RESPONSIBILITY FOR REDACTION
Bankruptcy cases and related adversary proceedings are public records. Certain personally identifiable information, commonly referred to as PII, must be redacted from documents before they are filed per Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037. When you redact PII, you are removing part of the information from your document so that it cannot be used to steal your identity or the identity of others.
As the document filer, you are solely responsible for ensuring that PII is redacted. The Clerk’s Office may NOT redact PII for you. Additionally, the Court is NOT responsible for monitoring the disclosure of personal identifiers, nor should anyone assume that the Court will monitor the docket or documents for these identifiers.
REDACTION EXAMPLES
PII that must be redacted includes social security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, financial account numbers, birthdates, and the names of minor children.
Here is an example of how PII can be redacted from a document:
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) | Redaction Example |
Social Security Number (SSN) | Use only the last four digits Example: XXX-XX-1234 |
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) | Use only the last four digits Example: XXX-XX-1234 |
Financial Account Number | Use only the last four digits Example: XXXXXX1234 |
Birthdate | Use only the year of birth Example: XX/XX/1983 |
Name of a Minor Child | Use only the child’s initials Example: “J.D.” |
Please review Rule 9037 for more information.
EXEMPTIONS
The redaction requirement does NOT apply to the following pursuant to subsection (b) of Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037:
Financial-account number that identifies the property allegedly subject to forfeiture in a forfeiture proceeding;
- The record of an administrative or agency proceeding unless filed with a proof of claim;
- The official record of a state-court proceeding;
- The record of a court or tribunal, if that record was not subject to the redaction requirement when originally filed;
- A filing covered by subdivision (c) of this rule concerning filings made under seal; and
- A filing that is subject to §110 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
EXCEPTION – STATEMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (FORM B 121)
Debtors filing bankruptcy without an attorney are required to provide a daytime telephone number and to submit a completed Statement of Social Security Number (Form B 121) with the Voluntary Petition. This document must contain the full Social Security or Taxpayer Identification Number and will be retained by the Clerk’s Office as part of the case file. Note that this document is NOT made part of the public record.
Refer to the Filing Requirements page for more information about this form.
EXCEPTION – TRANSCRIPTS
Attorneys and self-represented parties who attended the hearing are solely responsible for the redaction of the information in a transcript. Transcribers are NOT responsible for identifying a need for redaction or for redacting transcripts prior to filing, absent a request by an attorney or self-represented party. The redaction procedures for transcripts (as well as the 90-day restriction policy) apply only to transcripts of federal courtroom proceedings. See Local Rule 5007-1 for more information.