traditional form in certain lower courts. Filing may also refer to submission of a form to a government agency, with or without an accompanying fee. Filing methods Filing traditionally has been performed by visiting a clerk at a filing window, paying a filing fee by cash, cheque, or credit card, and submitting the document to be filed in duplicate or even triplicate. For each document filed, the court clerk inspects the document to ensure compliance with the court's rules on how legal documents should be formatted, verifies that the filer has not been declared a vexatious litigant, and confirms that the case number and caption are for a valid case. Next, the court clerk then stamps both copies with a large stamp that indicates the name of the court and the date the document was filed, then keeps one copy for the court's files and returns one copy to the filer for the filer's own records. In certain jurisdictions, the clerk will stamp duplicate copies returned to the filer as "file-conformed" or "conformed copy" rather than "filed". These stamps mean the duplicate copy appears to conform to the appearance of the original document, and in turn, a copy bearing such a stamp can be submitted with later filings as evidence of the earlier act of filing. But the "filed" stamp is reserved for the original document that goes into the court file, and will be seen outside that file only if one obtains a certified copy photocopied directly from the original document on file. In courts that require triplicate submissions, the third copy is then taken (either by the clerk or by the filer) to the chambers or courtroom of the judge assigned to the case. The clerk then adds the document to the docket for the case as well as any related deadlines or events. If the document is the first pleading filed in a case (usually the complaint), the court clerk also assigns a new case number and opens a new file for the case. A newer phenomenon is electronic filing, in which lawyers simply upload Portable Document Format electronic documents to a secure website maintained either by the court (for example, the U.S. has CM/ECF) or by a private commercial service like LexisNexis. This is convenient in that many courts can now accept filings at all hours, rather than only during regular business hours. Where e-filing is