YARMOUTH — The Maine Judicial Branch has signed a $16.8 million deal with Tyler Technologies to digitize paperwork for the court system.

Tyler’s Odyssey software will move the court system to an electronic system and away from keeping records on paper. The 10-year deal was announced Dec. 20.

“For 200 years, the Maine Judicial Branch has been a paper-based court system,” Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley said in a press release. “All case filings, other court documents and orders have been on paper.”

The Odyssey software will serve judges and clerks and will also be available for online public access. The capacity for electronic filing will allow the judicial branch to review and accept case filings.

The Odyssey software is already implemented in 600 counties in 11 states. 

Maine’s current system can’t accommodate electronic filing, document management, or jury management. Saufley said the Odyssey software will “greatly enhance public safety and accessibility.”

“Ultimately we will save thousands of square feet of courthouse space currently used for paper file storage,” she said. “The system will also include advanced security measures to protect the integrity of court files and personal data.”

According to Tyler Technologies, the new software will “help the state meet its goal of the efficient and effective use of its financial, technological, judge and staff resources.”

According to the Maine Judicial Branch, the software will be implemented in stages by judicial region, of which there are eight. The software will be rolled out in a pilot program in the first region by 2019 and will be implemented statewide by 2021. However, the order in which the software will be installed was not noted. 

Tyler Technologies, which is based in Plano, Texas, employs 550 people in Maine at its offices in Yarmouth and Falmouth. The company employs 3,100 people across the country.

The software company is in the midst of an expansion on Tyler Drive in Yarmouth, off Route 1. The project is expected to add add 575 local jobs over the next 10 years.

Tyler is building a four-story addition with 94,500 square feet of space at the rear of the local building. The expansion, which was approved by the Yarmouth Planning Board in December 2015, is expected to be completed by November 2017. Work began at the end of March 2016.

Kate Gardner can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or kgardner@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter: @katevgardner.

Tyler Technologies is expanding on Tyler Drive off Route 1 in Yarmouth.