User Guide

A walkthrough of everything AuditFile 1983 does — from creating a case to finalizing your complaint, the mobile app, and the referral program.

On this page

Overview

AuditFile 1983 guides you through building a Section 1983 federal civil rights complaint against government officials who violated your constitutional rights. You tell your story in plain English, our AI extracts the legal structure, and a wizard lets you review and edit each piece. The final output is a court-formatted PDF you can file pro se.

This is not legal advice. AuditFile 1983 is a self-help drafting tool. We are not your attorney. Consult one if you're unsure — especially before filing.

1. Create your account

1
Click Get Started in the top-right. Fill in email + password + name. Two checkboxes are required: you accept the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy. There's also a clearly-worded AI / not-a-lawyer warning — read it.
2
If you arrived via a partner's referral link (a URL ending in ?ref=SOMECODE), the referral code is pre-filled in the signup form with a green "From referral link" badge. Leave it alone — that's how the partner gets credit.
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Submit the form. You'll be logged in immediately. We don't require email verification today.

2. Complete your profile

Click your name in the top-right → Profile. Add your full legal name, address, city, state, ZIP, and phone. This is required before you can create a case — the system needs your contact information to render the case caption on the complaint.

Your profile data is auto-copied into the case's plaintiff block when you create a new document. You can edit it per-case afterward if it differs.

3. Install on your phone (PWA)

AuditFile 1983 is an installable web app. You don't go to an app store — you install it directly from your browser. Once installed it lives on your home screen like any other app, with no address bar.

Android (Chrome)

1
Open Chrome → go to auditfile1983.com.
2
Scroll to the gradient install card under the hero — tap the white Install button.
3
Confirm the install dialog. Tap the new icon on your home screen — it opens with no Chrome bar.

iPhone (Safari)

Apple doesn't allow automatic install prompts — every iOS PWA is added manually.

1
Open Safari (not Chrome — iOS Chrome can't install PWAs).
2
Tap the Share icon at the bottom.
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Scroll and tap Add to Home Screen → Add.
Once installed, tapping the home-screen icon takes you straight to the Add to story page of your most-recently-active case — built for field use.

4. Create a new case

From the navbar, click + New Case, or from My Documents click + New Document. A blank case is created with you as the plaintiff and an empty wizard. Free accounts can have up to 2 in-flight drafts at a time. Paid + finalized cases don't count toward that limit.

5. Tell your story

On the case page (Tell Us What Happened) describe the incident in your own words — speak or type. Include:

  • Where you were and what you were doing (filming, walking, asking questions)
  • Who approached you (officer, deputy, sergeant — names + badges if you have them)
  • What they said and what you said
  • What they did — orders, force, arrest, equipment seized
  • What happened after — released, charged, hospitalized

Tap Dictate to speak instead of typing. When you're done, click Analyze My Story. The AI reads your text and fills in every section of the complaint for you to review and edit.

Hitting Analyze again later replaces existing edits. If you've already analyzed and edited the wizard steps, don't re-analyze — use Add details (covered next) instead.

6. Add to your story in the field

From My Documents, tap the blue Add to story button on your case. This opens the mobile quick-add page — the field-use tool for collecting details as they come.

Each save adds a timestamped chunk to your story. Saved chunks appear as read-only cards above the input — you can see your timeline, but you can't accidentally tap inside a prior chunk and dictate into the wrong spot.

Workflow

1
Tap Dictate and speak (or type) what just happened.
2
Tap Save chunk. The chunk joins your story with a UTC timestamp.
3
Repeat throughout the day. When you're done collecting, tap Review & analyze.

If you save a chunk after the initial Analyze step has already run, the page asks you to pick a category (Officers, Evidence, Damages, etc.). Your addition is merged into the existing complaint without overwriting the edits you've already made in steps 1–7.

Delete a chunk

Each chunk card has a small trash icon in the top-right. Tap it, confirm, and the chunk is removed from your story.

