How to Protect Your Privacy in Court Files in Washington State

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  • How to Protect Your Privacy in Court Files in Washington State

Table of Contents

Introduction

Do you need to keep your court records private? Or keep certain information in those records private? This page explains what you can keep private and how to do it.​

A Washington court rule allows broad access to most documents filed with state courts. That rule is called General Rule 31.

However, other rules allow you to keep records or information private in certain situations:

  • Seal a court record (restricting access to an entire document or record) using General Rule 15
  • Redact specific information in a court document (deleting or blacking out) useing General Rule 15
  • Family court/guardianship records have certain forms automatically sealed by General Rule 22
  • All name changes filed in Superior Court are sealed (RCW 4.24.130(5))

These rules are explained below.

Access to Court Records, Explained

Washington Court General Rule 31 (GR 31) allows the public to access many court records, but not all. GR 31 covers both paper copies in the courthouse and electronic copies on the Internet. The “access” allowed includes either viewing a record or getting a copy of it.

Other rules and laws allow some exceptions to GR 31. You can also get a court order from a judge allowing an exception to this rule.

What Court Records are NOT Available to the Public?

The following types of case records are not available to the public – they are automatically “sealed” by the court:

  • Adoptions
  • Confidential name changes
  • Juvenile non-offender records (dependency, truancy, at- risk youth, child in need of services, termination of parental rights, and developmental disability placement)
  • Paternity (except for final orders)
  • Mental illness commitment records
  • Alcohol and drug treatment commitment records
  • Court records sealed by a judge’s order

Again, these records are automatically “sealed” by the court. No one has to file a special motion to keep these records private.

What Privacy Protection Can I Get from GR 31?

If you are a party in a legal case in Washington and you file a document with the court, you have some right to privacy AND responsability to protect privacy of others under GR 31. 

GR 31 says you CANNOT include certain “personal identifiers” (listed below) in any document you file with the court “unless necessary or otherwise ordered by the Court.” If personal identifiers are in the documents you are submitting – a bank statement, for example – it is your responsibility (or your lawyer’s) to “redact” it (black it out or delete it) before the document is filed.

The rule applies to forms, exhibits, and declarations, as well as documents. It applies to all state courts in both civil and criminal cases. A Court Clerk will NOT review the documents you file to make sure you have redacted all personal identifiers.

NOTE: Administrative records (records kept by government agencies) are NOT covered by this rule. Administrative records, however, are not usually available to the public like court records are.

Which Personal Identifiers Need to be Redacted?

Social Security Numbers: If someone’s social security number must be included in a document, you may show only the last four digits.

Financial Account Numbers: If financial account numbers are relevant and should therefore be identified, you must include only the last four digits. Examples of financial account numbers include credit card account numbers and bank account numbers.

Driver License Numbers: You must black out or delete all driver license numbers.

What Happens If I Do Not Redact these Personal Identifiers?

If you file a document showing someone’s personal identifiers, the judge may order you to fix it. Fixing it may cost you money, including lawyer’s fees and court costs. A Court Clerk will NOT review the documents you file to make sure you have redacted all personal identifiers.

Sealing and Redacting Court Records: General Rule 15

General Rule 15 of the Washington Court Rules, also called GR 15, tells you how to get court records sealed, or get specific information in those records redacted, to protect your privacy. It also tells you how to get sealed records unsealed. The rule applies to all records from any court, in any civil or criminal case, and whether the records are paper or electronic. Remember: Family law, guardianship, and name change records have their own rules. See “Access to Family Court and Guardianship Court Records: General Rule 22” and “Name Changes” below.

What Happens When a Court Record or Document Is Sealed or Information Is Redacted?

When a whole court file is sealed, all the documents in the file except for the sealing order will be kept confidential. Generally the public court index will show that the file exists, including the names of the parties, the type of case, and a notation “case sealed.” The public will not have access to any current or future document in that file.

When one specific court document is sealed, it is removed from the court file and a filler sheet is inserted, showing that document is sealed. The public will not have access to the sealed document.

When information is redacted from a court document, the original document is removed from public access. Then a copy of the document with the private information blacked out or erased is put in the court file. The public will not have access to the original document.

How Can I Get a Court Record Sealed?

To get a court record sealed, you must bring a motion – an official request – before a judge. In the motion, you must convince the judge that you have serious privacy or safety concerns that outweigh any public interest in having access to those records. If your motion is granted, the judge can order a whole court file, or a particular document, sealed.

For See Seal or redact a court record on WashintonLawHelp.org. 

When Will a Judge Redact Information from a Court Record?

If the judge decides that only some of the information in a document should be kept from public access, the judge will protect only that information, not the whole document. The judge will order you to prepare a version of the document that blocks out the protected information but leaves the rest available to the public. This will be filed in the court records, along with notice that it is a redacted version. The original document will be sealed.

Can I Get a Court Document Unsealed?

A judge can order documents in a civil case be unsealed if all parties agree, or if you prove that the original reason for sealing the documents no longer exists.

Access to Family Court and Guardianship Court Records: General Rule 22

If you are involved in a family court or guardianship court case in Washington state, you have some special privacy protections from General Rule 22 (GR 22).

When you go to family or guardianship court for things like divorce, child support, non-parental custody, etc., you must complete “pattern” forms. These forms give the court information it needs to process your case. The forms also protect you against possible identity theft and other privacy concerns. The forms balance the public’s right to look at court records with your need to keep personal identifying information confidential.

What Personal Identifiers Can Be Protected?

These personal identifiers should be sealed from public access in family court matters:

  • Your social security number
  • Your driver license number
  • Your telephone number
  • Your financial account numbers
  • The social security number/s of your child/ren
  • The date/s of birth of your child/ren

Where Can I Get the Required Forms?

