A file that needs a password to open asks you for it. Pages without a text layer are recognised in the same pass, on your device, while today’s OCR allowance covers them (free plan: 5 pages a day; Pro: no limit); a longer scan is listed with a button to the OCR tool, and you come back to the same rules. If your court asks for PDF/A, add the PDF/A-2b rule: the recognised text layer is kept, though pages whose visible fonts are not embedded still become images and lose their text — PDF to PDF/A on its own lets you decline that. The PDF downloads as yourfile-ready.pdf, with a .txt report of every check and change; rename it if your court sets a pattern. Bindery does not know your court’s rules, cannot promise acceptance and uploads nothing. The checklist uses no job; on the free plan the fix uses one of 3 jobs a day, files over 25 MB need Pro, and PDFs carry a small “Made with Bindery” line on each page.
How it works
- Drop the filing and open Upload-ready — Court e-filing is preselected and the checklist runs on your device
- Type your court’s size limit; scanned pages are recognised in the same pass, and identifiers to redact open in Redact and come back with the same rules
- Fix what can be fixed in one pass, then download the checked PDF and its plain-text report
Questions people ask
What if my filing is over the court’s size limit?
E-filing size limits differ by court, so Bindery starts at 25 MB for you to change — type your court’s figure with its unit. When the file is over, Bindery writes real candidates on your device and keeps the highest-quality setting that fits, using grayscale only when colour cannot fit; if nothing fits, the report gives the smallest size reached. Where the court accepts a filing in parts, Split under a size divides it — stamp Bates numbers with Header & Bates first so they run across the parts. On the free plan a file over 25 MB cannot be opened; Pro has no file cap. “Save these rules as my default” keeps your limit for the next time you open Upload-ready from the app; this page always starts from the court preset’s 25 MB.
My court requires PDF/A — can Bindery do that too?
Yes, as a step you add. Tap the “PDF/A-2b archive format” rule and the court checklist converts the file before fitting the size; the Long-term archive destination converts without the size, field and text checks, and PDF to PDF/A does it on its own with its preflight first. The trade-off: pages whose fonts are not embedded are drawn at 200 DPI so the file conforms, which turns their text into an image. In the court checklist you cannot decline that, so those pages then fail the text-searchable check when the file is checked again. PDF to PDF/A lets you decline the rasterising, but the font objection stays and the file falls short of PDF/A. Either way the PDF/A check is a practical preflight, not a certified validator; veraPDF gives a formal verdict.
Will the court accept the file once every check passes?
Bindery cannot promise that, and does not. It checks the rules on the screen against the limits you set; it does not know your court’s particular rules, and it adds “-ready” to the file name rather than applying the court’s naming pattern. Portals can also have requirements the check does not cover, such as page counts or colour. To file several documents and exhibits named the court’s way, use Application pack, which numbers and letters them. Read the court’s filing instructions alongside the report, which records every check before and after and each change made. All of it runs in your browser, so the filing is never uploaded.
Does it catch Social Security numbers and dates of birth before I file?
It flags them. Court e-filing turns on a check that reads the text layer on your device for Social Security numbers, card numbers, IBANs and full dates of birth, and lists each by page with the last four digits only. “Open Redact with these marked” boxes them for review; redacting removes the text underneath. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 limits filings to the last four digits of Social Security and financial-account numbers, the year of birth and a minor’s initials — names are not detected, so check those yourself, and scanned pages need OCR before they can be searched.