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Redaction Policy Concerning Personal Identifiers

REDACTING PERSONAL IDENTIFIERS FROM A FILED DOCUMENT

Privacy Protection for Court Filings

Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037

Issue Date

October 16, 2019

Background

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037(a), unless the court orders otherwise, in an electronic or paper filing made with the court that contains an individual's social-security number, taxpayer-identification number, or birth date, the name of an individual, other than the debtor, known to be and identified as a minor, or a financial-account number, a party or nonparty making the filing may include only:

(1) the last four digits of the social-security number and taxpayer-identification number;

(2) the year of the individual's birth;

(3) the minor's initials; and

(4) the last four digits of the financial-account number.

The responsibility to redact filings rests with the counsel, parties, and others who make filings with the court.  The clerk of court does not review documents filed with the court for compliance with Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037(a). 

These instructions explain the process for requesting a redaction of a personal identifier(s) from a document already filed with the court.

Filing Requirements

To request redaction of a personal identifier from a document already filed with the court, you must follow the guidance set forth in the Redaction by Clerk of Personal Data Identifiers, Administrative Order No.2019-9.

In accordance with the Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule (see Item 21), a $28.00 redaction fee is charged per case.

*Note: If filing more than one notice in a specific case, contact the clerk's office for instructions before filing the notice.  If filing a Notice of Redaction in a closed case, the case does not need to be reopened solely to address a request to redact personal identifiers from the case record.

Procedure

1.  Prepare a Notice of Redaction, identifying the document(s)/claim(s) that were filed containing personal identifiers as defined in Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037.  Include a certificate of service attesting to service of the Notice on the debtor, debtor’s attorney, any individual whose personal identifies have been exposed, the case trustee, and the Bankruptcy Administrator.

2.  Serve a copy of the Notice of Redaction on the debtor, debtor’s attorney, any individual whose personal identifiers have been exposed, the case trustee, and the Bankruptcy Administrator.

3.  File the Notice of Redaction, using the Notice of Redaction docket event.

Important:  The filer must upload the Notice of Redaction PDF as the main document and the redacted document as an attachment to the main document.

During the docketing process, the filer must certify that the attached redacted document is an exact copy of the original document other than the personal identifiers redacted.

What Happens Next

Initially, the Notice of Redaction and attachment(s) will be restricted from public view and available only to the party filer and the court until the redaction process is complete.

Usually on the next business day, the clerk will docket a Clerk’s Notice of Redaction and permanently restrict the unredacted document from public view and make the Notice of Redaction and the redacted document available for public view. 

If it is determined upon a quality review of the Notice of Redaction that the notice fails to comply with the administrative order, the clerk will issue a Notice of Non-Compliance with Administrative Order No. 2019-9, giving the filer 7 days to comply.   If the filer does not comply, the original document will be unrestricted and become viewable on the public docket.

For More Help

Please contact the clerk's office for assistance at 251-441-5391. The help desk hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.