Filing a Civil Action Discrimination Complaint Pro se

Complaint Forms

  1. Forms you need to file a civil action against the federal agency (available on internet):

    • Form JS 44: Civil Cover Sheet (available online on the Court’s own website)

  • Form AO 440:Summons In a Civil Action (available online on the Court’s own website. This form must be signed and sealed by the Court Clerk. See below). Three copies of the Summons should be submitted to the Court for the Clerk to sign and seal. The first copy should have the name of the head of the federal agency such as Secretary, his or her address, and Plaintiff’s name and address. The second copy should have the name and address of the U. S. Attorney General. The third copy should have the name and address of the U. S. Attorney for the District of the proper jurisdiction.

  • Complaint (to be drafted, signed and dated by Plaintiff). 

  • Avoid “shotgun” pleading. Each Claim, starting with “Count 1,” must be centered and labeled in bold font or capital letters, under which the allegation and the relief sought must be stated. In other words, a claim or allegation should contain one “act of harm” alleged as discriminatory. Combining several “acts of harm” under one claim/allegation will lead to dismissal based on “shotgun” pleading.

  • See Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), which requires “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”

  • See Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 10(b), which requires that “A party must state its claims or defenses in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances. A later pleading may refer by number to a paragraph in an earlier pleading. If doing so would promote clarity, each claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence—and each defense other than a denial—must be stated in a separate court or defense.”

  • See FRCP 10(c), which states: “A statement in a pleading may be adopted by reference elsewhere in the same pleading or in any other pleading or motion.”

  • See also Vibe Micro, Inc. v. Shabanets, 878 F.3rd 129, 1294 (11th Cir. 2018) that further defines “shotgun” pleading.

  • Certificate of Service (to be signed and dated by Plaintiff, certifying that the Complaint has been served to the federal District Court on the date specified. See samples indicated above—the last page of the Complaint).

  • Samples of Court Complaints and the Summons are available for purchase in the Store. 

2. The above documents can be hand-delivered or mailed to the Court in 4 copies (3 to be served (see below) and 1 for your record).

3. U. S. District Courts do not allow filing the Complaint by online or by electronic Case Filing (eCF). If filing by mail or a carrier, make sure to track the package.

4. You will need to pay or send $405 in court fees, payable to U. S. District Court in check or money order. Payment by credit card is also accepted by phone or in person. The Court continues to increase the fees over the years. Check the Court’s website for the right total amount of court fees.

5. Make sure that the Complaint is date-stamped by the Court staff (if you are filing in person) and has the Docket number on it, and that the Summons (AO 440) are signed and sealed by the Court Clerk (within a few weeks, if not on the day of filing in person).

  • Ask the administrative staff how you can received the signed and sealed Summons. Some Court Clerks mail the Summons to your address after they are signed and sealed. Some other Clerks upload them on to the Court’s eCF after they are signed and sealed. Some other Clerks may do neither, in which case you cannot serve your Complaint.

6. Once the Complaint is date-stamped and has the Court docket number (at the top margin in blue font), and the Summons is sealed and signed by the US District Court Clerk, you are ready to serve them to Defendant (i.e., the Secretary or the head of the Agency) and Defendant’s attorneys (i.e., the US Attorney General and the US Attorney in the District of proper jurisdiction).

  • See below on how to serve the Complaint and the Summons.

  • Get a PACER account (Public Access to Court Electronic Records at pacerUScourts.gov) with a small fee, so that you can look up your case or any other federal court cases in the country.

  • More importantly, you can request to be notified of any pleadings (such as motions filed by the Defendant) uploaded on to your Court case file via Court’s owe electronic notice, in lieu of being served by mail.

  • As already stated, U. S. District Courts bar pro se Plaintiffs from submitting pleadings (such as Complaint, motions, or responses to motion) via electronic Case File (eCF) system. Only attorney are allowed this privilege. In contrast, U. S. Circuit Courts of Appeals allow e-filing privileges. However, U. S. Supreme Court does not.

Service of the Summons and the Complaint

1.    After you have filed the Complaint at the U. S. District Court in the District where the violations occurred, as alleged, the following documents must be served within 90 days of filing the Complaint (as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m)):

  • Form AO 440: Summons In a Civil Action (signed and sealed by the Court Clerk).  The signed and sealed Summons may be handed back to you, if you filed in person at the Court. Otherwise, it will be either mailed to you or uploaded in the Court’s eCF (electronic Case File) system. If uploaded, you can download from the Court’s eCF, print, and serve. You will need a PACER account in order to look up your case or anyone else’s case nationwide.

  • Complaint (with the docket number and date-stamped by the Court in the top margin in blue color font).

 2.    The Summons and the Complaint must be served only via U. S. Certified Mail. No other carriers such as FedEx or UPS are allowed to serve. Return receipt is not required.

3. The following 3 locations must be served, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(i)):

  • The Secretary of the U. S. Department or the head of the federal Agency located in Washington DC.

  • US Attorney General in Washington DC.

  • US Attorney in the District of proper jurisdiction where the discrimination occurred, as alleged.

  • Each recipient should be served with the Complaint and the Summons.

  • It is better to serve three separate sets of package: one for the Secretary or the head of the Agency, another for U.S. Attorney General, and another for (the local) U. S. Attorney of the District of the proper jurisdiction.

  • Each Summons should contain the name and address of the recipient.

  • Each Summons should contain the name and address of the Plaintiff (if pro se) or Plaintiff’s attorney, to whom the Defendant’s Answer can be served by the Agency.

4. The service must be performed by an adult, age 18 or older, who is not a party or a potential witness to the case. That person will have to sign the Proof of Service, which is attached to the Summons as page 2. The Proof of Service should not be served to the Defendant and to his or her attorneys. It should be submitted to the Court via mail or by any other means, after the service has been performed. See below for Proof of Service.

  • Samples of the completed Summons and Proof of Service are available for purchase in the Store.

Proof of Service

How to Prove Your Service:

1.    After the designated server has performed the service of your Complaint and the Summons, the designated server should submit the Proof of Service. You must prove that the Summons and the Complaint were properly served within 90 days of your filing the Complaint.

2.    The Proof of Service is not served to the Defendant or to his or her attorneys. It is filed with the Court after the service or on the day of the service but later that day, subsequent to the service. The Proof of Service need not be mail to the Court by Certified Mail. It can be mailed by regular U. S. Mail, Priority Mail, or by FedEx or UPS or any other carrier.

3. Fill out the Proof of Service form, attached to Form AO 440 (the Sumwmons) as page 2, identifying when you received the (signed and sealed) Summons, to whom the Summons and the Complaint were served, what documents were served (i.e., Complaint and the Summons), when, to what address, and by what means (i.e., via U. S. Certified Mail). 

4. The Proof of Service must be signed and dated by someone who served the Complaint and the Summons—someone other than the Plaintiff.

5. Three (3) separate proofs should be submitted to the Court for each separate destination of service: one for the Secretary or the head of the Agency in DC, another for US Attorney General in DC, another for US District Attorney in the District of the proper jurisdiction.

6.    As it is stated in the Summons, within 60 days of the service of the Complaint and the Summons, the Answer to your Complaint must be filed at the Court by the federal Agency, the Defendant.

  • Usually, an Associate U. S. Attorney will be assigned to your case to represent the Defendant. He or she will most likely file a motion to dismiss the case, instead of filing an Answer to your Complaint.