Rule 109. Privacy Protection for Filings Made With the Court

(a) REDACTED FILINGS. Unless the court orders otherwise, a party or nonparty must

redact, in an electronic or paper filing with the court, an individual’s social-security

number and driver’s license number and a financial account number, except that a party

or nonparty making the filing may include the following:

(1) the acronym “SSN” where the individual’s social-security number would have been

included;

(2) the acronym “DLN” where the individual’s driver’s license number would have

been included; and

(3) the last 4 digits of the financial account number.

(b) EXEMPTION FROM THE REDACTION REQUIREMENT. The redaction

requirement does not apply to a testamentary writing.

(c) ADDITIONAL UNREDACTED FILING UNDER SEAL.

(1) Motion to File an Unredacted Copy Under Seal. Except as provided in Rule

109(c)(2), a person who makes a redacted filing and wishes to file an additional

unredacted copy must file a motion to file an unredacted copy under seal. If granted,

the court must retain the unredacted copy as part of the record.

(2) Separate Form for Inventory or Accounting. A person who makes a redacted filing

that includes an inventory or accounting, which identifies, contains, or refers to a

financial account number, must file under seal a separate form prescribed by the

Register of Wills, which lists each account, the financial institution at which the account

is maintained, and the full account number. This separate form will be maintained by

the court under seal and may be unsealed only by court order on a showing of good

cause.

ing, which identifies, contains, or refers to a

financial account number, must file under seal a separate form prescribed by the

Register of Wills, which lists each account, the financial institution at which the account

is maintained, and the full account number. This separate form will be maintained by

the court under seal and may be unsealed only by court order on a showing of good

cause.

(d) RESPONSIBILITY TO REDACT. The responsibility for redacting personal identifiers

or financial account numbers rests solely with the person or entity making the filing.

COMMENT

This rule addresses the concern about access to, and dissemination of, private

information in the court’s public records to the detriment of individuals whose privacy is

compromised simply because their otherwise private information is contained in court

filings. The risk of invasion of privacy is heightened where the court’s public records are

made available through the internet. Although this rule does not expressly prohibit all

use of personal identifiers and other private information, such as home addresses, it is

the policy of the court that parties not include home addresses and other private

information in any court filings unless it is necessary to the matter being litigated or is

otherwise expressly required by statute or other rules of the court, including civil rules

made applicable to Probate Division proceedings by Rule 101(d).