Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

PDF definition

What does PDF mean? PDF (Portable Document Format) is the fixed-layout file type widely used by legal professionals to create, share and lodge electronic documents, including contracts, pleadings, witness statements, authorities and court bundles. It is not defined in legislation or case law; it is a descriptive technical term used across legal practice. A PDF preserves pagination and formatting and can contain searchable text. PDFs generated from word-processed files are usually searchable; scanned documents require optical character recognition (OCR) to enable text search and copy. Courts and tribunals in England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland generally accept PDFs for e-filing and electronic bundles,...

Electronic PDF court bundles for England and Wales civil proceedings: step-by-step guidance on OCR, bookmarks, pagination, hyperlinks and default view, compliant with CPR PD 5C and CTJ guidance

Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert

Practice notes

The core purpose of assembling electronic bundles is to deliver a user-friendly set and ensure all hearing participants hold the same version of the court papers. This Practice Note gives guidance on preparing electronic court bundles in PDF.

Bundles for major commercial trials are likely to be filed by external bundle providers. All other bundles can be submitted to the court via the HMCTS Document Upload Centre—Professional Users Guide, or using HMCTS’ electronic filing and case management system, CE-File. The procedure for CE-File is set out in CPR PD 5C—for more on CE-File, see Practice Note: How to use CE-File—from 1 October 2025. This Practice Note should be read with Practice Note: Electronic bundles in civil proceedings and the General guidance on electronic court bundles issued by the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary on 29 November 2021 (CTJ guidance).

How to prepare PDF bundles—basic steps

Seven basic steps help create an electronic bundle that is as effective and easy to use as possible:

convert documents straight to PDF. Unless unavoidable, do not scan a document to create...

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Zainab Hodgson

CMS

My experience covers many forms of dispute resolution including litigation, arbitration and mediation. I have significant experience acting for clients from numerous sectors in relation to a wide variety of commercial disputes. I have particular experience in complex contractual disputes, fraud, misrepresentation claims, insurance disputes and claims with an international administrative law dimension. My practice is international in scope and I have experience dealing with complex cross-border issues, such as conflicts of law, jurisdiction, enforcing foreign judgments and devising international litigation strategies involving multiple jurisdictions....

Christiane Sungu

Christiane is an Associate in the Litigation and Arbitration team at CMS.Christiane has experience advising on a range of disputes including insurance, shareholders, contractual, fraud, and class actions disputes as well as advising clients in relation to regulatory issues.Christiane is also a Honorary Legal Adviser and provides pro bono advice to litigants in person for the Royal Courts of Justice’s Citizens Advice team....

Ingrida Jakuseva

CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP

Ingrida is a Senior Paralegal in the Litigation and Arbitration team at CMS. Ingrida has experience in preparing court documents in complex contractual disputes, misrepresentation, cross-border commercial fraud cases, also in preparing documents in many forms of dispute resolution including litigation, arbitration and mediation. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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