Document Upload Issues

Occasionally, documents fail to upload or process correctly. This guide covers the most common issues and how to resolve them.

Supported File Formats

CaseFlow accepts:

• PDF (preferred): Most court documents are PDFs, and this is our best-supported format

• Images: JPEG, PNG, TIFF (useful for scanned documents or photos of paper files)

• Multi-page TIFF: Common for fax machines and older

  
  

  scanners Unsupported

• Formats: Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)

• Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsx)

• Plain text files (.txt)

• Compressed archives (.zip, .rar)

If you have documents in unsupported formats, convert them to PDF first.

File Size Limits

Maximum file size: 50MB per document

Most court documents fall well under this limit. If you encounter a file over 50MB:

• Split it into logical sections (e.g., separate exhibits from the main filing)

• Reduce image resolution in scanned PDFs (300 DPI is sufficient for text)

• Use PDF compression tools (many are free online)

Poor Scan Quality Issues

If CaseFlow says "unable to read text" or "low confidence classification":

• Check scan resolution: Aim for 300 DPI minimum

• Ensure proper contrast: Light text on light backgrounds is hard to OCR

• Avoid skewed scans: If the document is tilted, text recognition fails

• Clean the scanner glass: Dust and smudges can create artifacts

"Processing Failed" Errors

If a document uploads but fails during AI processing:

• Too heavily redacted: If most of the text is blacked out, there's not enough content to classify

• Non-English text: CaseFlow is optimized for English legal documents

• Encrypted PDFs: Some PDFs are encrypted in ways that prevent text extraction

When to Contact Support

If you've tried the above and uploads still fail, contact support@caseflow.ai with:

• The error message

• File details (name, size, format)

• Steps you've tried

Our support team can examine server logs to identify issues not visible from your end.