Rule 5A.03. Effect of Facsimile Filing

(1) A facsimile transmission received by the clerk after 4.30 p.m. but before midnight, clerk’s local time, on a day the clerk’s office is open for filing shall be deemed filed as of that business day. A facsimile transmission received after midnight but before 8.00 a.m., clerk’s local time, on a business day, or a facsimile transmission received by the clerk on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or other day on which the clerk’s office for filing is closed, shall be deemed filed on the preceding business day. Upon receiving a facsimile transmission in its entirety, the clerk shall note the filing date on the facsimile filing in the same manner as with original pleadings or other documents filed by mail or in person. For purposes of this provision, “received by the clerk” means the date and time the facsimile transmission is received by the clerk as indicated by the date and time printed on the facsimile transmission by the clerk’s facsimile machine.

(2) A signature reproduced by facsimile transmission shall be treated as an original signature.

(3) The sender bears the risk of using facsimile transmission to convey a document to a court for filing, including, without limitation, malfunction of facsimile equipment, whether the sender’s or the clerk’s equipment; electrical power outages; incorrectly dialed telephone numbers; or receipt of a busy signal from the clerk’s facsimile telephone number. In the event that a facsimile transmission to the clerk is unsuccessful, the sender may file the document by mail or in person; in such cases, the filing date shall be determined as provided in Rules 5.06 and 6, Tenn. R. Civ. P. However, if a facsimile transmission is not received in its entirety by the clerk because of a transmission error, the sender may move acceptance nunc pro tunc by filing a written motion with the court. The motion shall be accompanied by the sender’s transmission record, the original document that was the subject of the attempted transmission, and an affidavit of the sender detailing the facts concerning the attempted transmission. The court, in its discretion, may order filing of the original document nunc pro tunc.