7. The wizard steps (1–7)

After your story is analyzed, you walk through 7 review steps. Each step is pre-filled from the AI extraction — you only need to fix or add what's wrong. Use the clickable progress dots at the top to jump between completed steps.

Step 1 — Federal jurisdiction

Confirms the federal district court for your case based on the city and state of the incident. Override available.

Step 2 — Incident details

Date, time, address, city, state, county, location type, what you were doing, force used, equipment seized or damaged.

Step 3 — Defendants

The officers and the government entity (city police department, county sheriff). For each defendant: name, badge, rank, agency, capacity (individual / official / both), supervisor flag.

What is a "Monell Claim"?

Named for Monell v. Department of Social Services (1978), this is a claim against the government entity itself (a city, a county, or one of their departments) — not just against the individual employee who violated your rights. It's a separate, optional section on Step 3.

Suing the entity matters because individual employees can be hard to collect from and may have limited insurance, while the entity is on the hook for the full judgment. But it's also harder to win: the Supreme Court ruled that a city or county can't be held liable just because one employee did something wrong (no "respondeat superior" under §1983). You have to show the violation came from an official policy, a widespread custom or practice, or the act of someone with final policymaking authority — a single rogue employee usually isn't enough on its own. That's the "Policy, Custom, or Practice" field on the form: describe what you have, even if it's just "the supervisor admitted on camera there's a no-filming policy."

Important limit: Monell only reaches municipal entities — cities, counties, and their departments (city police, county sheriff, a county-run library or DMV branch, parks departments, etc.). A state agency (a state Department of Motor Vehicles, a state police force) generally can't be sued directly under §1983 — sovereign immunity blocks it. In that case, sue the individual employee(s) instead (set their capacity to "Individual Capacity" on Step 3), or a supervisor in their official capacity if you're after a policy change rather than damages.

This is general information, not legal advice for your specific case — if you're unsure whether your situation supports a Monell claim, a consultation with an attorney is worth it before you file.

Step 4 — Constitutional claims

The amendments that were violated (1st, 4th, 5th, etc.) and how. Each comes with a plain-English explainer. This step drives which case-law citations the system pulls in step 8.

Step 5 — Evidence & witnesses

Videos, photos, body-cam footage, audio recordings, witness names and contact info. For video evidence, you can mark a Key Timestamp (HH:MM:SS) for a deep-link to the moment.

Step 6 — Damages, relief sought, prior complaints

Physical injuries, emotional distress, property damage, lost wages. The Use recommended button one-clicks the six standard 1983 asks (declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, compensatory + punitive damages, attorney's fees, costs).

Step 7 — Final review

Read-only summary of every section with pencil-edit links back to each step. Includes the case-law strategy card (see next section).

8. Case law strategy

On Step 7 you'll see a prominent Case Law Strategy card. By default your complaint is generated without case law — pleading just the facts is often the strongest approach for pro se filers (judges hold pro se complaints to a more lenient standard under Haines v. Kerner).

If you want to add case law, click Choose case law strategy and pick one of:

  • No case law — facts only. Default.
  • Inline citations — short cites within the complaint paragraphs (Smith v. Jones, 555 U.S. 123 (2008)).
  • Appendix — a list of supporting authority at the end of the complaint.
  • Memorandum of law — a separate section with case names, holdings, and how they apply to your case.

The cases themselves come from our curated library of foundational civil rights case law. The system auto-picks one case per constitutional claim by the amendment you chose, plus Monell v. Department of Social Services if you named a government entity. We do not use AI to generate or summarize case law — hallucinated citations carry serious legal risk, so every case in our library is hand-verified.

9. Draft preview & editing

After Step 7 (or after picking a case-law strategy), you land on the Draft page. The complaint is rendered in court format — caption, parties, jurisdiction, factual allegations, claims, prayer for relief, signature.

