Reference · Updated March 2026

PDF File Size Limits by Federal Court

Every federal court sets its own maximum file size for PDFs uploaded through CM/ECF. There's no single federal standard. Limits range from 30 MB to 200 MB per file depending on your district. If your PDF exceeds the limit, CM/ECF will reject it at upload — no warning, no partial acceptance.

Quick Rule of Thumb

Keep individual PDFs under 30 MB and you'll be safe in every federal court in the country. If your district allows more, treat it as a bonus — not a target.

District Court Limits

The following table lists confirmed per-file PDF size limits for federal district courts. These are the maximum sizes CM/ECF will accept for a single uploaded document or attachment. Limits are sourced from each court's CM/ECF FAQ, local rules, or administrative orders.

Court	Per-File Limit	Notes
C.D. California	35 MB
N.D. California	35 MB
S.D. California	35 MB
E.D. California	35 MB
D. Colorado	35 MB
D. Connecticut	35 MB
D. Delaware	35 MB
S.D. Florida	50 MB
N.D. Georgia	30 MB	Scanned docs must meet 300 DPI
N.D. Illinois	35 MB
S.D. Indiana	35 MB
D. Kansas	35 MB
E.D. Louisiana	35 MB
D. Massachusetts	35 MB
E.D. Michigan	35 MB
D. Minnesota	35 MB
D. Nebraska	35 MB	100 MB aggregate per transaction
D. New Jersey	35 MB
E.D. New York	35 MB
S.D. New York	35 MB
W.D. New York	35 MB
E.D. North Carolina	35 MB
S.D. Ohio	35 MB
N.D. Ohio	35 MB
D. Oregon	75 MB	Must be text-searchable
E.D. Pennsylvania	50 MB
W.D. Pennsylvania	35 MB
D. South Carolina	35 MB
S.D. Texas	35 MB
N.D. Texas	35 MB
E.D. Texas	35 MB
W.D. Texas	35 MB
D. Utah	35 MB
E.D. Virginia	35 MB
W.D. Washington	75 MB	300 DPI, black and white required
E.D. Wisconsin	35 MB

Appellate and Specialty Court Limits

Court	Per-File Limit	Notes
Federal Circuit (CAFC)	60 MB	Must be text-searchable and flattened
Court of Federal Claims	200 MB	Highest limit in the federal system
2nd Circuit	35 MB
9th Circuit	35 MB
11th Circuit	35 MB

If your court isn't listed above, use the PACER Court CM/ECF Lookup to find your specific court's requirements. Courts can change their limits at any time by administrative order, so it's worth checking before a large filing.

ECF PDF monitors file size in real time. As you add images, the tool estimates your output PDF size and warns you before hitting common CM/ECF limits.

Open ECF PDF →

What Happens When You Exceed the Limit

CM/ECF rejects the upload immediately. You'll see an error message — usually something like "File exceeds the maximum size" or the upload will simply time out. The document is not partially filed. Nothing hits the docket. You need to fix the file and re-upload.

This can be a serious problem if you're filing close to a deadline. If you're uploading a 40 MB exhibit at 11:45 PM and your district has a 35 MB limit, CM/ECF will reject it and you may miss your filing deadline. Always check your file sizes well before the deadline.

How to Fix an Oversized PDF

Option 1: Split into multiple files

This is the most reliable fix. Break your document into smaller parts and upload them as separate attachments to the same docket entry. Label them clearly — for example, "Exhibit A - Part 1 of 3," "Exhibit A - Part 2 of 3." Most districts accept multiple attachments per filing entry. The District of Nebraska recommends keeping total aggregate file size per transaction under 100 MB.

Option 2: Reduce scanning resolution

If your PDF was created by scanning paper documents, the resolution is usually the culprit. Scan at 300 DPI in black and white — that's the standard most courts specify. A color scan at 600 DPI can be 10-20x larger than a black-and-white scan at 300 DPI for the same page. Only use color when it's essential to the exhibit (photographs, highlighted documents, color-coded charts).

Option 3: Compress the PDF

PDF compression tools can reduce file size by 50-80% without visible quality loss. If you created your document by converting from Word or Google Docs, the file is usually small enough already. Compression is most effective on scanned image-based PDFs.

Option 4: Convert from source instead of scanning

If the document exists electronically (a Word file, an email, a web page), convert it directly to PDF by saving or printing to PDF. This creates a text-based PDF that's dramatically smaller than a scanned version. A 20-page Word document saves as roughly 200 KB. The same 20 pages scanned in color could be 15-20 MB.

How Big Is My File?

Before uploading to CM/ECF, check your file size. On Windows, right-click the file and select Properties. On Mac, right-click and select Get Info. On a phone, the file manager app will show the size. As a general reference for planning purposes: a single page of text converted from Word is approximately 50-100 KB, a black-and-white scanned page at 300 DPI is approximately 100-200 KB, a color scanned page at 300 DPI is approximately 300-600 KB, and a phone photo converted to a PDF page is approximately 1-5 MB depending on resolution.

So a filing with 20 phone photos could easily be 40-80 MB — well over most courts' limits. Converting those images through a tool that optimizes for court filing standards helps keep sizes manageable.

Aggregate vs. Per-File Limits

Most courts apply their size limit per individual file, not per filing transaction. That means you can attach multiple 35 MB files to a single docket entry. However, some courts like the District of Nebraska also set an aggregate limit for the entire transaction (100 MB in Nebraska's case). If your district has an aggregate limit, you may need to break a large filing into multiple separate docket entries.

Practically speaking, even in courts without an explicit aggregate limit, very large uploads (150 MB+) can time out during transfer, especially on slower connections. The District of Nebraska tested this and found that uploads over 150 MB frequently timed out on wireless connections. Keep individual transactions reasonable.