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| 1. What type of account should I create in TurboCourt? |
- For attorneys or law firms, choose the “Attorney/Law Firm” account type. This includes solo practitioners.
- For self-represented persons, choose the “Individual” account type.
- Do not use “Business”, “Government Organization or State Agency”, “Exempt Government Organization” or “Process Server” account types. We anticipate that “Business” and “Government Organization or State Agency” will be available in Connecticut later in 2021.
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| 2. How do I create a law firm account? |
To create a law firm account, choose “Attorney/Law Firm” account type. The individual who creates the account is automatically given the roles of “Company Administrator,” “Filing Administrator,” “Financial Administrator” and “User.” The Company Administrator enters the law firm name and Company Administrator’s username and password.
There are limitations on changing the individual who has the Company Administrator role and, therefore, the Attorney/Law Firm should use caution when designating an individual to be a Company Administrator.
Next, the Company Administrator goes to “My Organization” to edit the firm’s profile. The Company Administrator adds user accounts for attorneys in the firm. Keep in mind the different security levels when assigning roles to attorneys. For example, a Filing Administrator can view filings submitted by other individuals in the law firm, but a User can view only filings submitted by the User. The system will verify each attorney’s information with Judicial Branch eServices in the following manner: The attorney must submit a filing to be prompted to provide the attorney’s individual juris number and email address that is registered with Judicial Branch eServices. If the entered email address matches the email address registered with eServices, the system sends a verification email to the attorney’s email address that is registered with eServices. The attorney must click on the link in the email to complete the verification process.
If the entered email address does not match the email address registered with eServices, the system will instruct the user to update eServices or resubmit the correct email address. The attorney will not be able to access the eFiling system without providing the correct email address.
Once verified, the attorney will not be asked to go through the verification process again unless the attorney’s email address is changed with eServices or the attorney’s juris number is inadvertently linked to another individual. See FAQ #14.
The Company Administrator may also add user accounts for paralegals or other support staff in the firm. Paralegals and other support staff may eFile only on behalf of an attorney. The filer cannot eFile on behalf of the attorney until the attorney has completed the verification process. Paralegals and support staff will not receive a verification email. For paralegals and other support staff, do not enter any information in the field called “Issuing State”. This field is for the state that issued an attorney’s license to practice law.
The Company Administrator sets the initial password for each user account. Each user can change the password in the user’s profile.
The Company Administrator may also set “courtesy notifications” to a firm email address to enable a firm representative to monitor all court notices and firm filings.
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| 3. What if the individual with the Company Administrator role leaves the law firm? |
If the law firm has at least two individuals with the Company Administrator role, then the individual remaining with the firm can make the necessary changes to the firm profile when a Company Administrator leaves the firm.
If the firm has only one Company Administrator, then contact TurboCourt for support.
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| 4. What if the attorney does not receive the verification email? |
Once the attorney enters his or her individual juris number and email address, there will be a message on the eFiling system screen stating that an email has been sent to the email address provided. If the attorney does not receive the verification email, he or she should try the following:
- Check the spam or junk mail folder in the email account. If the attorney finds an email from TurboCourt in the spam or junk mail folder, please mark it as "Not Spam" or “Not Junk”.
- Whitelist the turbocourt.com domain.
Assistance from the attorney’s information technology administrator may be necessary. If your information technology administrator is unable to correct the issue, submit a written helpdesk ticket to TurboCourt with a detailed description of the issue.
The attorney should also submit a written helpdesk ticket if they do not see the message stating that the verification email has been sent or a message indicating that the email address does not match the Juris number as described in FAQ #2.
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| 5. Can an attorney have more than one TurboCourt account? |
No, an attorney can have only one active account. An attorney in a multi-attorney law firm who sets up his or her own Attorney/Law Firm account is ineligible to be included in the Attorney/Law Firm account for the firm. As a result, an attorney registered separately will not be able to view firm cases and no one from the firm will be able to view the attorney’s cases or file documents on behalf of the attorney.
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| 6. Should an attorney be a User or Filing Administrator? |
Access to documents through the eFiling system is determined by the assigned role. A User may view only the formsets filed by that User. A Filing Administrator may view all formsets filed by any individual associated with the firm, including attorneys, paralegals and support staff.
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| 7. How does an attorney change contact information with the Probate Courts? |
To change contact information, an attorney must update his or her Judicial Branch eServices account. If the attorney does not have an office address registered with eServices, the system will default to the attorney’s home address registered with eServices. The attorney must also file a new appearance in each matter pending in a Probate Court unless the attorney was appointed by the court.
