# Get your CM/ECF dockets through an API

> Read a case's Docket Report, its Deadlines/Hearings and the Docket Activity on your cases from CM/ECF with one API call each. Or have a workflow check every case on your list each morning and email you the new docket entries.

Page: https://fous.com/automate/cm-ecf
Updated: 2026-11-12

Works with your own CM/ECF account. Fous is an independent product.

## What you can build on CM/ECF

### Get a case's docket report

Runs Query for one case number on a court's CM/ECF site and reads the Docket Report: the case header and every docket entry.

- Takes: Court, case number, entries filed since (optional)
- Returns: Case number, case title, date filed, date terminated, date of last filing, docket entries with number, date filed, docket text and whether a document is attached

### Check deadlines and hearings

Opens Deadlines/Hearings from the Query menu for one case and reads the pending deadlines and hearings with their docket text.

- Takes: Court, case number
- Returns: Case number, deadline or hearing, due or set date, docket entry number, docket text

### List docket activity on your cases

Runs the Docket Activity report from the Reports menu for the case numbers and date range you give and reads each entry.

- Takes: Court, case numbers, from date, to date
- Returns: Case number, case title, entry number, date filed, docket text

### Find cases by party name

Runs Query with a last name or company name in the Last Name field and reads the list of matching cases.

- Takes: Court, last name or company name
- Returns: Case number, case title, party name, party role, date filed, date terminated

## Automate CM/ECF with a workflow

A [workflow](/product/workflows) runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

### New docket entries on your cases, every morning

Starts: Every weekday at 7:00

1. For each court on your list, run the Docket Activity report for your case numbers since yesterday.
2. Keep the entries that were not there on the last run.
3. Email you the new entries, one section per case, with entry number, date filed and docket text.

### Upcoming deadlines and hearings, sent to your docketing system

Starts: Every Monday at 8:00

1. For each case on your list, read Deadlines/Hearings in CM/ECF.
2. Keep the deadlines and hearings that are new or changed since the last run.
3. Post each one, with case number, type, date and docket text, to your docketing or calendar system's webhook.

### Party name check for a new matter

Starts: When your intake system calls the workflow's webhook with a party name and courts

1. For each court given, find cases by the party's name.
2. Have an AI step group the matches by party role and open or closed.
3. Post the matches to your intake system's webhook.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

## Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a [method](/product/methods), it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Get a case's docket report” would look like.

Example request:

```
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "pacer.login.uscourts.gov/get_docket_report",
    "input": {
      "court": "nysd",
      "case_number": "1:26-cv-04417",
      "filed_since": "2026-11-01"
    }
  }'
```

Example response:

```
{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "case_number": "1:26-cv-04417",
    "case_title": "Acme Corp. v. Globex Inc.",
    "date_filed": "2026-05-14",
    "date_terminated": null,
    "date_of_last_filing": "2026-11-10",
    "entries": [
      {
        "number": 41,
        "date_filed": "2026-11-04",
        "docket_text": "LETTER MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer by Globex Inc.",
        "document_attached": true
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

## CM/ECF’s own options

The judiciary publishes a PACER Authentication API, which signs in without a user interface, and a PACER Case Locator API for searching the national case index. For filing, it publishes XML specifications, among them opening bankruptcy cases from petition software and batch-filing creditors' claims. Docket reports and the Reports menu are read on each court's CM/ECF site, at $0.10 a page.

| Option | What it covers | What it takes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PACER Authentication API | Returns a nextGenCSO token from a PACER username and password, plus a one-time passcode if you are enrolled in MFA, for automated access. | A PACER account. Filers must send the redaction flag. A QA environment with test data is not billed. |
| PACER Case Locator API | Searches the nationwide index of appellate, district and bankruptcy cases, with the same search as the PCL application. | A PACER account. Searches are billed at $0.10 a page, with 54 lines counted as one page. |
| Bankruptcy case upload and claims batch filing | Opens bankruptcy cases from an uploaded file made by petition software, and lets creditors file claims in batch. | Software built to the court's XML specifications. The PDF stays the official record of the case. |
| CM/ECF by hand | Query, Docket Report, Deadlines/Hearings and the Reports menu on each court's site, one court at a time. | A PACER account, $0.10 a page with a $3 cap per document. Fees of $30 or less a quarter are waived. |

Read on November 12, 2026: [PACER developer resources](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/file-case/developer-resources), [PACER Authentication API user guide](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/files/PACER%20Authentication%20API-2025_v2_0.pdf), [PACER pricing: how fees work](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/pacer-pricing-how-fees-work).

## Signing in to CM/ECF

CM/ECF signs you in with your PACER username and password, and an upgraded PACER account works in every NextGen court. Users with filing access must enroll in multifactor authentication, with an authentication app or single-use backup codes. With Fous you sign in once through the site's own sign-in with your own account: the login is sealed with AES-256.

## Worth knowing

- **Every page read is billed**: Docket reports, reports and searches cost $0.10 a page, and a search with no matches is still billed. A case's docket report is capped at 30 pages ($3), but Docket Activity without a case number has no cap.
- **One account, but filing is per court**: One upgraded PACER account reaches every NextGen court. To file, you register in each court through Manage My Account, and the court must approve you as a filer.
- **Large pulls belong at night**: The judiciary asks commercial users to run large automated pulls between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Central Time, and may suspend or reduce access for an account that disrupts operations.
- **A client code can gate searching**: If your account requires a client code and none is given, you can still sign in to e-file, but you cannot search.

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## Frequently asked questions

### Does CM/ECF have an API?

Partly. The judiciary publishes a PACER Authentication API and a PACER Case Locator API for searching the national case index, plus XML filing specifications, among them opening bankruptcy cases and batch-filing claims. Docket reports, Deadlines/Hearings and the Reports menu are used on each court's CM/ECF site.

### How much does it cost to pull a docket report?

$0.10 a page, with a case's docket report capped at 30 pages, or $3. If your charges are $30 or less in a quarter, they are waived. Court opinions are free, and a party who receives a Notice of Electronic Filing gets one free copy of the document.

### Do I need a separate account for each court?

Not to sign in: one upgraded PACER account works in every NextGen CM/ECF court. To file, you register for each court through Manage My Account, and the court must approve you as a filer.

### Is multifactor authentication required for CM/ECF?

Yes, for users with filing and other CM/ECF-level access. Users with PACER-only access, for case search, may choose to enroll. You enroll in Manage My Account with an authentication app or 10 single-use backup codes.

### Is Fous affiliated with the Administrative Office of the US Courts?

No. Fous is an independent product. You use it with your own PACER account, and a method reads and does only what that account can.

Fous is an independent product: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the operator of CM/ECF (Administrative Office of the US Courts). The name is used only to say which system this page is about. Something here wrong or out of date? Write to legal@fous.com.