Changes to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420
Based on a recent Florida Supreme Court amendment to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420 regarding access to court records, “the clerk shall not be required to identify and designate information as confidential,” in circuit civil, county civil and small claims court documents.
Effective July 1, 2021, filers will be solely responsible for ensuring any confidential information contained in court records filed with the Clerk is appropriately identified for redaction in these kinds of cases.
Please review the changes to this rule and make sure that you and your staff are fully familiar with this rule change.
BEGINNING JULY 1, 2021, FILERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO:
- File a Notice of Confidential Information in small claims, county civil and most circuit civil cases when filing documents with Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, or other non-public information;
- Identify the precise location(s) of confidential information within the document, including each page number on which it appears; and
- Identify the type of confidential information or provision that applies to the identified information.
WHERE DOES THIS RULE CHANGE APPLY?
- Changes apply to small claims cases, county court civil cases, and most circuit court civil cases
- Changes do not apply to family law cases, domestic violence cases, cases stemming from sexual abuse, risk protection orders, mental health cases, Jimmy Ryce civil commitments, probate, and medical malpractice cases *
* Clerks and filers will retain dual responsibility to identify confidential information in all other types of filings for family, criminal, and juvenile cases.
RESOURCES
- Review the Florida Supreme Court Amendments to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420
- E-Filing Resources for Florida Lawyers
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
VIEWS AND CONCLUSIONS EXPRESSED IN ARTICLES HEREIN ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF FLORIDA BAR STAFF, OFFICIALS, OR BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FLORIDA BAR.