Searchable, not just small
This court asks for something most do not state outright: the brief, addendum and certificates must be submitted as a single searchable PDF, and the appendix as a separate searchable PDF. Searchable means the file contains real text, not a picture of text.
That has a direct consequence for compression. The most effective way to shrink a stubborn PDF is to rasterize it — render each page to an image and rebuild the document from those images. It reliably hits a size target, and it destroys the text layer completely. A rasterized brief is no longer searchable and would not meet this requirement.
Resampling the images embedded in a PDF is a different operation and is safe here: it reduces the pictures inside the document while leaving text objects untouched, so the file stays searchable. ShrinkWrit does that first and only rasterizes as a last resort — and when it does, it says so explicitly in the result rather than letting a non-compliant file go out quietly.
Two limits, and appendix volumes
No individual PDF may exceed 50 MB, and no envelope — everything submitted in one transaction — may exceed 75 MB. Documents above the 50 MB ceiling can be submitted only if broken into separate segments that each come in under it.
The court specifically notes that each appendix volume must come in under 50 MB, and suggests establishing the file size before applying page numbers and completing the table of contents and citations. That is sensible sequencing: compression changes file size, not pagination, but discovering a volume is oversized after the cross-references are built is a poor time to find out.
File size across the Massachusetts courts is governed by Rule 10 of the Massachusetts Rules of Electronic Filing, with figures set per court. The Superior Court uses 25 MB within a 50 MB envelope — different numbers under the same rule, so a limit learned there does not carry here.
Why an appendix gets this large
Appendices are assembled from record material, which arrives as whatever the original source produced — frequently scans, often at high resolution and in color, sometimes photographed rather than scanned.
A page scanned at 600 DPI in 24-bit color can occupy several megabytes on its own. Compiled across a record, that reaches 50 MB without the compilation being unusually long.
Because the bulk is image data rather than text, resampling is disproportionately effective: reducing the embedded images to a resolution suited to reading commonly removes most of the file while leaving pages legible and the text layer intact.
If the file is an exhibit
Lossy compression alters a file. Every byte of the output differs from the input, even where the page looks identical on screen, and that can matter if the document's authenticity is ever contested. ShrinkWrit shows the SHA-256 hash of the file you started with and the file it produced, so the change is documented rather than invisible.
The lossless mode strips metadata and repacks the file without touching a single pixel or sample. It saves less, and on a heavily scanned document it may not reach the limit at all — but when it does, the image data is bit-for-bit what it was. Your original is never modified either way; the output is always a new file.
Common questions
- What are the Appeals Court file size limits?
- 50 MB for an individual PDF and 75 MB for an envelope. Documents above 50 MB may be filed only if broken into separate segments that each fall under the limit.
- What does 'searchable PDF' mean for compression?
- It means the document must contain real text rather than images of text. Resampling the pictures inside a PDF preserves that; rasterizing the pages destroys it. ShrinkWrit resamples first and states plainly in the result if it has had to rasterize, because a rasterized brief would not meet this court's requirement.
- Do the same limits apply in other Massachusetts courts?
- No. Rule 10 of the Massachusetts Rules of Electronic Filing governs file size generally, but each court sets its own figures. The Superior Court uses 25 MB per document within a 50 MB envelope.
- Will compression affect pagination or the table of contents?
- No. Compression changes how images inside the file are stored. Page count, page size, ordering and text are unaffected. The court's own suggestion to check file size before applying page numbers is about sequencing your work, not about compression altering it.
The 50 MB figure on this page was last checked against the court’s own notice on Jul 2026. Limits change without much announcement — confirm it at the source before you file.