United States District Court District of Maine

ADVISORY RE: ELICITING INFORMATION CONCERNING CERTAIN PERSONAL DATA

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 5.2 and Criminal Procedure 49.1 require that certain personal identifiers be redacted from filings made with the Court.  However, if such information is stated in open court, it becomes part of the record and may appear in the official transcript unless and until redacted under the transcript redaction procedures.

Civil Rule 5.2 requires that the following personal data identifiers be limited as follows:

• Social Security numbers, to the last four digits;
• Financial account numbers, to the last four digits;
• Dates of birth, to the year;
• Names of minor children, to the initials;

And Criminal Rule 49.1 adds that

• Home addresses be limited to the city and state in criminal cases.  (In civil cases, the full address may appear unless otherwise ordered by the Court or a protective order is in place.)

Please keep these limitations in mind when filing documents or questioning witnesses in court.  If a restricted identifier is mentioned in court, you may ask to have it stricken from the record or partially redacted to conform with the rules, or the Court may do so on its own motion.