The Third Circuit emailed out the following announcement this week (emphasis mine):

Effective January 16, 2018, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals will implement the Next Generation (NextGen) of Case Management Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) system.  Three major benefits of the new software are: 1) removal of the Java-plugin, 2) a single user name and password for PACER and electronic filing in all NextGen courts, and 3) an enhanced user interface.

ACTION REQUIRED:  All CM/ECF users who wish to e-file on or after January 16, 2018 must complete a prerequisite which is to upgrade your individual PACER accounts.  Click the link to view a short video on how to upgrade your account https://www.pacer.gov/ecfcbt/cso/CSO_PACER_Only/CSO_PACER-Only.htm or read the same instructions in this PDF https://www.pacer.gov/ecfcbt/cso/CSO_PACER_Only/CSO_PACER-Only.pdf .

An additional requirement cannot be done until we are live on NextGen CM/ECF, which will be January 16, 2018.  More information will follow closer to that date.

Click the link below to view a short video regarding NextGen CM/ECF.
https://www.pacer.gov/ecfcbt/cso/Attorney_Filing/Intro/Intro_swf.htm

I honestly don’t know much about NextGen ECF yet, but I assume this is welcome news.