Redaction Rules for Confidential Personal Information

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.

• Supreme Court divorce cases
• Article 81 guardianship cases
• Cases where the information is required by law or court rule, like name changes.

Confidential Personal Information (CPI)

• 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.

NYSCEF E-mail: nyscef@nycourts.gov