For the latest Technology Standards on E-filing issued by JCIT please refer to the following link.

JCIT Standards

Text Searchable PDF required when E-filing

Per TRCP 21 (f)(8), when E-filing the documents must be in text searchable PDF.  All PDF documents are not text searchable.  Optical Character Recognition (OCR) must be applied to the document to make it text searchable.  You may wish to refer to page 3 and 4 of the JCIT Standards that were released July 2025.

To convert a document that has already been scanned to text searchable:

*If you are using Adobe Acrobat, open the document, open all tools on the left-hand side, and select scan and OCR, then enhance scanned file, ensure the recognize text box is checked. After enhancing the document, if you are able to highlight anything on the document or if you can search within the document using ctrl + F, it means that the document is text searchable. If you do not have this capability in Adobe Acrobat, there are free programs that you may be able to find that perform the same function.

**If you are using a Mac based application or Google Chrome, these programs default to show all documents as text searchable while utilizing that application. However, the document itself may not be text-searchable outside of the application. If you do use Mac applications or Google Chrome, please verify the document is text searchable outside of the Mac based application or Google Chrome. This should ensure that it is the document itself that is searchable, not the application.

The County Clerk's office does not recommend specific programs but additional options for programs that perform an OCR can be found below:

  • Free programs
    • NAPS2: Free scanning software for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
    • Microsoft Lens: Completely free phone scanner that will perform OCR.

     

  • Programs that will perform OCR - listed cheapest to most expensive
    • CamScanner: phone app that can perform 3 OCR scans for free per month, or 1000 OCR scans for $5/month.
    • Readiris: one-time fee: $69 for Pro Account or $139 for Corporate Account.
    • ABBY FineReader: 30-year-old company with trusted user base, cheaper than Adobe, approximately $100/year but will need to reach out for a quote.
    • Adobe Acrobat: most versatility with editing and OCR ($13-23/month depending on standard/pro or individual/team accounts).