(a) All written submissions under this subpart must be filed by hand-delivery, mail, or facsimile transmission. The Secretary discourages the use of facsimile transmission for documents longer than five pages.

(b) If agreed upon by the parties, a party may serve a document upon the other party or parties by facsimile transmission.

(c) The filing date for a written submission under this subpart is the date the document is—

(1) Hand-delivered;

(2) Mailed; or

(3) Sent by facsimile transmission.

(d) A party other than the Department filing by facsimile transmission is responsible for confirming that a complete and legible copy of the document was received by the Department, including by the administrative law judge (ALJ).

(e) Any party filing a document by facsimile transmission must file a follow-up hard copy by hand-delivery or mail within a reasonable period of time.