1:38-7. Confidential Personal Identifiers
(a) Definition of Confidential Personal Identifiers. A confidential personal
identifier is a Social Security number, driver’s license number, vehicle plate
number, insurance policy number, active financial account number, or active
credit card number.
(b) Prohibition on Submission of Confidential Personal Identifiers to the
Court. A party shall not set forth confidential personal identifiers as defined in
R. 1:38-7(a) in any document or pleading submitted to the court unless otherwise
required by statute, rule, administrative directive, or court order; provided,
however, that an active financial account number may be identified by the last
four digits when the financial account is the subject of the litigation and cannot
otherwise be identified.
(c) Compliance.
(1) In every trial Division of the Superior Court where a Case Information
Statement is required, parties shall certify in the Case Information Statement that
all confidential personal identifiers have been redacted and that subsequent
papers submitted to the court will not contain confidential personal identifiers in
accordance with the provisions of this rule.
(2) In General Equity and Special Civil Part matters, where no Case
Information Statement is required, parties shall include the following language in
the first filed pleading as provided in R. 4:5-1(b)(3), “I certify that confidential
personal identifiers have been redacted from documents now submitted to the
court, and will be redacted from all documents submitted in the future in
accordance with Rule 1:38-7(b).”
3) In all criminal matters, the judge shall inform both parties at the time of
the defendant’s arraignment status conference that confidential personal
identifiers must be redacted from any documents submitted to the court as
provided in R. 1:38-7(b) and R. 3:9-1(c).
(d) Judgment Debtors. Applications for any writ, order, or judgment
issued by the court involving a judgment debtor may include the judgment
debtor’s name(s), address, date of birth, the last four digits of active financial
account numbers, and the last four digits of the individual’s Social Security
number. No other personal identifiers shall be included.
(e) Redaction of Required Personal Identifiers. When confidential
personal identifiers as defined in R. 1:38-7(a) are required by statute, rule, or
court order to be included in documents or pleadings, such identifiers shall be
redacted before public inspection is permitted.
(f) Redaction of Social Security Numbers from Records in Bulk. Any
request for the mass release, in bulk, of electronically stored or microfilmed
records containing Social Security numbers must be submitted to the
Administrative Director of the Courts. A fee may be charged for the cost of
redacting Social Security numbers from such records.
