[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 13, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 13CFR134.204]

[Page 444-445]
 
                TITLE 13--BUSINESS CREDIT AND ASSISTANCE
 
                CHAPTER I--SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 134--RULES OF PROCEDURE GOVERNING CASES BEFORE THE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS--Table of Contents
 
               Subpart B--Rules of Practice for Most Cases
 
Sec. 134.204  Filing and service requirements.

    (a) Methods of filing and service. Pleadings or other submissions 
must be filed and served by mail, delivery, or facsimile. Mail includes 
first class (including certified and registered), express, and priority 
mail. For good cause, the Judge may order that filing or service be 
effected by one of these methods.
    (b) Filing. Filing is the receipt of pleadings and other submissions 
at OHA.
    (1) OHA's address. OHA accepts filings between the hours of 8:30 
a.m. and 5 p.m. eastern time at the following address: Docketing Clerk, 
Office of Hearings and Appeals, Small Business Administration, 409 Third 
Street, SW., Suite 5900, Washington, DC 20416-0005. OHA's telephone 
number is (202) 401-8203. The number for OHA's facsimile machine is 
(202) 205-7059.
    (2) The date of filing for pleadings and other submissions filed by 
mail, delivery, or facsimile is the date the filing is received at OHA. 
Any filing received at OHA after 5:00 p.m. eastern time is considered 
filed as of the next day.
    (3) Exhibits. An exhibit, whether an original or a copy, must be 
authenticated or identified to be what it purports to be.

[[Page 445]]

    (4) Copies. No extra copies of pleadings or other submissions need 
be filed. If a document is offered as an exhibit, a copy of the document 
will be accepted by the Judge unless--
    (i) a genuine question is raised as to whether it is a true and 
accurate copy; or
    (ii) it would be unfair, under the circumstances, to admit the copy 
instead of the original.
    (c) Service. Service is the mailing, delivery, or facsimile to all 
other parties of a copy of each pleading or other submission filed with 
OHA.
    (1) Complete copies of all pleadings and other submissions filed 
with OHA must be served upon all other parties or, if represented, their 
authorized representatives or their attorneys, at their record 
addresses.
    (2) The date of service is as follows: for facsimile, the date the 
facsimile is sent; for personal delivery by the party, its employee, or 
its attorney, the date the document is given to the party served; for 
commercial delivery, the date the document is given to the delivery 
service; for mail, the date of mailing. The date of mailing is the date 
of a U.S. Postal Service postmark or any other proof of mailing. If 
there is insufficient proof of mailing, there is a rebuttable 
presumption that the mailing was made five days before receipt.
    (3) If the SBA is a party, the SBA must be served, as required by 
the applicable program regulations or by other subparts of this part 
134. If the SBA office for service is not specified elsewhere, serve: 
Office of General Counsel, Small Business Administration, 409 Third 
Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20416. For SBA Employee Disputes, see 
Standard Operating Procedure 37 71 02, available at www.sba.gov/library/
soproom.html.
    (d) Certificate of service. A certificate of service shows how, 
when, and to whom service was made. Every pleading and other submission 
filed with OHA and served on the other parties must include a 
certificate of service. The certificate should state: ``I certify that 
on [date], I caused the foregoing document to be served by [either 
``placing a copy in the mail,'' ``sending a copy by facsimile,'' 
``personally delivering a copy,'' or ``giving a copy to a delivery 
service,''] upon the following: [list name, address, telephone number, 
and facsimile number of each party served].'' The certificate must be 
signed and include the typed name and title of the individual serving 
the pleading or other submission.
    (e) Confidential information. Any information in pleadings or other 
submissions that is believed by the submitting party to constitute 
proprietary or confidential information need not be served upon parties 
so long as the deletions are clearly identified and generally described 
in the documents which are served. Upon motion, the Judge may direct 
that the withheld information be provided to other parties, subject to 
any appropriate protective order.

[61 FR 2683, Jan. 29, 1996, as amended at 67 FR 47247, July 18, 2002]