It is not sufficient to change the attorney’s contact information in the attorney’s TurboCourt account. |
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| 8. May an attorney use a firm juris number? |
No. Attorneys must use the individual juris number during the verification process and when filing an appearance.
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| 9. What if I change firms? |
If you separate from a law firm, you should immediately update your account with Judicial Branch eServices. Once you update eServices, the Company Administrator of the new firm can add you as an attorney in the firm’s TurboCourt account. The system will verify the attorney’s new information as described in FAQ #2. The attorney must also file a new appearance in each matter pending in a Probate Court unless the attorney was appointed by the court.
If you do not update eServices or create a new TurboCourt account, important notices concerning your clients’ interests may be misdirected.
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| 10. What if an attorney leaves my firm? |
The Company Administrator should change the status of the attorney’s TurboCourt account to “Inactive” immediately. Another attorney at the firm must file an appearance in each matter that will be retained by the firm.
For matters that the separated attorney will retain, the separated attorney will need to update Judicial Branch eServices, create a new TurboCourt account and file new appearances. If the separated attorney fails to take these steps, Probate Courts will continue to send communications pertaining to the matters to the separated attorney’s deactivated account. It is imperative that the firm monitor the deactivated account and not delete the account.
A Filing Administrator will be able to view all formsets filed by the deactivated attorney. |
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| 11. What does it mean if the eFiling system indicates that an attorney’s juris number is inactive or invalid? |
If you receive a message that a juris number is invalid, you may have entered an incorrect number or a law firm juris number or the attorney is inactive. An inactive attorney is one who is retired, has been suspended or is otherwise ineligible to practice law in Connecticut. An inactive attorney will not be able to use the eFiling system.
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| 12. What if an attorney creates an “Individual” or “Business” account instead of an “Attorney/Law Firm account”? |
In order to resolve this issue, you must first log into the “Individual” TurboCourt account, go to My profile and change your user name (email address) to a different email address. You can simply add an X to the email address name.
Once that is done you will be able to reuse the correct email address to create a NEW TurboCourt “Attorney/Law Firm” account.
Follow the same process if you created a “Business” TurboCourt account. |
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| 13. How does a paralegal or other support staff create an account? |
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| 14. What if a paralegal or other support staff inadvertently becomes linked to an attorney’s juris number? |
This can happen if a non-attorney inadvertently clicks on the checkbox that says check here only if you are an attorney when choosing the type of filing.
In order to resolve this issue, a Company Administrator must follow these steps:
- Go to “My organization” in the User Menu on the left side of the TurboCourt Homepage;
- Click on the attorney’s profile and change the user name (email address) to a different email address. You can simply add an X to the email address name. Also, make this attorney account “Inactive” and click on “Update”;
- Still in “My organization”, click on “Add User”;
- Re-add the attorney using the correct email address;
- Follow steps ii. to iv. for the paralegal.
Once that is done, the attorney will need to go through the verification process again.
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| 15. Can an individual who is not an attorney working for multiple law firms have one TurboCourt account? |
No. If a paralegal or other support individual performs services for multiple law firms, the individual will need a separate TurboCourt account for each law firm to which the individual will be associated. The Company Administrator for the law firm should establish the account as described in FAQ #2.
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| 16. How does a party who is not an attorney update his or her contact information? |
To change contact information, a party who is not an attorney must notify the court and fiduciary, in writing, of any changes to his or her contact information. The party must also update his or her TurboCourt account.
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| 17. How do I create an account for a Connecticut state agency? |
We anticipate that the “Government Organization or State Agency” account type will be available in 2021 to Connecticut state agencies that are not required to pay filing fees in advance under C.G.S. section 45a-112.
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| 18. How do I create an account for a business that is not a law firm? |
We anticipate that the “Business” account type will be available in 2021. |
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| 19. How do I change my TurboCourt username or password? |
You may change your username or password after logging in by clicking on the “My profile” link in the User Menu on the upper left side of the page. Change the email address found in your profile to change your username. To change your password, click on “Reset my password” and the system will send you an email to reset your password.
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| 20. If I forget my TurboCourt password, how can I get the password or have the password reset? |
If you have successfully logged in to the eFiling system previously, you may click on the “Request New” link on the logon screen. You will automatically be sent a password reset email through which you can reset your password. If you chose a security question at any time, you will need to answer the security question to reset your password.
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