District of Columbia Sealing & Redaction Procedures

Checked against the court's document on Oct 4, 2026CRITICAL

A party seeking HSD status must move before the presiding judge, or the Chief Judge if no judge is assigned or the assigned judge is unavailable.

A party seeking to file a document as an HSD must file a motion with the presiding judge or, if no judge is assigned or the assigned judge is unavailable, with the Chief Judge.

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Criminal cases

The Court has ordered that the government 'redact the following information from the criminal investigative records to be unsealed: (1) individuals' names, except for the name of a judicial officer who has issued an order; (2) dates of birth; (3) Social Security numbers; (4) financial account numbers; (5) telephone numbers; (6) street addresses; (7) email account addresses; and (8) any other information that directly or indirectly identifies the target of, or witness, investigator, informant, or other person of interest in, a criminal investigation, and regardless of whether the investigation ultimately resulted in criminal charges or a criminal conviction.'

Summary: Government must redact specified personal information from criminal investigative records before unsealing.

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Because restricted documents filed in CM/ECF are no longer accessible or viewable electronically, a party or person authorized to receive a copy of a restricted document will receive such a copy in paper form.

Summary: Authorized persons receive paper copies of restricted documents instead of electronic access.

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As soon as practicable after the motion is filed, the moving party shall deliver two paper copies of the proposed HSD, or an electronic copy on a secure electronic device, to this Court's Clerk's Office, packaged in a manner prescribed by the Clerk's Office.

Summary: As soon as practicable after filing the motion, the moving party must deliver two paper copies or an electronic copy on a secure electronic device to the Clerk's Office, packaged as the Clerk's Office prescribes.

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HSDs and related orders containing highly sensitive information shall be maintained in the Clerk's Office in a secure paper filing system and/or a secure independent electronic storage system.

Summary: HSDs and related orders containing highly sensitive information must be kept in the Clerk's Office in a secure paper and/or independent electronic storage system.

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Civil cases

each party shall be required to execute the Consent or Declination Form and file it on the docket as directed by the Clerk’s Office in a manner that prevents it from being publicly viewable, including by the Judges of this Court.

Summary: Consent/Declination Form must be filed in a manner that prevents public view.

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Civil cases

Any party that files a motion to seal must also submit a redacted version of the document it proposes to seal, suitable for filing on the public docket. If a party believes that all portions of a document must remain sealed, the party must specifically notify the Court of that belief at the time of filing the motion to seal.

Summary: Motions to seal must include a redacted public version; if full sealing is needed, the party must notify the Court at filing.

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Civil cases

A party may not file a document under seal by relying solely on designation under a protective order. Even when a protective order has been entered, the Court has a responsibility to determine whether filings should be made available to the public by applying United States v. Hubbard, 650 F.2d 293 (D.C. Cir. 1980). A party moving to file under seal materials subject to a protective order must confer with the opposing party and state their position in the motion to seal, along with analysis of the relevant Hubbard factors.

Summary: Protective order designations alone do not justify sealing; parties must confer and include Hubbard factor analysis in the motion to seal.

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Civil cases

A party must submit a redacted version, suitable for filing on the public docket, of any document that it proposes to seal at the same time the party files a motion to seal. If a party believes that all portions of a sealed document must remain sealed, the party must specifically notify the Court of that belief at the time of filing the motion to seal.

Summary: Redacted version required when filing motion to seal; must notify court if all portions must remain sealed.

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Civil cases

Parties may not rely solely on designation under a protective order to file documents under seal. Even when a protective order has been issued in a case, the Court cannot abdicate its responsibility to determine whether filings should be made available to the public, applying the test articulated in United States v. Hubbard, 650 F.2d 293 (D.C. Cir. 1980). Before moving to file under seal materials subject to a protective order, the moving party must confer with the opposing party and provide the results of that conferral process in the motion to

Summary: Protective orders alone insufficient for sealing; must confer with opposing party and provide results in motion to seal.

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Criminal cases

Parties may not rely solely on designation under a protective order to file documents under seal. Even when a protective order has been issued in a case, the Court cannot abdicate its responsibility to determine whether filings should be made available to the public, applying the test articulated in United States v. Hubbard, 650 F.2d 293 (D.C. Cir. 1980). Before moving to file under seal materials subject to a protective order, the moving party must confer with the opposing party and provide the results of that conferral process in the motion to seal, as well as analysis of the relevant Hubbard factors warranting sealing, to ensure that any requested sealing is appropriate under Hubbard.

