N.D. Tex. (Amarillo Division): Mandatory Certification Regarding Generative Artificial In…
Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk · U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Verified September 30, 2026
- Citation
- Mandatory Certification Regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence (Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk)
- Order date
- November 27, 2023
Summary
Attorneys and pro se litigants must file a certificate together with their notice of appearance attesting either that no portion of any filing will be drafted by generative AI, or that any AI-drafted language (including quotations, citations, paraphrased assertions, and legal analysis) will be checked for accuracy using print reporters or traditional legal databases by a human being.
What does the order require?
- Attorneys and pro se litigants must file a certificate together with their notice of appearance attesting either that no portion of any filing will be drafted by generative AI, or that any AI-drafted language (including quotations, citations, paraphrased assertions, and legal analysis) will be checked for accuracy using print reporters or traditional legal databases by a human being.
- The Court will strike any filing from parties who fail to comply with the certification requirement.
- Any attorney who signs any filing in the case will be held responsible for its contents (under Rule 11, per the chambers page; under applicable rules of attorney discipline, per the certificate template), regardless of whether generative AI drafted any portion of that filing.
Practice areas: federal civil
What the certification requires
Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk (N.D. Tex., Amarillo Division) requires every attorney and pro se litigant in his cases to file a generative-AI certificate together with their notice of appearance. The certification must state one of two things:
- No portion of any filing will be drafted by generative artificial intelligence; or
- Any language drafted by generative AI, including quotations, citations, paraphrased assertions, and legal analysis, will be checked for accuracy using print reporters or traditional legal databases by a human being.
The certification is on a court-provided template (KacsmarykAICert.doc) hosted on the chambers page. Failure to file the certification is a basis for the Court to strike the filing.
The accountability provision is unambiguous: the chambers page states that filers “will be held responsible under Rule 11 for the contents of any filing that they sign and submit to the Court, regardless of whether generative artificial intelligence drafted any portion of that filing,” and the certificate template frames the same responsibility under “applicable rules of attorney discipline.”
How this differs from other chambers AI orders
Judge Kacsmaryk’s certification is structured as a one-time, per-case filing tied to the notice of appearance, rather than an ongoing per-pleading obligation. This makes it administratively simpler for routine matters but front-loads counsel’s attestation: at the start of the case, counsel must commit to either non-use or human verification.
The rationale stated on the chambers page emphasizes that generative AI platforms are “prone to hallucinations and bias” and lack the oath-bound duty to uphold law that attorneys undertake. The requirement first appears on the chambers page in late 2023, in the early wave of federal AI standing orders.
Relationship to N.D. Tex. Local Civil Rule 7.2(f)
N.D. Tex. adopted court-wide Local Civil Rule 7.2(f) in its Local Civil Rules effective September 3, 2024 (see txnd-local-civil-rule-7-2-f.md), requiring first-page disclosure of generative AI in briefs. Judge Kacsmaryk’s chambers-specific certification predates the district-wide rule and serves a different function: Rule 7.2(f) is a per-brief disclosure; the Kacsmaryk certification is a one-time per-case attestation tied to the notice of appearance. Firms with Kacsmaryk matters may wish to plan for both.
Primary source
Chambers page: https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/judge/judge-matthew-kacsmaryk
Certification template: https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/documents/KacsmarykAICert.doc