{"jurisdiction": "us-ny", "code": "nycrr", "section": "207.4", "citation": "Uniform Rules § 207.4", "heading": "Papers filed in court; clerk's file number; official forms", "text": ["(a) Unless otherwise specified by the court, attorneys, as well as parties appearing without attorneys, shall prepare and submit all papers, pleadings, orders and decrees to be acted upon by the Surrogate. The party causing the first paper to be filed shall communicate the clerk's file number forthwith to all other parties to the proceeding; service of the citation bearing the file number shall be sufficient. Thereafter such number shall appear on the outside cover and first page to the right of the caption of every paper tendered for filing in the proceeding. The caption also shall contain the title of the proceeding, an indication of the county of venue and a brief description of the nature of the paper. All papers shall comply with the provisions of CPLR 2101 and (other than wills, codicils, exhibits and forms of other governmental agencies) shall be on standard 8 1/2 inch by 11-inch paper. The text of all papers must be legible and, other than prompts and instructions, must be in a standard typeface of 10 to 12-point characters and have margins that shall be no less than one-half inch. Papers also shall contain the name of the attorney or party submitting them and, whenever possible, the names, addresses and information regarding parties to the proceeding shall be printed in bold typeface.", "(b) The forms set forth in Chapter VII of Subtitle D of this Title, designated \"Surrogate Court Forms,\" and including forms for the Surrogate's Court and adoption forms of the Family Court and Surrogate's Court, shall be the official forms of the court and shall be accepted for filing pursuant to SCPA 106. Forms produced on computers or word processors shall be accepted for filing, provided (1) the text used shall be the same as that contained in the official forms and (2) the attorney or party preparing such form shall certify at the end thereof that the form is the same as the official form and that the substantive text has not been altered. Persons submitting such forms may leave out instructions (contained in brackets) and optional words or phrases that have not been selected or are irrelevant. Submitting a form to be an official form, but upon which the text has been intentionally altered to change the substance or meaning thereof, may be regarded as an attempt to mislead the court.", "(c) Examples of the official forms shall be available at the clerk's office of any Surrogate's Court."], "official_source": "https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-207-uniform-rules-surrogates-court", "from_official_api": true, "plain_english": "This rule sets who prepares Surrogate's Court papers, how the clerk's file number is used, the format papers must follow, and the use of official forms.\n- **(a)** Unless the court says otherwise, **attorneys** (and **parties without attorneys**) **shall prepare and submit** all papers, pleadings, orders and decrees for the Surrogate to act on.\n  - The party who files the **first paper** must give the **clerk's file number forthwith** to all other parties; **serving the citation** bearing the number is **enough**. ★\n  - After that, the file number must appear on the **outside cover** and **first page, to the right of the caption**, of every paper filed. The caption must also show the **title** of the proceeding, the **county of venue**, and a **brief description** of the paper.\n  - Papers must comply with **CPLR 2101** and be on **8½ by 11-inch paper** (except **wills, codicils, exhibits** and **other governmental agencies' forms**). ★\n  - Text must be **legible**, in a standard typeface of **10 to 12-point** (prompts and instructions excepted), with margins of **at least ½ inch**.\n  - Papers must show the **name of the attorney or party** submitting them; whenever possible, parties' **names, addresses and information** are printed in **bold**.\n- **(b)** The forms in Chapter VII of Subtitle D of this Title (\"**Surrogate Court Forms**,\" including Surrogate's Court forms and Family Court/Surrogate's Court **adoption forms**) are the **official forms** and **shall be accepted** for filing under **SCPA 106**.\n  - **Computer- or word-processor-produced forms** are accepted if **(1)** the text is the **same** as the official form and **(2)** the preparer **certifies at the end** that it is the same as the official form and the **substantive text has not been altered**.\n  - Filers **may leave out** bracketed **instructions** and optional words or phrases not selected or irrelevant.\n  - Submitting a form as official when its text was **intentionally altered** to change its substance or meaning **may be regarded as an attempt to mislead the court**. ★\n- **(c)** **Examples** of the official forms are available at the **clerk's office of any Surrogate's Court**.", "in_force_on": "2026-05-31", "retrieved": "2026-09-27", "url": "https://elyphived.com/us-ny/nycrr/207.4", "publisher": "Elyphived LLC"}