(1) Filing.
(a) Documents to be filed with the agency
shall be deemed filed when received during regular business hours at any office
of the agency. Documents to be filed with the presiding officer shall be deemed
filed when received during regular business hours at the office of the
presiding officer. Documents received outside of regular business hours shall
be deemed filed the following business day.
(b) Filing documents by fax:
(i) As used in this chapter, "fax" means
electronic tele-facsimile transmission.
(ii) Documents may be filed by fax with the
agency. Filing by fax is perfected when a complete and legible copy of the
documents is reproduced on the agency's fax machine during regular business
hours. A transmission of documents after regular business hours shall be
considered filed on the following business day.
(iii) Any documents filed by fax should be
accompanied by a cover page or other form identifying the party making the
transmission, listing the address, telephone, and fax number of the party,
identifying the adjudicative proceeding to which the documents relate, and
indicating the date of and the total number of pages included in the
transmission.
(iv) The party
attempting to file the documents by fax bears the risk that the documents will
not be timely received or legibly printed, regardless of the cause. If the fax
is not received in legible form, filing will not be perfected.
(c)The filing of documents with
the presiding officer by electronic mail ("email") is not authorized without
the express approval of the presiding officer and under such circumstances as
the presiding officer allows.
(2) Service.
(a) All notices, pleadings, and other
documents filed with the agency shall be served upon all representatives of
record and upon unrepresented parties or upon their agents designated by them
or by law.
(b)Methods of service
permitted. Service shall be made personally or, unless otherwise provided by
law, by first-class, registered, or certified mail; by fax; or by commercial
parcel delivery company. Service by email or electronic filing is permitted if
expressly assented to by the receiving party.
(c) Service by mail is completed upon deposit
in the United States mail properly stamped and addressed. Service by fax is
completed upon production by the fax machine of confirmation of a successful
transmission. Service by commercial parcel delivery is completed upon delivery
to the parcel delivery company, properly addressed with charges prepaid.
Service by email is completed when the email is successfully sent. Service by
electronic filing is completed upon successful uploading of the document to
that party's designated system.
(3)Proof of service. Where proof of service
is required by statute or rule, filing the documents with the agency, together
with one of the following, shall constitute proof of service:
(a) An acknowledgment of service.
(b) A certificate that the person signing the
certificate served the documents upon all parties of record in the proceeding
by delivering a copy thereof in person to all parties of record.
(c) A certificate that the person signing the
certificate served the documents upon all parties of record in the proceeding
by:
(i) Mailing a copy thereof, properly
addressed with postage prepaid, to each party to the proceeding or his or her
attorney or authorized agent; or
(ii) Transmitting a copy thereof by fax to
each party to the proceeding or his or her attorney or authorized agent;
or
(iii) Depositing a copy thereof,
properly addressed with charges prepaid, with a commercial parcel delivery
company; or
(iv) If agreed to by
the parties, emailing or uploading to an electronic case management system a
copy of the document. The certificate of service must include verification of
successful sending or uploading of the document by the recipient, which may
include a read receipt or confirmation of successful upload.
(4) Electronic filing
with the office of administrative hearings (OAH).
(a) Documents may be filed electronically
with OAH through the use of the agency's portal.
(b)Filing documents through the OAH portal:
(i) As used in this chapter, "electronically"
means successfully uploading documents through the OAH portal.
(ii) Filing electronically is perfected when
a complete and legible copy of the documents is successfully uploaded to OAH's
portal during regular business hours. A document uploaded after regular
business hours is considered filed on the following business day. Regular
business hours for the purposes of electronic filing with OAH are Monday
through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, excluding weekends and
state holidays.
(iii) For any
documents filed electronically through the OAH portal, the party attempting to
file bears the risk that the documents will not be timely received or will not
be legible, regardless of the cause unless the cause is due to an OAH portal
malfunction. If the uploaded document is not received in legible form, filing
will not be perfected.
(c) All service requirements as outlined in
subsections (2) and (3) of this section apply to documents electronically filed
through the OAH portal.