Court papers are public records. Anybody can search the court system online and see the court papers submitted in a case,
except papers sealed or restricted by court order. The court system does not want the public to see your court papers so
some courts have rules that tell you to edit out personal information before filing your papers with the court.
This is called redaction.
Redaction Courts and Cases
Redaction rules only apply to some Supreme Court civil cases, like cases for money or foreclosure.
There are many cases that the redaction rules do not apply to. The personal information in the case types listed below
is o.k. to upload to the Court and is NOT private or confidential under
Court Rule 22 NYCRR §202.5(e):
- Supreme Court divorce cases
- Article 81 guardianship cases
- Cases where the information is required by law or court rule, like name changes.
If the redaction rules don't apply to your case, you check the box in NYSCEF that says that your document does not contain
Confidential Personal Information as defined in 22NYCRR §202.5(2). It doesn't matter if there is personal information
in your papers that has not been redacted.
Confidential Personal Information (CPI)
When redaction is required, see courts and case types listed above, the Court wants you to leave out private information about
yourself and others when you serve and file your papers. Here is the list of which information to redact and how to redact it:
- Taxpayer ID numbers, social security numbers, and employer ID numbers are redacted by leaving out everything but the last
four numbers. For example: xxx-xx-1234.
- Dates of birth are redacted by leaving out everything but the year. For example: xx/xx/1996.
- Children's names are redacted by leaving out everything but the child's initials. For example: North West might be redacted
as N.W or N---- W---. A child is under 18 years old.
- Financial account numbers are redacted by leaving out everything but the last four numbers. Financial accounts include credit
or debit card numbers, bank account numbers, investment account numbers, and insurance account numbers. For example, you might
redact a credit card number like this: xxxx-xxx-xxxx-1234.
If the redaction rules apply to you and you have redacted your papers, check the box in NYSCEF that says that your document
contains Confidential Personal Information that is Redacted, per 22 NYCRR §202.5(e). If you think that the court needs to
see the redacted information in order to decide the case, read Un-Redacted Documents.