Notes of Advisory Committee on Rules—1993

This rule is added to provide flexibility for banks, credit card companies, taxing authorities, and other entities that ordinarily receive notices by mail in a large volume of bankruptcy cases, to arrange to receive by electronic transmission all or part of the information required to be contained in such notices.

The use of electronic technology instead of mail to send information to creditors and interested parties will be more convenient and less costly for the sender and the receiver. For example, a bank that receives by mail, at different locations, notices of meetings of creditors pursuant to Rule 2002(a) in thousands of cases each year may prefer to receive only the vital information ordinarily contained in such notices by electronic transmission to one computer terminal.

The specific means of transmission must be compatible with technology available to the sender and the receiver. Therefore, electronic transmission of notices is permitted only upon request of the entity entitled to receive the notice, specifying the type of electronic transmission, and only if approved by the court.

Electronic transmission pursuant to this rule completes the notice requirements. The creditor or interested party is not thereafter entitled to receive the relevant notice by mail.

Committee Notes on Rules—2005 Amendment

The rule is amended to delete the requirement that the sender of an electronic notice must obtain electronic confirmation that the notice was received. The amendment provides that notice is complete upon transmission. When the rule was first promulgated, confirmation of receipt of electronic notices was commonplace. In the current electronic environment, very few internet service providers offer the confirmation of receipt service. Consequently, compliance with the rule may be impossible, and the rule could discourage the use of electronic noticing.

Confidence in the delivery of email text messages now rivals or exceeds confidence in the delivery of printed materials. Therefore, there is no need for confirmation of receipt of electronic messages just as there is no such requirement for paper notices.

Changes Made After Publication and Comment. No changes since publication.

Committee Notes on Rules—2019 Amendment

The rule is amended to permit both notice and service by electronic means. The use and reliability of electronic delivery have increased since the rule was first adopted. The amendments recognize the increased utility of electronic delivery, with appropriate safeguards for parties not filing an appearance in the case through the court's electronic-filing system.

The amended rule permits electronic notice or service on a registered user who has appeared in the case by filing with the court's electronic-filing system. A court may choose to allow registration only with the court's permission. But a party who registers will be subject to service by filing with the court's system unless the court provides otherwise. The rule does not make the court responsible for notifying a person who filed a paper with the court's electronic-filing system that an attempted transmission by the court's system failed. But a filer who receives notice that the transmission failed is responsible for making effective service.

With the consent of the person served, electronic service also may be made by means that do not use the court's system. Consent can be limited to service at a prescribed address or in a specified form, and it may be limited by other conditions.