Redacting SSNs and account numbers in court filings
Published October 27, 2026
Federal court rules let a filing show only part of certain information: the last four digits of a Social Security number, taxpayer ID or financial account number, the year of a birth date, and a minor's initials. The civil, criminal and bankruptcy rules say this almost word for word. Many states have their own versions, and some are stricter. This page quotes the rules and sets out in one table what each allows to remain. This is general information, not legal advice; a lawyer or your court's self-help center can say which rule applies to your case and how.
The federal rules
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(a) covers "an electronic or paper filing with the court" that contains "an individual's social-security number, taxpayer-identification number, or birth date, the name of an individual known to be a minor, or a financial-account number". Unless the court orders otherwise, the person filing "may include only" the last four digits of the Social Security and taxpayer ID numbers, the year of birth, the minor's initials, and the last four digits of the financial-account number.
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49.1(a) has the same list and adds "the home address of an individual", of which a filing may include only "the city and state". Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037(a) repeats the civil list.
Other parts of Rule 5.2 worth knowing:
- Whose job it is. The committee note says: "The responsibility to redact filings rests with counsel and the party or nonparty making the filing."
- Exemptions. Rule 5.2(b) lists records the requirement does not apply to, among them "the record of an administrative or agency proceeding" and "the official record of a state-court proceeding".
- More, by order. Under Rule 5.2(e) the court may, for good cause, "require redaction of additional information".
- A reference list. Rule 5.2(g) allows a list, filed under seal, that pairs each redacted item with an identifier used in its place.
- Waiver. Rule 5.2(h): "A person waives the protection of Rule 5.2(a) as to the person's own information by filing it without redaction and not under seal."
What each rule allows to remain
| Rule | Social Security number | Taxpayer ID | Financial account number | Birth date | Minor's name | Home address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRCP 5.2(a), federal civil | Last four | Last four | Last four | Year | Initials | Not listed |
| FRCrP 49.1(a), federal criminal | Last four | Last four | Last four | Year | Initials | City and state |
| FRBP 9037(a), bankruptcy | Last four | Last four | Last four | Year | Initials | Not listed |
| California Rules of Court 1.201(a) | Last four | Not listed | Last four | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.425(a) | No portion | Last four | No portion of a bank, credit card, charge or debit account number; last four of other financial account numbers | Year | Initials | Not listed |
| Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21c | Redacted; no digits named | Redacted; no digits named | Redacted; no digits named | Listed in (a)(3), quoted below | ||
California
Rule 1.201(a) says parties and their attorneys "must not include, or must redact where inclusion is necessary" Social Security numbers and financial account numbers in papers filed in the court's public file. If a Social Security number is required, "only the last four digits of that number may be used", and the same goes for account numbers. The duty "rests solely with the parties and their attorneys", and the rule says the clerk will not review each paper for it.
Florida
In The Florida Bar's July 1, 2026 edition of the rules, Rule 2.425(a) limits "designated sensitive information filed with the court" to, among other things, "the year of birth of a person's birth date", "no portion of any" Social Security, bank account, credit card, charge account or debit account number, and "the last four digits of any" taxpayer ID, driver's license, passport or telephone number, and of brokerage, loan and several other kinds of account number. Email addresses, user names, passwords and PINs are truncated. Subdivision (b) lists exceptions, including "information which is relevant and material to an issue before the court."
Texas
Rule 21c defines sensitive data as driver's license, passport, Social Security, tax ID and similar government ID numbers; "a bank account number, credit card number, or other financial account number"; and "a birth date, a home address, and the name of any person who was a minor when the underlying suit was filed." It is redacted "by using the letter 'X' in place of each omitted digit or character or by removing the sensitive data in a manner indicating that the data has been redacted." The rule does not say that any digits may remain. The filing party must also keep an unredacted copy while the case is pending.
Filings versus discovery productions
These rules cover filings: papers given to the court for its file. Documents handed to the other side in discovery are generally not filed. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(d)(1)(A) says discovery requests and responses "must not be filed until they are used in the proceeding or the court orders filing". What comes out of a production is usually set by a protective order or an agreement between the parties, not by Rule 5.2. If produced documents are later filed, for example with a motion, the filing rules apply at that point; Rule 5.2's committee note says trial exhibits "are subject to the redaction requirements of Rule 5.2 to the extent they are filed with the court." See responding to a request for production.
Making the redaction hold
Keeping the last four digits means removing the rest from the file, not hiding it. A black box drawn over the first five digits in a PDF viewer leaves all nine in the file, readable by copy and paste (see why black box redactions fail). The same number is often printed more than once: in a header, a footer, a check image, a transfer description. Search the whole file for it, and look at the document properties too. Bank records have their own guide: redacting a bank statement.
BatesNumbering.app looks for Social Security, tax ID, account, routing and card numbers, dashed, undashed, spaced or split across lines, and can keep the last four digits (or the year of a birth date), the form Rule 5.2 describes; keeping them is optional, since Florida's rule, for one, allows no portion of a Social Security or bank account number.
Common questions
What does FRCP 5.2 require to be redacted?
In a federal civil filing, Rule 5.2(a) allows only the last four digits of a Social Security number, taxpayer ID or financial account number, the year of a person's birth, and a minor's initials, unless the court orders otherwise. The criminal rule, 49.1, also limits a home address to the city and state.
Can I leave the last four digits of a Social Security number in a court filing?
The federal rules and California's rule 1.201 allow the last four digits. Florida's rule 2.425 allows no portion of a Social Security number, and Texas's rule 21c does not say any digits may remain. A lawyer or the court's self-help center can say which rule applies to your case.
Do redaction rules apply to discovery documents?
Rule 5.2 covers filings with the court. Discovery is usually not filed, so what is removed from a production is generally set by a protective order or an agreement between the parties. The filing rules apply if those documents are later filed.
Who is responsible for redacting a court filing?
The person filing it. The committee note to Rule 5.2 says the responsibility rests with counsel and the party or nonparty making the filing, and California's rule says the clerk will not review each paper.
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