California’s redaction rules for court filings are set by Rule of Court 1.201, and the list is short: Social Security numbers and financial account numbers must be truncated to the last four digits in any document filed in the court’s public file, whether on paper or electronically.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 1.201 Protection of Privacy The responsibility sits entirely with the filing party and their attorney. Court clerks do not screen documents for compliance, so a full Social Security number printed across a pleading goes into the public file exactly as filed.
The Two Identifiers Rule 1.201 Covers
Rule 1.201 names exactly two categories of personal identifiers that must be excluded or redacted from pleadings and papers in the public file:
- Social Security numbers. If the number is necessary to the filing, only the last four digits may appear.
- Financial account numbers. If the number is needed, only the last four digits may be included.
That is the complete mandatory list. California’s general redaction rule does not require redaction of birth dates, home addresses, or minors’ names — those protections come from other rules that apply in specific case types, not from Rule 1.201 itself.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 1.201 Protection of Privacy So the scope of what you actually need to redact depends on what kind of case you’re filing in.
Rule 1.201 also carries an exemption worth knowing. Its requirements do not apply to documents that are, by court order or operation of law, filed in their entirety confidentially or under seal. If the whole filing is already shielded from public access, redacting identifiers inside it would be redundant. A court can also order disclosure of full identifiers when the complete numbers are essential to the proceeding.
When You Need the Full Number in the Case: Form MC-120
Truncating to the last four digits works fine most of the time. But when the full Social Security number or financial account number actually matters — a dispute over one specific account among several, for example — California provides Form MC-120, the Confidential Reference List of Identifiers.2Judicial Branch of California. Confidential Reference List of Identifiers MC-120
You cannot just file it on your own. The court must first order the reference list on a showing of good cause. Once ordered, you file the MC-120 alongside your redacted public document. The form pairs each redacted identifier with a unique reference, letting the court match truncated numbers in the public file to the complete numbers on the confidential list. The MC-120 itself stays confidential and separate from the public record.3Judicial Council of California. Confidential Reference List of Identifiers Form MC-120 You can amend the list later as a matter of right if new identifiers need to be added.
Minors’ Names Are Governed by Different Rules
Rule 1.201 says nothing about minors. That surprises people, because federal court and popular assumption both treat a child’s name as something you’d redact automatically. In California state court, the protection comes from other rules that apply only in specific proceedings.
In appellate filings involving juvenile proceedings, California Rule of Court 8.401 generally requires using the juvenile’s first name and last initial. If the first name alone would effectively identify the child, initials only. When a parent shares the juvenile’s last name, the parent’s surname gets the same treatment.
Civil harassment protective order cases involving minors follow a different framework under Rule 3.1161. When the court grants confidentiality for a minor who is a party, the court identifies the minor by initials. If using the other party’s full name would reveal the minor’s identity, both parties get initials.4Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 3.1161 – Request to Make Minors Information Confidential in Civil Harassment Protective Order Proceedings
No single California rule imposes a uniform requirement to redact minors’ names across all case types. If your case involves a child, check the specific rules for that kind of proceeding before you file.
How to Actually Redact a Document
Redaction means the information is gone permanently. If someone with moderate technical skill could recover the hidden text, you haven’t redacted; you’ve obscured. The distinction is everything for electronic filings, where a black rectangle drawn over text in a PDF can look fine on screen while the underlying text remains fully searchable and copy-able in the file’s data layer.
Paper Documents
Use opaque black ink or tape that completely covers the sensitive text so it cannot be read by holding the page to light or by photocopying. After redacting the original, make a clean photocopy and file the copy. Filing the photocopy eliminates any risk that the covered text bleeds through the ink or leaves an impression.
Electronic Documents
Electronic redaction requires the dedicated redaction tool in your PDF software, not a shape drawn on top of the text. Programs like Adobe Acrobat Pro have a specific redact function that removes text from the document’s data layer entirely and strips it from the file’s metadata. Drawing a black rectangle with an annotation or comment tool does not remove the underlying text; anyone can delete the rectangle and read what’s underneath.
Verify the result after applying electronic redaction by searching the PDF for the redacted terms. If the search finds anything, the redaction failed. When filing both a redacted and unredacted version electronically, label each version clearly in the document title and submit both as separate PDFs in the same filing transaction.
Sealing Is a Separate Process
Redaction under Rule 1.201 handles two specific identifiers. When you need to keep broader categories of information out of the public file — trade secrets, sensitive medical records, proprietary business data — you’re looking at sealing under California Rules of Court 2.550 and 2.551, not redaction.5Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 2.550 – Sealed Records
A court cannot seal a record just because the parties agree. The party requesting sealing must file a motion or application supported by a memorandum and a declaration.6Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 2.551 – Procedures for Filing Records Under Seal Before granting it, the court must make express factual findings that an overriding interest overcomes the public’s right of access, that the interest supports sealing this specific record, that a substantial probability of prejudice exists without sealing, that the proposed sealing is narrowly tailored, and that no less restrictive means would protect the interest.
The last element is where many sealing requests fail. If simple redaction of a few lines would protect the sensitive material, the court will not seal the whole document. When you do submit documents with a motion to seal, you file two versions: a redacted public version, and a complete unredacted version lodged conditionally under seal, held by the court but not filed into the public record unless the sealing motion is denied.
Federal Court in California Is Broader
If you’re filing in a federal district court rather than a state superior court, the redaction mandate expands. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 covers four categories rather than two: Social Security and taxpayer ID numbers (last four digits only), financial account numbers (last four digits only), birth dates (year only), and names of minors (initials only).7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5.2 Privacy Protection For Filings Made with the Court
Federal criminal cases add more. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49.1 includes all of the above plus home addresses, reduced to city and state only.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 49.1 Privacy Protection For Filings Made with the Court Federal rules also carve out exemptions where full identifiers are permitted, including financial account numbers identifying property in forfeiture proceedings, administrative or agency records, official state court records, and pro se habeas corpus filings.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5.2 Privacy Protection For Filings Made with the Court If you litigate in both systems, defaulting to the broader federal requirements everywhere is the safe practice.
If You File Without Redacting
Rule 1.201 does not specify a penalty or sanction for noncompliance. The rule places responsibility on the filing party and states that the clerk will not check.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 1.201 Protection of Privacy The absence of an automatic penalty is not the same as an absence of consequences. Once a filing containing a full Social Security number hits the public file, anyone who requests it can see it, and the person whose information was disclosed is exposed. The filer may face liability for the exposure.
California has no specific rule establishing a standard procedure for withdrawing or replacing an improperly redacted document after filing. Practically, a party who discovers the error should contact the clerk’s office immediately and, if needed, file a motion requesting leave to substitute a properly redacted version. Speed matters. The longer the unredacted document sits in the public file, the more likely someone reads it.