34 C.F.R. § 300.196 – Filing requirements.

(a) Any written submission under § 300.194 must be filed by hand-delivery, by mail, or by facsimile transmission. The Secretary discourages the use of facsimile transmission for documents longer than five pages.
(b) The filing date under paragraph (a) of this section is the date the document is—
1. (1) Hand-delivered;
2. (2) Mailed; or
3. (3) Sent by facsimile transmission.
(c) A party filing by facsimile transmission is responsible for confirming that a complete and legible copy of the document was received by the Department.
(d) If a document is filed by facsimile transmission, the Secretary or the hearing officer, as applicable, may require the filing of a follow-up hard copy by hand-delivery or by mail within a reasonable period of time.
(e) If agreed upon by the parties, service of a document may be made upon the other party by facsimile transmission.
(f) A party must show a proof of mailing to establish the filing date under paragraph (b)(2) of this section as provided in 34 CFR 75.102(d).
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(f)(3))