(a) As to any document required or permitted to be filed with the court in paper form, only
the original shall be filed with the clerk except that parties shall file an original and one copy
of any document in excess of 200 pages.
(b) Any document signed by an attorney for filing shall contain under the signature line the
name, address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address (if applicable) and
Pennsylvania or other state bar identification number. When listing the bar identification
number, the state’s postal abbreviation shall be used as a prefix (e.g., PA 12345, NY 246810).
(c) Documents shall not be faxed to a judge without prior leave of court. Documents shall
not be faxed to the clerk’s office, except in the event of a technical failure with the court’s
Electronic Case Filing (“ECF”) system. Technical Failure is defined as a malfunction of court
owned/leased hardware, software, and/or telecommunications facility which results in the
inability of a Filing User to submit a filing electronically. Technical failure does not include
malfunctioning of a Filing User’s equipment.
(d) A filed document in a case (other than a social security case) shall not contain any of
the personal data identifiers listed in this rule unless permitted by an order of the court or
unless redacted in conformity with this rule. The personal data identifiers covered by this rule
and the required redactions are as follows:
1. Social Security Numbers. If an individual’s Social Security Number must be
included in a document, only the last four digits of that number shall be used;
2. Names of minor children. If the involvement of a minor child must be
mentioned, only that child’s initials shall be used;
3. Dates of birth. If an individual’s date of birth must be included, only the year
shall be used;
4. Financial account numbers. If financial account numbers must be included,
only the last four digits shall be used.
Additional personal data identifier in a criminal case document only:
5. Home addresses. If a home address must be included, only the city and state
shall be listed.
(e) A party wishing to file a document containing the personal data identifiers listed above
may file in addition to the required redacted document:
1. a sealed and otherwise identical document containing the unredacted personal
data identifiers, or
2. a reference list under seal. The reference list shall contain the complete
personal data identifier(s) and the redacted identifier(s) used in its(their) place
in the filing. All references in the case to the redacted identifiers included in the
reference list will be construed to refer to the corresponding complete personal
data identifier. The reference list must be filed under seal, and may be amended
as of right.
The sealed unredacted version of the document or the sealed reference list shall be
retained by the court as a part of the record.
The responsibility for redacting these personal identifiers rests solely with counsel and the
parties. The clerk will not review each document for redaction.
