IMPORTANT INFORMATION....PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
WARNING TO PRO SE LITIGANTS
All Documents That You File with the Court Will Be Available to the Public on the
Internet Through Pacer (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) and the Court’s
Electronic Case Filing System.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTING YOUR IDENTITY FROM POSSIBLE
THEFT. YOU MUST REMOVE CERTAIN PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
FROM ALL DOCUMENTS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT THE DOCUMENTS TO THE
COURT FOR FILING. IT IS NOT THE COURT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO REMOVE
PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION FROM YOUR DOCUMENTS BEFORE
THEY ARE ELECTRONICALLY DOCKETED.
Under the Privacy Policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States, a litigant, whether
represented by counsel or appearing pro se, must not put certain types of the litigant’s (or any
other person’s) personal identifying information in documents submitted for filing to any
United States District Court. This rule applies to ALL documents submitted for filing, including
pleadings, exhibits to pleadings, discovery responses, and any other document submitted by any
party for filing. If the litigant finds it necessary to submit a document containing personal
identifying information, the litigant must “black out” or redact the personal identifying
information prior to submitting the document to the Office of the Clerk of Court for filing.
1. Types of personal information that MUST be removed or redacted from documents before
filing:
(a) Social Security numbers. If an individual’s social security number must be included
in a pleading, only the last four digits of that number shall be used.
(b) Names of Minor Children. If the involvement of a minor child must be mentioned,
only the initials of that child shall be used.
(c) Dates of Birth. If an individual’s date of birth must be included in a pleading, only the
year shall be used.
(d) Financial Account Numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last
four digits of these numbers shall be used.
(e) Juror Information. If a document containing identifying information about a juror or
potential juror must be filed (e.g., verdict form or indictment), all personal information
identifying a juror or potential juror must be redacted.
2. Other sensitive personal information of the litigant (or any other person) that should be
considered for possible removal or redaction:
Any personal identifying number, including a driver’s license number; medical records;
employment history; individual financial information; proprietary or trade secret
information; information regarding an individual’s cooperation with the government;
information regarding the victim of any criminal activity; national security information;
and/or sensitive security information described in 49 U.S.C. § 114(s).
