financially supported and sustainable into the future. 46 |
46 The Department of Justice published guidance on web accessibility and the ADA in March 2022. Civil Rights Division, Dept. of Just., Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, ADA.GOV (Mar. 18, 2022), https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/. The Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) is an internationally recognized set of guidelines for digital accessibility. It was established and is managed by the international web standards group, the W3C. The WCAG 2.1 is the current version and comes in 3 levels: A, AA, AAA. The de facto minimum standard in the US is WCAG 2.0 AA. Check what level your state requires for websites.
