New Rules Regarding Personal Information in Court Files

In continuing efforts to protect personal information, a new Rule will become effective July 1, 2013. Maryland Rule 1-322.10 instructs attorneys or other persons who file documents with a court to keep unnecessary personal identifier information out of the court records.  An exception is noted where there is a legal obligation to include such information. Any violation of this Rule may result in the document being stricken.

Pursuant to Rule 1-322.1(a), the following personal identifier information shall not be included in any electronic or paper filing with a court:

(1) an individual’s Social Security number, taxpayer identification number, or date of birth; or
(2) the numeric or alphabetic characters of a financial or medical account identifier.


It is important to note that Rule 1-322.10 also sets forth alternatives of when it is necessary to include personal identifier information.   
Anyone filing case records with the court should also remember that pursuant to Rule 16-1010(a) the filer must notify the custodian if there is confidential information included in that record. The notification should specifically inform the clerk what information is confidential.