# What Does FRCP 5.2 Require to Be Redacted?

> FRCP Rule 5.2 requires redacting SSNs, taxpayer IDs, dates of birth, financial account numbers, and names of minor children from federal court filings.

- **Author:** Neetusha
- **Published:** 2026-04-26
- **URL:** https://www.redactifyai.com/answers/what-does-frcp-5-2-require-redacted/

---

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 requires every filing to redact five categories of personal information: Social Security numbers (last four digits only allowed), taxpayer identification numbers (last four digits only allowed), dates of birth (year only allowed), financial account numbers (last four digits only allowed), and the names of any individual known to be a minor (initials only allowed). The rule applies to all federal civil filings unless an exception or court order says otherwise.

## The five FRCP 5.2 categories in detail

Each of the five categories has a "show only the last part" rule rather than a "show nothing" rule:

1. **Social Security numbers**: only the last four digits may appear. The first five digits must be removed.
2. **Taxpayer identification numbers**: same rule, last four digits only.
3. **Dates of birth**: only the year may appear. Month and day must be redacted.
4. **Financial account numbers**: last four digits only. This applies to bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and credit card numbers.
5. **Names of minor children**: only initials may appear. The full name must be redacted.

## Exceptions in Rule 5.2(b)

The redaction requirements do not apply to: financial account numbers identifying property in a forfeiture proceeding, the record of an administrative or agency proceeding, the official record of a state court proceeding, the record of a court or tribunal whose order is being enforced, and a filing covered by Rule 5.2(c) (which has its own access rules for social security, immigration, and other case categories).

## Beyond Rule 5.2

Rule 5.2 sets the minimum. Local court rules, protective orders, and case-specific seal orders often impose additional redaction obligations. State courts have their own analogous rules. California has CRC 1.201, New York has 22 NYCRR 202.5(e), and most states require similar identifiers to be redacted. Always check both Rule 5.2 and the local rules of the specific court before filing.