Under Florida’s public records laws, most records filed with the clerk are public records and may be viewed by anyone. Some of the documents you will be filing with the Manatee County Clerk may contain your or other people or companies’ personal identification information.
Download the Confidential Disclosure of Personal Identification Information Form
In and effort to assist you in protecting personal identification information, Administrative Order 2007-5.2 was entered requiring you to remove (redact) personal identification information from documents filed with the Clerk and place it in a confidential form that is not viewable by the public.
Any of the following that belongs to you or another person or company:
Anything that is not personal identification information such as yours or another person’s name and date of birth; names and addresses of banks, credit card companies, brokerages or life insurance companies; account balances or other monetary values; mortgage or loan numbers, case numbers.
Any party, attorney witness or other person, company or agency filing any paper or electronic documents with the clerk to be put in the court file such as pleadings, checks, account statements, tax returns, policies, letters or correspondence, transcripts, depositions. If you have an attorney, you should consult with them about complying.
Documents given to the other party or the other party’s attorney that are not filed with the clerk; video or sound recordings; and any document where a law or rule requires a number to be on the court document, such as the requirement that the defendant’s social security number be on a form judgment.
Numbers do not have to be removed from any original evidence you hand to a judge, hearing officer or magistrate during a hearing or trial, however, the parties should agree to submit a copy with the numbers removed instead of the original document. Bring a copy to court with the numbers removed to be sure.
Review all records you will file with the clerk and locate personal identification information. Make a copy of the original document. Do not blacken out the number on your original document. On the copy, blacken out the number and put a reference number above it. Example: Locate your social security number 123-45-6789, blacken it out on the copy and write or type above it xxx-xx-6789.
Write the reference number and the original number on the Confidential Disclosure of Personal Identification Information form. Do this for all Personal Identification numbers belonging to you or another person or company. File the document with the reference number along with the form. Mail a copy to all parties. Each time you file a new document with personal identification information, create a reference number and complete a new form.
If you need help: Ask your attorney or if you are self-represented ask a clerk at the counter or call (941) 749- 1800 and ask for clerk for the type of case you have.