§ 6-1466.Protection of personal and financial information in criminal records.
Article 14: Uniform County Court Rules of Practice and Procedure · Last amended January 1, 2022 · Last verified July 22, 2026
Full Text of § 6-1466
Amendment History
§ 6-1466 adopted February 27, 2013; § 6-1466 amended September 16, 2015; § 6-1466 amended June 9, 2021, effective January 1, 2022; § 6-1466 amended November 17, 2021, effective January 1, 2022.
Plain-English Summary
Criminal case files are public once charges are filed, which raises the same privacy concerns as civil files for anyone whose sensitive information turns up in the paperwork. This rule sets the default: a filing that would otherwise include a Social Security or taxpayer identification number, a birth date, a minor’s name, or a financial account number may include only a bare reference to the number, the year of birth, a minor’s initials, or the account number’s last four digits, unless the court orders otherwise. Certain filings fall outside this redaction requirement altogether, including a defendant’s or detained person’s own name and birth date, account or property identifiers needed in a forfeiture proceeding, and records from administrative or other-court proceedings that were not subject to this rule when first filed.
Crime victims get separate, stronger protection. Personal identifying information other than a victim’s name has to stay off any pleading or document that could reach the public, using the Crime Victim Information Form completed by the county attorney at the initial filing, tendered separately, marked confidential, and kept apart from the case file though available to judges and court staff — and none of that information may appear in a court order or judgment.
The rule also gives courts and filers added flexibility. A court can order a filing made entirely under seal without redaction, for good cause or on its own motion, and can later unseal it or require a redacted public version. A person making a redacted filing can also submit an unredacted copy under seal as part of the record, or file a sealed reference list that ties each redacted item to a unique identifier so later references in the case still make sense. As with the civil version of this rule, responsibility for redacting rests with counsel of record, not the clerk, though a clerk who spots a violation may provide a redacted copy for public access while preserving the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information must be redacted from a criminal filing in county court?
Where a filing would include a Social Security or taxpayer identification number, a birth date, a minor’s name, or a financial account number, only a bare reference, the birth year, the minor’s initials, or the last four digits of the account number may appear, unless the court orders otherwise.
Does a defendant’s own birth date and name have to be redacted?
No. The rule specifically exempts the date of birth and name of a defendant or person subject to detention from the redaction requirement.
How is a crime victim’s identifying information protected in a criminal filing?
Through the Crime Victim Information Form, completed by the county attorney and filed separately from the case, marked confidential, kept apart from the case file, and never included in a court order or judgment, except that the victim’s name itself is not required to be withheld.
Can I file an unredacted document if the full information is still needed in the record?
Yes. A person making a redacted filing may also file an unredacted copy under seal, which the court retains as part of the sealed record.
What is a reference list, and how does it work with redaction?
It is a sealed filing that identifies each item of redacted information and assigns it a unique identifier; any later reference in the case to that identifier is read as referring back to the corresponding protected information.
Who is responsible for redacting personal information in a criminal filing?
Counsel of record bears that responsibility. The clerk is not required to review filings for compliance, though a clerk who identifies a violation may provide a redacted copy for public access while keeping the unaltered original available only to the court and counsel.