11th Cir. R. 25-5

In order to promote electronic access to

case files while also protecting personal privacy and other legitimate interests, parties shall refrain

from including, or shall partially redact where inclusion is necessary, the following personal data

identifiers from all pleadings filed with the court, including exhibits thereto, whether filed

electronically or in paper, unless otherwise ordered by the court.

a. Social Security numbers and Taxpayer Identification numbers. If an individual’s social

security number or taxpayer identification number must be included in a pleading, only the

last four digits of that number should be used.

b. Names of minor children. If the involvement of a minor child must be mentioned, only

the initials of that child should be used. For purposes of this rule, a minor child is any person

under the age of eighteen years, unless otherwise provided by statute or court order.

c. Dates of birth. If an individual’s date of birth must be included in a pleading, only the

year should be used.

d. Financial account numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last four

digits of these numbers should be used.

e. Home addresses. If a home address must be included, only the city and state should be used.

Subject to the exemptions from the redaction requirement contained in the Federal Rules of

Civil, Criminal, and Bankruptcy Procedure, as made applicable to the courts of appeals through

FRAP 25(a)(5), a party filing a document containing the personal data identifiers listed above shall

file a redacted document for the public file and either:

(1) a reference list under seal. The reference list shall contain the complete personal data

identifier and the redacted identifier used in its place in the redacted filing. All references in the

filing to the redacted identifiers included in the reference list will be construed to refer to the

corresponding complete personal data identifiers. The reference list must be filed under seal, may

be amended as of right, and shall be retained by the court as part of the record. A motion to file the

reference list under seal is not required. Or

(2) an unredacted document under seal, along with a motion to file the unredacted document

under seal specifying the type of personal data identifier included in the document and why the party

believes that including it in the document is necessary or relevant. If permitted to be filed, both the

redacted and unredacted documents shall be retained by the court as part of the record.

The responsibility for redacting these personal data identifiers rests solely with counsel and the

parties. The clerk will not review each pleading for compliance with this rule. A person waives the

protection of this rule as to the person’s own information by filing it without redaction and not under

seal.

Consistent with FRAP 25(a)(5), remote electronic public access is not provided to pleadings filed

with the court in Social Security appeals, immigration cases, and Railroad Retirement Act cases.

Therefore, parties in such cases are exempt from the requirements of this rule.

In addition to the foregoing, a party should exercise caution when filing a document that contains

any of the following information. A party filing a redacted document that contains any of the

following information must comply with the rules for filing an unredacted document as described

in numbered paragraph (2) above.

• Personal identifying number, such as driver’s license number;

• medical records, treatment and diagnosis;

• employment history;

• individual financial information;

• proprietary or trade secret information;

• information regarding an individual’s cooperation with the government;

• national security information;

• sensitive security information as described in 49 U.S.C. § 114(s).