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March 19, 2010

Clerk O'Shaughnessy Reminds Legal Community to File Personal Identifiers Separately

Franklin County Clerk of Courts Maryellen O’Shaughnessy today asked attorneys and support staff to make certain to submit social security numbers and other personal identifiers separate from the rest of filing.

“Since the rules took effect last July, only a fraction of our civil cases have been filed with the separate form containing personal identifiers.” said Clerk O’Shaughnessy. “Compliance with this guideline is essential to protect against identity fraud and theft.”

Rules on public access to court records (Sup. R. 44-47) took effect on July 2nd, and require that parties filing a case document with the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas remove (redact) personal identification information and to place it in a separate form that is not viewable by the public.

Personal identifiers -- information to be provided on a separate form -- include: social security numbers, except for the last four digits; financial account numbers, including but not limited to debit card, charge card, and credit card numbers; employer and employee identification numbers; and a juvenile’s name in an abuse, neglect, or dependency case, except for the juvenile’s initials or a generic abbreviation such as “CV” for “child victim.”

The standard form with which to file personal identification information is called “Confidential Disclosure of Personal Identifiers,” and can be found on the Clerk of Courts web site, www.franklincountyohio.gov/clerk. Look under the Forms section of the pertinent division on which you are filing the document.