Filing Requirements: Certain private information must not be visible on papers given to the court.
If you need to give the court a paper that has private information (also known as confidential information), you must follow Rule 7.03 of the Rules of Civil Procedure (CR 7.03) to make sure that certain private information will not be visible. You are responsible for following this rule. The court clerk will not check your papers to make sure you followed CR 7.03.
Note: You may not be required to follow CR 7.03 if the paper is to be filed in a case file that is not accessible to the public. Ask the circuit court clerk whether you need to comply CR 7.03.
What Qualifies as Private Information?
Private information includes:
- Social Security Numbers
- Taxpayer ID Numbers
- Birth Dates
- Financial Account Numbers
How do I hide the private information (redact)?
You must hide or redact the private information. Redact means covering up or hiding the information so others cannot see it.
You can hide information in a few different ways:
- Draw a black mark over the private information so no one can read it.
- Replace the information with X's or blank spaces or a word like [REDACTED].
Here is the information you must hide when including private information on your papers to the court:
- Social Security Numbers or Taxpayer ID Numbers: You must hide all the numbers except the last four.
- Example:
- Before: “John Smith's social security number is 123-45-6789"
- After:
- Option #1 “John Smith's SSN is XXX-XX-6789"
- Option #2 “John Smith's SSN is ___-__-6789."
- Birth Dates: You must hide the month and day, but you can show the year someone was born.
- Example:
- Before: “George Washington's Date of Birth is 2/22/1732."
- After:
- Option #1 “George Washington's Date of Birth is XX/XX/1732."
- Option #2 “George Washington's Date of Birth is __/ __/1732."
- Bank Account Numbers (or any other financial account number): You must hide all the numbers and letters.
- Example:
- Before: “John Smith's bank account number is 5555555."
- After:
- Option #1 “John Smith's bank account number is XXXXXXX."
- Option #2 “John Smith's bank account number is __________."
Steps to redact your papers
Step 1: Find the private information in your paper.
Step 2: Cover the private information with a black mark or replace it.
- For numbers: Like in the examples above (e.g., XXX-XX-1234)
- For words/text: You can use [REDACTED].
Step 3: Give the court the paper with the hidden information (the redacted document).
What should I do with the original paper?
You must keep a copy of the paper that shows all of the private information. Do not give this one to the court unless the court ask you for it!
What happens if you forget to hide the private information?
If you forget to hide the private information, the court can punish you. It might remove the paper from the court's official records and ask you to file a copy with all of the private information properly hidden.