In many instances the local rules permit or require filers to merge several documents into a single PDF document for filing purposes. If all the documents to be merged are PDFs, follow the instructions immediately below to make a single PDF from several PDFs. If all the documents to be merged are not PDFs (e.g., print documents), see the directions at the bottom of this page. All of these instructions apply only to Adobe Acrobat Professional and Standard. A Filing User utilizing other software to create PDFs must follow the software vendor's instructions for creating a single PDF from multiple PDFs.

Making a single PDF from several PDFs

1. Open Adobe Acrobat Professional and click on Create > Combine Files into a Single PDF....

2. In the Combine Files window click on Add Files... > Add Files...

3. Select each file to be combined by clicking on the file name in the Add Files dialog box. Holding down the Shift or Ctrl key when clicking on a file name permits a Filing User to add more than one file at a time. When finished selecting file names, click Open at the bottom of the dialog box.

4. The selected files now appear in the Combine Files window in Adobe Acrobat Professional. The files may be viewed as thumbnails or in a list (as shown below) by selecting the view type at the top right of the window.

To change the order in which the files appear in the merged combined document, highlight the name of the file to appear first then click the up arrow at the bottom left of the window to move that file to the top of the list.

5. Once all the files are in the proper position on the list, click the Combine Files button.

6. A new PDF of the merged combined documents in the selected order opens with the file name Binder1. Click File > Save As… to rename the combined PDF and save it in the selected location.

Combining multiple documents in multiple formats into a single PDF

If a Filing User wishes to combine documents that currently exist in various formats into a single PDF, the easiest process is to print out all the documents and scan them into a single document from a scanner that creates text-searchable PDFs. Before filing the PDF in CM/ECF, the filer must verify that the resulting PDF is is text-searchable and properly paginated.

Last modified at 5/23/2016