Debtor Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing (DeBN) – How Email Works

When are emails sent?
Emails will be sent by the BNC in the evening on the same day a notice or order is filed by the court in your case.

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Will I receive all documents via email?
No; only notices and orders filed by the court and sent to the BNC for service upon you will be delivered via email.  All other parties, such as the trustee and creditors, will continue to serve documents upon you either via U.S. mail or in person pursuant to court rules.

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Can I request receipt of notices both via email and U.S. mail?
No; a party only has the option to receive notices either by email or U.S. mail.

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Can others see my email address?
Your email address will not be shown on the caption of the case docket, and your DeBN request form will not be visible to the public for viewing.  However, the BNC Certificate of Mailing that is filed in the case will reflect your email address if the notice or order was emailed to you.  A Certificate of Mailing must include the party’s name and the address where they were served.

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I accidentally deleted an email.  Can the notice be resent to me?
Neither the court nor the BNC can resend notices.  If you accidentally deleted a notice, you should contact your attorney, or you may contact the court for further instructions on how to obtain another copy of the notice.

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I filed jointly with my spouse.  Do we both have to request DeBN?
No; it is not required for both of you to request DeBN.  The joint debtor enrolled in DeBN will receive notices from the court via email, and the other debtor not enrolled in DeBN will continue to receive notices via U.S. mail. However, if you both would like to receive notices via email, you will both need to register separately for DeBN.

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I filed jointly with my spouse.  Can we both use the same email address?
Yes; a husband and wife can use the same email address.  Each of you will have your own DeBN account, and separate emails will be sent to each of you at whatever email address was used to register for DeBN.

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What should I do if I change my email address?
You should immediately file with the court, either on your own or through your attorney, an updated Debtor’s Electronic Noticing Request form.  Once the court has processed your request, you will receive an email from the BNC at both your old and new email addresses advising you that your DeBN account has been updated. 

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Why did I stop receiving my notices via email?
There are several reasons why this may have occurred, including:

  1. If your name and address in the case do not match your DeBN account, then the notice or order will be delivered to you via U.S. mail.  If you recently filed a change of address with the court and did not receive an email from the BNC advising you that your DeBN account was updated, please contact the Clerk’s Office for assistance.
  2. Your DeBN account may have been disabled due to an email bounce-back (undeliverable email).  If this occurred, you must file an updated request form if you wish to reactivate your DeBN account. 

Please contact the Clerk’s Office with any questions about the status of your DeBN account.

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Email Transmission

The Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC) will transmit emails in the evening on the same day a notice or order is filed.

The notice or order will be attached to the email as a single PDF file.  It is recommended that you use the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader software for viewing these PDF documents.  If you do not have this software, you can download it free of charge here.  If you are using a mobile device, please visit your mobile device’s app store for a free download of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Not all notices you receive in a case are processed through the BNC.

BNC Email Addresses

The BNC will send you confirmation emails and court notices using these addresses:

bncedi@noticingcenter.com
startn@noticingcenter.com
bncrtn@noticingcenter.com

Please add these email addresses to your contacts/safe-sender list to ensure delivery of court notices and orders to your email inbox. 

Note:  Please do not reply or send emails to the above email addresses.  Those email accounts are used for the sole purpose of sending emails, and the inboxes are not monitored.  Please contact the Clerk’s Office at helpdesk [at] nvb [dot] uscourts [dot] gov if you have any questions about the DeBN program.

Email Formatting:

Each email containing a court notice or order will be formatted as follows:

  1. A subject header containing the BNC email serial number and your DeBN account number. The serial number increases each time you are sent an email notice in order to help you determine that you have received all of your emails.
  2. Text that describes the number of notices and total notice pages.
  3. Text that shows the name and address of the recipient, case number, court form code, originating court and title of document filed for each notice.
  4. Contain a PDF attachment of the notice or order that was filed in your case. 

Email Examples:

  1. Notice Filed in Case
  2. Confirmation of Activation of DeBN Account
  3. Confirmation of Updates to DeBN Account
  4. Notice of Deactivated DeBN Account

Name and Address Matching

Your DeBN account is created using your name and address exactly as it appears in your bankruptcy case.  As long as your name and address in your bankruptcy case exactly matches your name and address in your DeBN account, all notices and orders that the court files and sends to the BNC for service upon you will be delivered to you via email. 

If your name and address in your DeBN account does not match the bankruptcy case, then the BNC will send court notices and orders to you via U.S. mail.

If you or your attorney files a notice of change of address with the court, then the clerk’s office will make the necessary changes to both your bankruptcy case and your DeBN account.  You will then receive an email from the BNC advising you that your DeBN account has been updated.

Email Bounce-Back (Undeliverable Email)

The first time the BNC receives an email bounce-back (undeliverable email), your DeBN account will automatically be disabled, and the notice or order will be resent to you via U.S. mail (as long as the bounce-back occurred within 10 days from production of notice by the BNC). Any future court notices and orders will be delivered to you via U.S. mail, and you must file an updated request form if you wish to reactivate your DeBN account.