Recordation of Rail Equipment and Water Carrier Vessel Liens

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HOW TO E-FILE
Access the STB’s e-filing system through its web site at www.stb.dot.gov.
Once on the homepage, you will see a tab at the top left marked “EFILING”. Click your mouse on that tab and you enter the STB’s e-filing
process. The first page will be titled “Welcome to the E-Filing Process”.
The e-filing system will permit you to electronically file documents in the
following categories:
Formal filings (those requiring service upon parties to a formal
proceeding)
Recordations
Environmental Comments
FOIA Requests
Information Quality Comments
Other submissions (e.g. general correspondence and comments)
NOTE: When an individual chooses to submit a Formal Filing, a
Recordation, an Environmental Comment, or some Other Submissions, his
or her personal contact information is considered public information and is
shared within and outside of STB without additional authorization.
The following are not eligible for e-filing:
• initial filings in a proceeding
• filings requiring a fee (with the exception of recordations, which may be
e-filed); or
• large evidentiary filings (in which all documents submitted with the filing
combined is more than 10mb)
Login Accounts
In order to file formal filings or recordations electronically, you must first
establish a login account. To begin this process, click on the “Request a
login account” box on the e-filing welcome page. You will then be directed
to a screen that will prompt you to fill in required information (those fields
marked with a red asterisk), including choosing a password. Once you
have filled in all the required information, click on the submit button. You
will receive a message confirming that your registration request has been
submitted. Within fifteen minutes, you will receive an e-mail providing
instructions on how to complete the registration process. Please note that
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your user name is your email address, and the password is the one you
have chosen. Once your registration is complete, please record your user
name and password in a safe place so that you have it ready whenever
you need to make a formal filing, or to file a recordation.
Formal Filing
To e-file a formal filing, click on the formal filing link on the right side of
the e-filing welcome page. You will be prompted to log in. Your user name
is your email address and your password is the one you chose when you
created your login account. If you have forgotten your password, click on
the link that says “If you forgot your password, click here” and your
password will be emailed to you.
Once you have logged in you will be taken to the formal filing screen. This
screen asks whether you have served all parties of record. There is a link
to service list if you need to confirm that you have served all parties of
record. Please note that unless the parties agree otherwise, you may not
serve your filing by email; service of paper copies is required, and service
must be accomplished in the manner prescribed by applicable regulations.
A certificate of service must be included with a formal filing. If you answer
“no” you will be taken to a screen for “other submissions” (see instructions
below for “submission not requiring a login account”). This means that you
will not be permitted to submit a formal filing because you have not
complied with the service rules.
If you answer “yes”, you will be directed to the second formal filing
screen. This is the screen at which you will submit your documents for
filing. You will need to fill in all the required fields (designated with a red
asterisk) to submit your filing. If the filing is made on behalf of more than
one party, we have provided additional “Filed for” boxes to be completed.
Please remember that documents must be submitted in PDF format and, if
available, in the original electronic format. You will attach your document
using the boxes at the bottom of this screen. Indicate whether the
document is public or confidential. Then, use the “browse” button to locate
the documents you wish to attach. In addition, formal filings must be
submitted as a PDF document and, if available, in the original electronic
document format (such as Word, Wordperfect or Excel). For example, if
you prepared a document in Word, attach both a PDF version and a Word
version. If, however, you are submitting an exhibit you scanned, but did
not produce electronically, you will submit only a PDF version.
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Once the attachment is located, click on the document you wish to attach.
Once you have input the required information and attached your
documents, hit the submit button. You will receive an email within 15
minutes confirming that your formal filing has been received. Once your
filing has been formally accepted by the Board, the public version of the
filing will be placed in the “Filing” database on the Board’s Web site.
Recordations
To e-file a recordation, click on the recordation link on the right side of the
e-filing welcome page. You will be prompted to log in. Your user name is
your email address and your password is the one you chose when you
created your login account. If you have forgotten your password, click on
the link that says “If you forgot your password, click here” and your
password will be emailed to you.
Once you have logged in you will be taken to the recordations screen. This
screen asks whether you are filing a primary recordation or a secondary
recordation. A primary recordation is a mortgage (excluding those under
the Ship Mortgage Act of 1920, as amended--46 U.S.C. et seq.), lease,
equipment trust agreement, conditional sales agreement, assignment of a
lease or leases which have not previously been filed, or other instrument
evidencing the mortgage, lease, conditional sale, or bailment of one or
more vessels operated subject to Surface Transportation Board
jurisdiction, railroad cars, locomotives, or other rolling stock for a use
related to interstate commerce. A secondary recordation is any
assignment of rights or interest, supplement, or amendment to any
primary or other secondary document. These include releases, discharges,
or satisfactions, either total or partial.
Once you have chosen the type of recordation you will be directed to a
second recordations screen. You will have the option of using your account
or sending in a check. Please note that your recordation will not be
processed until the fee is received. Fill in all of the required fields
(indicated by the red asterisks) and attach your recordation using the
browse button. Recordations must be submitted in pdf format. Once all
required fields are completed and the recordation is attached, click on the
submit button. You will receive an email within 15 minutes confirming that
your recordation has been received. You will receive a separate email
once your filing has been formally accepted by the Board.
Submission not Requiring a Login Account
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Environmental Comments, Rail Consumer Inquiries, FOIA Requests, and
Other Case Submissions do not require a login account to submit an efiling. For each of these click on the type of filing, fill out the information
on the screen being certain to provide all items marked with a red
asterisk, attach any files in the manner described above in formal filings,
and click on the submit button. You will receive an email acknowledging
that your filing has been submitted.

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