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California Rules of Court

Rule 1.201. Protection of Privacy

(a) Exclusion or redaction of identifiers

To protect personal privacy and other legitimate interests, parties and their attorneys must not include, or must redact where inclusion is necessary, the following identifiers from all pleadings and other papers filed in the court's public file, whether filed in paper or electronic form, unless otherwise provided by law or ordered by the court:

(1) Social security numbers. If an individual's social security number is required in a pleading or other paper filed in the public file, only the last four digits of that number may be used.

(2) Financial account numbers. If financial account numbers are required in a pleading or other paper filed in the public file, only the last four digits of these numbers may be used.

(b) Responsibility of the filer

The responsibility for excluding or redacting identifiers identified in (a) from all documents filed with the court rests solely with the parties and their attorneys. The court clerk will not review each pleading or other paper for compliance with this provision.

(c) Confidential reference list

If the court orders on a showing of good cause, a party filing a document containing identifiers listed in (a) may file, along with the redacted document that will be placed in the public file, a reference list. The reference list is confidential. A party filing a confidential reference list must use Confidential Reference List of Identifiers (form MC-120) for that purpose. The confidential list must identify each item of redacted information and specify an appropriate reference that uniquely corresponds to each item of redacted information listed. All references in the case to the redacted identifiers included in the confidential reference list will be understood to refer to the corresponding complete identifier. A party may amend its reference list as of right.

(d) Scope

The requirements of this rule do not apply to documents or records that by court order or operation of law are filed in their entirety either confidentially or under seal.