The Factual Allegations section is editable (auto-sizing textareas). The other sections come straight from your wizard data — to change them, click the pencil-edit links back to the relevant step.

Regenerate

If you've edited wizard data since the last draft, the Regenerate banner appears. Click Regenerate Draft to re-run the AI drafter on your updated data.

Undo

A single-use Undo regenerate button is available right after a regenerate. It restores the prior draft. Once you use it, the snapshot is cleared.

10. Payment

Drafts can be previewed as a watermarked PDF for free (DRAFT — NOT FOR FILING). To get a clean filable PDF you pay $149 — or $99 with a valid promo code.

1
On the Draft page, click Pay & download clean PDF.
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Enter a promo code if you have one (auto-filled if you came via a partner link). The price updates live.
3
Pay via Stripe Checkout. You're returned to the draft with a confirmation.
Paying alone doesn't unlock the clean PDF — it just enables Finalize. You still get unlimited watermarked previews while you finish reviewing.

11. Finalize & download

When you're ready to file, click Finalize & Download. This is a deliberate, one-way step.

The Finalize page has two required checkboxes:

  • "I confirm this complaint is complete and ready to file."
  • "I understand this draft was AI-assisted. AuditFile 1983 is not my attorney and I will consult one if I'm unsure."

Both must be checked. On submit, the document is locked — you can re-download but no longer edit. We stamp the time of confirmation and the AI-disclaimer acknowledgement on the record.

Why locking? Once you've filed, the version we generated needs to match what's on the court docket. The lock prevents accidental edits that would diverge from the filed version. To make changes after locking, you'd need to start a new case (or, post-filing, draft an amended complaint).

12. Re-downloading later

Lost the PDF? Need another copy? Go to My Documents — your finalized case has a Download PDF button. The clean (non-watermarked) PDF stays available forever.

13. Offline & syncing

The mobile app works offline for quick-add (adding chunks to your story). Auditors filming inside courthouses, basements, or remote areas can keep adding details — they sync automatically when signal returns.

How it works

1
Open the installed PWA. The page is cached, so it loads even with no signal.
2
When offline, the header shows Offline.
3
Type a chunk → Save. It's stored locally with a yellow Queued badge and a N queued count in the header.
4
When you're back online, queued chunks sync automatically. They become regular timestamped chunks in your story.
Voice dictation does NOT work offline. Phones use Google or Apple's cloud speech-to-text, which needs internet. Type your chunks if you're offline. The mic button is disabled when offline so you don't waste effort.

Things that still need internet

  • Running AI analysis on your story
  • Regenerating the draft
  • Voice dictation
  • Payment (Stripe Checkout)
  • Downloading the PDF

14. Referral program (read this!)

AuditFile 1983 has a partner program. When you refer a buyer, you earn 20% of every $99 sale made through your code — that's $19.80 per sale. Here's how the whole flow works in plain English.

Step A — Becoming a partner

1
Open your Profile page. On the right you'll see a Referral & Partnership section. If you're not yet a partner there's a form to Request Partnership. Fill in your desired promo code (something easy to remember, like your first name + a number) and a short message about yourself.
2
An admin reviews your request. When approved, two things happen in one click: your account is flipped to revenue partner AND a promo code is created in your name (your requested code if it's available, or a unique fallback). The promo code is worth $50 off — buyers pay $99 instead of $149 when they use it.

Step B — Your referral link

Once approved, your Profile page's referral block changes. You'll see your promo code (e.g. ALICE10) and a copyable shareable link that looks like this: 

https://auditfile1983.com/?ref=ALICE10

Tap the copy button next to the link to copy it to your clipboard. Share that URL anywhere — Twitter, YouTube descriptions, comments on auditing videos, DM to a friend. Anything that links someone to that URL counts.