You can get forms from the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), either in person, by mail, or online.

Before you buy or use any pattern form, make sure you have the newest version. See Forms and Formatting below for links to the forms. You will find the date the form was last updated in the lower left corner of the form.

IMPORTANT: County courts each have their own filing rules. Some courts require multiple copies of paper forms. Check your local court rules or ask the family law/courthouse facilitator before filing to make sure you are filing forms correctly.

How Will the Court Protect My Personal Identifiers?

In a family law or guardianship case, you must complete the Confidential Information Form and file it with your petition or response. You also must file the Addendum to Confidential Information Form if you have more than two children, or if there is more than one petitioner or more than one respondent.

Your Confidential Information Form will be kept private. Even the opposing party in your case has no right to see it. Your pleadings, such as your Petition for Dissolution or Petition to Modify Child Support, should NOT include personal identifiers. These pleadings are public. 

What About My Financial Information?

You may also have certain financial documents sealed from the public by completing the Sealed Financial Source Documents (Cover Sheet). Documents that may be sealed using this form include the following:

  • Income tax returns
  • W-2s and tax schedules
  • Paystubs
  • Credit card statements
  • Financial/bank statements
  • Check registers
  • Loan application documents
  • Retirement plan orders
  • Other financial information sealed by court order

What About Health Care Records?

You may have health care records sealed from the public by completing a Sealed Personal Health Care Records (Cover Sheet) form and marking the records “sealed,” as the form tells you to do.

What About Confidential Reports?

In many family law cases, people file reports to the court, such as parenting evaluations, domestic violence assessments, risk assessments, Child Protective Services reports, sexual abuse evaluations, and reports from the Guardian ad Litem or Court-Appointed Special Advocate. These reports are filed as two separate documents, one public and one sealed. The public document only lists the information that was reviewed, the people who were contacted, any tests that were conducted or reviewed, and the evaluator’s conclusions and recommendations. The sealed documents are filed with a cover sheet and include all the details of the evaluation and the reasons for the conclusions.

What About My Home Address?

GR 22 does not make you give a residence address (the address where you live), but you must give an address where you can be served court papers, and that address will be publicly available.

GR 22 and the pattern forms are meant to protect your privacy, but are not designed to protect you from domestic violence. For example, other parties and their lawyers in your case will be able to look at the documents that you or an evaluator file (except the Confidential Information Form and some other court forms). This includes financial source documents and evaluator reports that are sealed under this court rule. Often these documents, such as bank statements, include your residents address. Therefore, if you are concerned about your safety or the safety of your children, you can redact address information from documents you file under any of the cover sheets linked below in the Forms section.

If you need an address where you can safely be served court papers, the Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) may be able to help.

What About Other Kinds of Personal Information?

The public does NOT have access to the following family court records:

  • Confidential Information Form
  • Sealed Financial Source Documents
  • Domestic Violence Information Form
  • Notice of Intent to Relocate
  • Vital Statistics Form
  • Law Enforcement Information Form
  • Foreign Protection Order Information Form
  • Sealed Personal Health Care Records
  • Sealed Retirement Plan Order
  • Sealed Confidential Reports
  • Personal information sheets needed for the Judicial Information System (the court’s case management program)

Other laws keep these documents private, not GR 22.

Does GR 22 Apply to All Court Records?

No. GR 22 does not apply to family law cases filed before October 1, 2001. It DOES apply to family law case records filed on and after October 1, 2001, for both paper and electronic records

Name Changes in Superior Court: RCW 4.24.130(5)

If you want your name change sealed, AND you are filing for these reasons, you should file in Superior Court:

1. Gender expression or identity
2. Refugee, special juvenile immigrant status, or asylum status
3. As a victim of domestic violence
4. You are an emancipated minor

State law requires Superior Court to automatically seal most name changes and not record the name change order with the County Recorder’s Office. See Name change guide from the Northwest Justice Project.

All name change orders issued by County District Court will be viewable as a public record through the County Recorder’s Office.

Forms and Formatting

All forms filed in Washington State Courts must be one-sided, with a 3-inch margin on the top of the first page and a 1-inch margin on all other sides. If the forms you print out from the links below are not formatted correctly (because of a copier mistake, for example), you can get copies of these forms from the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Many courts also offer an electronic filing option. If you do not have access to the Internet, check with your Family Law Court Facilitator or the Court Clerk, or with the Administrative Office of the Courts forms line to request the forms.

NOTE: The State Court system recommends that all documents filed be on numbered paper (State Court Civil Rule 10). Numbered paper – also called pleading paper – has numbers down the left side of the page. Check the court’s local rules to find out if numbered paper is required. You can buy numbered paper at an office supply store and copy your form onto it.

Forms

Resources

Name change guide, Northwest Justice Project.

Address Confidentiality Program (ACP), Washington Secretary of State
By mail: ACP, PO Box 257, Olympia, WA 98507-0257
By phone: 360-753-2972 or 1-800-822-1065 (toll-free)
Online: www.sos.wa.gov/acp/how-to-apply—find-an-application-assistantby-county.aspx

How to File Forms

Washington State Court Rules

This publication provides general information concerning your rights and responsibilities. It is not intended as a substitute for specific legal advice.

This information is current as of July 2025. Resources updated by Chloe Phalan, 07/08/25. Acknowledgements to Alesha Struthers, Lisa Barton, Genessa Stout, Inessa Baram-Blackwell, Anne Bradley Counts, and June Krumpotick for their efforts on previous versions of this memo.

© 2025 Legal Voice

(Permission for copying and distribution granted to the Alliance for Equal Justice and to individuals for non-commercial purposes only.)

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