Electronically stored information

Electronically stored information (ESI), for the purpose of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) is information created, manipulated, communicated, stored, and best utilized in digital form, requiring the use of computer hardware and software.

The term has become a legally defined phrase as the U.S. government determined for the purposes of the FRCP Rules of 2006 that promulgating procedures for maintenance and discovery for electronically stored information was necessary.