(a) Signatures on documents.

• (1) Signing of pleadings.  Every pleading and motion filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings: Child Support (OAH) must be signed by an attorney of record, whose Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) identification number must be stated, or, if the party is not represented by an attorney, must be signed by the party.  Each pleading and motion must include the address of the signer and telephone number, if any.  Except as provided by rule or statute, pleadings need not be supported by affidavit.  A pleading is any document that contains statements or allegations that constitute a cause of action or defense.  • 1
• (2) Signing of other documents.  Other documents such as legally mandated administrative notices issued by the Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) to notify obligors of proposed enforcement actions to be taken by CSED do not require an attorney's signature.  • 2
• (3) Electronic signatures.  Secured electronic mediums approved by OAH that attach an electronic signature or notary stamp are acceptable to meet the signature requirements.

(b) Practice.

• (1) Form, filing, and service.
  • (A) The original and copies of all pleadings in proceedings and matters presented to an administrative law judge (ALJ) must be filed with OAH.  All paper produced originals are retained by OAH.  Electronic submissions are digitally maintained by OAH pursuant to state record requirements.  All paper or electronically submitted pleadings must be filed prior to any administrative proceedings being docketed.
  • (B) Pleadings and motions filed in OAH must be typewritten or legibly hand-written on white paper, size 8 ½ by 11 inches.  Both paper and electronically submitted pleadings and motions must have the proper style of the case indicating the parties' names, OAH number, and IV-D case number, or family group number (FGN). 
    • (i) If filed by an attorney, the name, OBA number, address, and telephone number must be shown on the last page of the instrument. 
    • (ii) If filed by a party not represented by a lawyer, that party must sign his or her name and type or legibly print his or her name, mailing address, zip code, and telephone number on the last page of the instrument filed.
    • (iii) A notice of paternity and support obligations must be titled In the Interest of the Children of ________and ________, and must list the names of both the mother and the father or alleged father.  The party filing the proceeding is the petitioner.  The names of the obligor and the custodians must be listed under the case numbers.
    • (iv) A notice of a support debt to establish current support and support owed for past months in accordance with the child support guidelines must be titled In the Interest of the Children of _________and _________, and must list the names of both the mother and the father.  The party filing the proceeding is the petitioner.  The names of the obligor and the custodians must be listed under the case numbers.
  • (C) All documents in a proceeding, whether produced on paper or electronically submitted, must be served as required by rule or statute.  Proof of service must be filed with OAH for each service made and must establish on its face that regulatory and statutory requirements for service are satisfied.
  • (D) Parties or attorneys filing motions or pleadings, produced on paper or electronically submitted, after the filing of the notice initiating the action must file the original with OAH or submit it electronically and deliver or mail a paper or electronic copy to the opposing party or counsel of record.  A certificate of mailing or service must be filed with OAH.
  • (E) Upon failure to comply with the requirements in this Section, the ALJ may, among other sanctions, continue the cause of action until satisfactory compliance or deny the requested relief.
  • (F) Requests that do not comply with the requirements of (A) through (E) of this paragraph are considered only at the discretion of the ALJ.
  • (G) Documents submitted through a secured electronic means approved by OAH will meet the requirement of original documents as set forth in this Section. 
• (2) Motions.
  • (A) An original motion, produced on paper or in an electronic document submitted through a secured electronic means approved by OAH, must be filed with OAH with copies, on paper or electronically, served upon opposing parties.  Motions must be in writing, stating the legal basis for the motion, relief requested, and whether the opposing party objects, if known. 
    • (i) The name, OBA identification number, address, and phone number of the attorney must be shown on the last page of the instrument. 
    • (ii) If a person filing the pleading is not represented by a lawyer, that party must sign his or her name and type or legibly print his or her name, address, business and home telephone numbers and zip code.
  • (B) The ALJ determines whether oral argument is necessary on a motion and if so, provides pro se parties and all attorneys of record with notice of the specific hearing date, time, and place.
  • (C) Briefs or responses that do not comply with this paragraph are considered only at the discretion of the ALJ.
  • (D) This paragraph does not prohibit oral motions.  The preferred method of filing documents, including motions, is through an electronic means approved by OAH.
• (3) Briefs.  Briefs and responses must comply with applicable statutes and deadlines. 
  • (A) Reply and response briefs must be delivered to the ALJ at least three working days prior to any hearing.  Each brief must be clearly styled to show:
    • (i) whether it is in support of a motion, in opposition of a motion, or a reply brief;
    • (ii) the particular application or proceeding to which it relates; and
    • (iii) the party or parties on whose behalf it is presented. 
  • (B) Briefs, if required, must not exceed 20 pages in length without prior permission of the ALJ. 
  • (C) Reply briefs must be limited to five pages in length. 
  • (D) No further briefs may be filed without permission of the ALJ. 
  • (E) Briefs and responses that do not comply with this paragraph are considered only at the discretion of the ALJ.
• (4) Extensions of time.  Except at the discretion of the ALJ, all requests for extensions of time must contain:
  • (A) the original due date for the response;
  • (B) the amount of additional time requested;
  • (C) the reason for the request;
  • (D) the current status of the case, including the next hearing date, if a hearing has been scheduled; and
  • (E) a statement that the opposing party or the opposing party's counsel has been contacted regarding the extension and either consents or objects to the extension; or in the alternative, a statement that good faith effort was made to comply but the opposing party or the opposing party's counsel was unavailable.
• (5) Discovery not to be filed.  Depositions, interrogatories, requests for admissions, requests for production of documents, and responses must not be filed with OAH unless the discovery document accompanies the administrative notice, or is an attachment to a motion or response to a motion, or is ordered by the ALJ.  A motion to compel discovery or discovery motion for protective order must include either a verbatim recitation or a copy of the interrogatory, question, request, answer, response, or objection which is the subject of the motion. 
  • (A) Any discovery that contains confidential information, such as bank account numbers, routing numbers, or Social Security numbers, may be redacted by the party submitting the documents.  If the numbers are relevant to the case, redacting all numbers except the last four digits is acceptable. 
  • (B) It is the responsibility of the party submitting the documents to redact any sensitive material. 
  • (C) The originals with the redacted information intact may be required for viewing by the ALJ assigned to the case.
• (6) Disputed discovery motions.  No hearing on a discovery dispute may be set unless the moving party or counsel advises the ALJ in the motion that the party or counsel has conferred, in good faith about the dispute, with the opposing party or opposing party's counsel, but has been unable to resolve the dispute.
• (7) Withdrawal of counsel.  When submitting an application or motion to withdraw and a proposed order allowing withdrawal, counsel must comply with the requirements in this paragraph.
  • (A) Every application to withdraw as counsel must contain:
    • (i) a statement of grounds for withdrawal;
    • (ii) the current status of the case, including the next hearing date, if a hearing has been scheduled;
    • (iii) whether new or substitute counsel has been obtained by the client and entered an appearance; and
    • (iv) a certificate of mailing to the party or custodian showing the last known mailing address and to all other attorneys of record in the case.
    • (B) No application to withdraw may be considered unless it is submitted to the ALJ at least ten days prior to the date on which a hearing is scheduled.
    • (C) Every proposed order allowing withdrawal must contain a statement of the case's current status, including the next hearing date, if a hearing has been scheduled, and a certificate of mailing to the party or custodian, showing the last known mailing address, and to all other parties.