Step C — What happens when someone clicks your link

1
Visitor opens https://auditfile1983.com/?ref=ALICE10. Our middleware reads the ?ref= parameter, validates it against the active promo codes, and stores it in their browser session.
2
The visitor browses the site. The referral code stays in their session even if they navigate to other pages.
3
They sign up. The referral code is pre-filled in the signup form (green "From referral link" badge appears). They submit — they're now linked to you as their referrer.
4
Later, they hit the pay page. Your promo code is automatically applied, dropping their price from $149 to $99. They check out via Stripe.
5
The webhook records the sale. You earn $19.80 (20% of $99). It shows up on your Partner Dashboard within seconds.
Why $99 not $149? Your link gives the buyer the discount — that's the value of clicking your link. Without your link they'd pay full price. The 20% cut comes out of the discounted price, not the full price.

Step D — Tracking your earnings (the Partner Dashboard)

Once you're a partner, a new Partner Dashboard link appears in the user dropdown (top-right). On that page you'll see:

  • Four summary cards: total sales count, gross revenue from your code, your cut earned, your unpaid balance.
  • Your promo codes with sales counts and revenue.
  • Recent sales table — date, buyer name + email (so you can verify), amount paid, your cut.
  • Adjustments — credits or debits posted by admin (bonuses, corrections, etc.) with reasons.
  • Payout history — what you've requested and what's been paid.

Step E — Getting paid

When your unpaid balance reaches $20 or more, the Request Payout button on the dashboard is live. Click it. A small form pops up:

  • Payment method: PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, Check by mail, or Other
  • Destination details: your PayPal email, Venmo handle, Zelle phone/email, or mailing address — whatever the method needs to reach you
  • Notes: optional — anything you want admin to know

Submit. An email goes to admin with a deep link to your payout record. Admin processes the payment outside the app (via the actual payment platform), then marks the request as paid in the admin panel and records the transaction reference. You see "Paid" on your dashboard, with the payment date.

Common confusion points

  • The link must include ?ref=YOURCODE exactly. Sharing just auditfile1983.com won't credit you. Always copy the full link from your Profile page.
  • One sale, one credit. If a buyer uses your code, that sale is credited to you. The same buyer can't reuse the same code for another purchase (the system blocks it).
  • The visitor must actually buy. Click-throughs alone don't earn anything. You earn when they pay. (We may add visit analytics later; not today.)
  • You can't refer yourself. The middleware refuses to seed your own code into your own session.
  • $20 minimum payout. This isn't because we want to keep your money — it's because PayPal / Zelle transaction fees on smaller amounts eat too much of what you'd get.

15. FAQ

Can AuditFile 1983 represent me in court?

No. We're a drafting tool, not a law firm. We're not your attorney. The complaint we generate is yours to file (or take to a lawyer for review). We do not appear in court.

What if I make a mistake after finalizing?

You can't edit a finalized document. The fix is to either (a) start a new case in AuditFile 1983 and file an amended complaint, or (b) consult a lawyer about how to amend in court.

How long do you keep my data?

See the Privacy Policy. We don't share your story with anyone outside the OpenAI API call that runs the extraction and draft. You can delete your account from the profile page.

What if my voice dictation isn't working?

Web Speech requires internet (voice goes to cloud STT). It works best in Chrome on Android. iOS Safari is inconsistent. If you're offline, type instead — the mic button is disabled until you're online.

What if the AI gets a detail wrong?

It will — that's why every wizard step is editable. Read each step carefully. The most common AI mistakes: getting names spelled wrong, missing a badge number, or being too vague about "what the officer said." Fix all of those before generating the draft.

Can I file the watermarked draft?

Technically yes, but you shouldn't. Courts will accept it, but the watermark looks unprofessional. Pay first, finalize, and file the clean version.

I lost my promo code email — can I still get the discount?

If you signed up through a partner link, the code is in your session — try the pay page, it should be pre-applied. If not, ask whoever sent you the link to resend it.

Why aren't there push notifications?

Today we don't send push notifications. The PWA install is for fast access + offline; alerts would require server-side scheduling that we haven't built yet. Email is the only channel.

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