State court redaction rules, and where a federal-ready filing falls short

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 applies only in federal court, and state courts write their own redaction rules. California's Rule 1.201 covers just Social Security and financial account numbers, which may show their last four digits. Texas Rule 21c adds driver's license and passport numbers, birth dates, home addresses and the names of anyone who was a minor when the suit was filed. Florida's Rule 2.425 allows no portion of a Social Security, bank or card account number, and New York's 22 NYCRR 202.5(e) follows the federal rule but reaches businesses' tax ID numbers too.

Each rule fits on a page. The trouble starts with documents redacted for one court and filed in another, because a Social Security number cut to its last four digits, or a birth date cut to the year, still breaks some of these rules.

What each rule lets a filing show

These are the rules for civil filings: California Rule of Court 1.201, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21c, Florida's Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.425 and, for New York's Supreme and County Courts, 22 NYCRR 202.5(e). The first column is Federal Rule 5.2, for comparison. For the other 46 states and D.C., see court redaction rules by state.

What the filing contains	Rule 5.2	California	Texas	Florida	New York
Social Security number	Last four	Last four	Redact	None of it	Last four
Other taxpayer ID number	Last four	Not listed	Redact	Last four	Last four, businesses' too
Driver's license or passport number	Not listed	Not listed	Redact	Last four	Not listed
Bank or card account number	Last four	Last four	Redact	None of it	Last four
Other financial account number	Last four	Last four	Redact	Last four	Last four
Birth date	Year	Not listed	Redact	Year	Year
Name of a minor	Initials	Not listed	Redact	Initials	Initials
Home address	Not listed	Not listed	Redact	Not listed	Not listed
Phone number, email or password	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Last four, or shortened	Not listed

Texas is the strictest about what remains. Where the other rules keep the last four digits, the year or the initials, it names no part of an item that may stay.

What else the rules require

Every one of these rules puts the job on the filer. California's says the clerk won't review filings for compliance. A Texas clerk may not refuse a filing that breaks Rule 21c, and Tarrant County's clerk stopped screening filings for sensitive data in 2018.

California allows a confidential reference list of the redacted items, on form MC-120, if the court orders it for good cause.
Texas wants each removed character replaced with an "X", or the data removed in a way that shows a redaction. The filer must keep an unredacted copy until the case ends, including any appeal filed within six months of judgment. Where a statute or rule requires sensitive data, the filer flags the document to the clerk. Wills and sealed documents are exempt.
Florida splits the work between two rules. Rule 2.420 lists information that statutes make confidential, from card numbers to HIV test results, and a filing that contains any of it needs a "Notice of Confidential Information within Court Filing". Rule 2.425 sets the limits in the table, with exceptions that include information relevant and material to an issue before the court.
New York lets a filer who needs the full information before the court ask leave to file it in a confidential affidavit. Its rule also covers protected documents and testimony from a matrimonial action when they're attached to papers in another civil case.

Where federal habits fail in state filings

When the Florida Bar polled lawyers and judges in 2014, about a third of those who responded knew of sensitive information being filed. Their examples were ordinary: bank statements and checks attached as exhibits, depositions and their exhibits filed with no redactions and children's full names in answers to interrogatories. Each state's differences add more places to look.

The last four digits

A W-2 redacted to "XXX-XX-0931" passes in federal court, California and New York. In Florida no part of a Social Security number may appear, and the same holds for the bank and card numbers on statements and check images.

Driver's license and passport numbers

Rule 5.2 doesn't mention them, so an eye trained on federal filings passes over them. Texas and Florida cover both, and they turn up on copied licenses, police crash reports, loan applications and insurance claim files. On a scanned license the number is part of the image.

Home addresses

Texas treats a home address as sensitive data, so it has to come out of medical and employment records, crash reports and a party's own letters. "Patient address: 1420 Wexford Drive" in a records header is easy to miss. A business address can stay.

Birth dates, and people who were minors

Texas names no part of a birth date that may stay, not even the year. It also protects anyone who was a minor when the suit was filed, so "my son Diego, who's nineteen now" still needs redacting if Diego was seventeen when the petition went in.

Insurance, loan and business numbers

New York's list reaches a business's employer identification number and insurance account numbers. Florida's reaches insurance policy, loan, customer and patient numbers, plus phone numbers and email addresses. They fill declarations pages, benefits statements, medical bills and corporate tax returns: the exhibits of an ordinary injury or commercial case.

A checklist before you file in state court

The rule for this court has been checked, along with its local rules and any order in the case.
In Florida, no digit of a Social Security, bank or card account number remains.
In Texas, sensitive data is redacted in full, since the rule names no part that may stay.
Elsewhere, numbers show no more than the last four digits, birth dates only the year and minors only their initials.
Driver's license, passport, insurance, patient and business tax numbers are handled wherever the state lists them, on scanned cards as well as in text.
In Texas, home addresses are gone, and so are the names of anyone who was a minor when the suit was filed.
Any document that must keep protected data carries the notice or companion filing the state requires.
Redacted data is removed, not covered, in the image as well as the text, and the document properties and comments are clean.

Where DocArmor fits

DocArmor's Legal & Court Filings (FRCP 5.2) template covers Social Security and taxpayer ID numbers, birth dates, minors' names and financial account numbers. For a state's extra categories, extend it with your own rules or plain-English instructions, such as "driver's license numbers and home addresses" for a Texas filing. OCR reads scanned exhibits and discovery. Redacted content is removed and checked on every page, and metadata, attachments and form values are stripped. Every finding goes to a reviewer before export, because what has to go depends on the court the filing is headed for.

This post is general information about court rules in four states, not legal advice. Rules change, and local rules and orders can add to them, so check the current rule for your court and case.

Frequently asked questions

Do state courts follow FRCP 5.2?

No. Federal Rule 5.2 applies only in federal court, and state courts write their own redaction rules. They differ: California's covers only Social Security and financial account numbers, while Texas adds driver's license and passport numbers, birth dates, home addresses and minors' names. Check the rule for the court you're filing in, and its local rules.

What is sensitive data under Texas Rule 21c?

A driver's license, passport, Social Security, tax ID or similar government ID number; a bank account, credit card or other financial account number; and a birth date, a home address and the name of anyone who was a minor when the suit was filed. Unless a statute, rule or regulation requires it, it must be replaced with an X for each character or removed in a way that shows a redaction. Wills and sealed documents are exempt.

Can a Florida court filing show the last four digits of a Social Security number?

No. Florida Rule 2.425 allows no portion of a Social Security, bank account, credit card, charge or debit account number, unless an exception, statute, rule or court order permits it. Other numbers, such as driver's license, passport, telephone and insurance policy numbers, may show the last four digits.

What counts as confidential personal information in New York court filings?

Under 22 NYCRR 202.5(e): a person's or business's tax ID number except the last four digits, a birth date except the year, a minor's name except the initials, and a financial account number, including card, bank, investment and insurance accounts, except the last four digits. It also covers protected documents and testimony from a matrimonial action attached in another civil case. The rule doesn't apply in matrimonial actions or Surrogate's Court.