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.
FAQs
Once a file is saved with redactions applied, there's no way to get the information back. If you overwrite the original PDF with the redacted version, the redacted information is gone forever. Consider adding the original page back to your PDF document for users to view.
What is a redacted response? ›
Answer: When a document is redacted, it means that certain text contained in a document filed with the Court is concealed from view for privacy protection.
Are redacted documents legal? ›
Redacted, a fairly common practice in legal documents, refers to the process of editing a document to conceal or remove confidential information before disclosure or publication. Redacting personal data in documents is important to avoid identity theft.
What are redaction rules? ›
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.
How to uncover blacked out text in a PDF? ›
If you are using SwiftDoo PDF, just open the file, click on Edit, then White-out, then on the chosen part apply redaction. After right-clicking on the redacted part, you can click Delete White-out to remove the protection and reveal the text.
Can redaction be undone? ›
Most redactions are permanent parts of your file
If you or the original author of the file used a PDF editor to place and finalize redactions on a document, whatever originally existed beneath the redaction is lost. The only opportunity to remove redactions exists before saving the document.
What type of information gets redacted? ›
Personal Identifiable Information (PII)
This includes any information that can be used to identify an individual. Examples include names, social security numbers, passport numbers, and home addresses. PII is often redacted to comply with privacy laws and to protect individuals from identity theft.
Why do they redact documents? ›
Redaction or sanitization is the process of removing sensitive information from a document so that it may be distributed to a broader audience. It is intended to allow the selective disclosure of information.
Is redact the same as delete? ›
No, "redact" and "delete" are not the same. To "redact" something means to obscure sensitive information from a document or text. To "delete" something means to remove it entirely.
Can a redacted document be unredacted? ›
It depends on how it is redacted. If it was redacted in a program as though it were highlighted, strikethrough'd, etc., then maybe so by deleting those annotations. If it had been flattened; however, or created by Print-to-PDF, then no, you cannot unredact those.
Redaction is permanently removing visible text and graphics from a document. You use the Redact a PDF tool to remove content.
How to legally redact a document? ›
Cut-out (literally) all the text to be redacted and properly dispose of (shred) the clippings. This method will always be 100% effective. Use opaque (100% impenetrable by light; neither transparent nor translucent) tape or paper to cover over the sections to be redacted.
Why is redaction important? ›
Redaction helps maintain the confidentiality of proprietary data, trade secrets, financial statements, customer lists, and other confidential information that could be detrimental if disclosed to unauthorised individuals.
What is the right to redact? ›
It would permit redaction of the name of any and every civil servant, save where the identity of the person went to the legality of the decision, and would permit the removal of any part or word in the text of a document that did not in some way directly concern a ground of challenge.
Can a redacted image be unredacted? ›
Most image editors replace the original pixel. Normally, redactions should be impossible to 'unredact'.
Is PDF redaction permanent? ›
Redacting a PDF hides information by blacking out (or “blacking out") text and images. When you redact a PDF, the hidden information is permanently removed from the document. You can't un-redact a PDF.
Are redacted PDFS secure? ›
If you want your data to stay safe when sending sensitive files, it's always best to redact and sanitize PDF documents before sending them. Redacting removes sensitive text information that you might not want others to read while sanitizing deletes hidden data and metadata.