Summary: Parties cannot rely solely on a protective order to seal; must confer with opposing party and provide conferral results and Hubbard analysis in the motion to seal.

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Criminal cases

The names and personal information of prospective and sitting jurors in any trial of this matter shall be kept confidential and not disclosed outside of open court, except upon order of the Court.

Summary: Juror names and personal information must be kept confidential and not disclosed outside open court.

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Absent statutory authority, no case or document may be sealed without an order from the Court. A document filed with the intention of it being sealed in an otherwise public case must be filed by electronic means in a manner authorized by the Clerk and shall be accompanied by a motion to seal. The document will be treated as sealed, pending the outcome of the ruling on the motion. Failure to file a motion to seal will result in the document being placed on the public record.

Summary: Documents intended to be sealed must be filed electronically with a motion to seal; failure to file motion results in public record.

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Every document filed under seal in a totally sealed case shall be filed in paper form accompanied by an electronic copy in a format deemed compatible by the Clerk’s Office with CM/ECF filing in conformity with the requirements of LCvR 5.1.

Summary: Sealed documents in totally sealed cases must be filed in paper with an electronic copy.

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A motion citing (b)(6)(i)(ee) shall include the fee agreement that the pro se litigant would not accept. This motion shall be filed under seal and shall not be served upon or otherwise made available to the opposing party.

Summary: Motions citing fee agreement grounds must include the fee agreement, be filed under seal, and not be served on the opposing party.

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A petition under this Act must contain all relevant findings and recommendations under the Act, and must be filed under seal. The original and one copy of the petition and a PDF version on a CD-ROM shall be tendered to the Clerk. The envelope/box containing such documents shall have a conspicuous notation as follows: 'DOCUMENT UNDER SEAL.' ... The petition and subsequent filings must be maintained under seal pending further order of the Court.

Summary: Petitions, notices, and oppositions must be filed under seal, with a conspicuous notation on the envelope, and maintained under seal pending further order.

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A motion or application filed in connection with a grand jury subpoena or other matter occurring before a grand jury, all other papers filed in support of or in opposition to such a motion or application, and all orders entered by the Court in connection therewith, shall be filed under seal. Such a motion or application shall be assigned a Grand Jury (GJ) case number and be assigned to the Chief Judge. All hearings on matters affecting a grand jury proceeding shall be closed, except for contempt proceedings in which the alleged contemnor requests a public hearing. Papers, orders and transcripts of hearings subject to this Rule, or portions thereof, may be made public by the Court on its own motion or on motion of any person upon a finding that continued secrecy is not necessary to prevent disclosure of matters occurring before the grand jury.

Summary: Grand jury related motions and papers must be filed under seal, assigned a GJ case number, and assigned to the Chief Judge; hearings are closed; papers may be made public only by court order.

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Unless prior written authorization for electronic filing is given by the Clerk of Court, every document filed under seal in a totally sealed case shall be filed in paper form (original plus one) accompanied by an electronic copy in a format deemed by the Clerk's Office to be compatible with CM/ECF filing in conformity with the requirements of LCrR 49(f).

Summary: Sealed documents in totally sealed cases must be filed in paper with an electronic copy unless Clerk authorizes e-filing.

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Absent statutory authority, no case or document may be sealed without an order from the Court.

Summary: Sealing requires a court order unless statutory authority exists.

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sealed in an otherwise public case must be filed by electronic means in a manner authorized by the Clerk and shall be accompanied by a motion to seal. The document will be treated as sealed, pending the outcome of the ruling on the motion. Failure to file a motion to seal will result in the document being placed on the public record.

Summary: Sealed documents in an otherwise public case must be filed electronically with a motion to seal; failure to file the motion results in public placement.

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When it is necessary to file a sealed document in paper form, the document must be submitted to the Clerk’s Office with an electronic copy in a format deemed by the Clerk’s Office to be compatible with CM/ECF filing. The document shall be submitted to the Clerk securely sealed in an envelope/box. The envelope/box containing such a document shall contain a conspicuous notation that states “DOCUMENT UNDER SEAL” or “DOCUMENT SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER,” or the equivalent. The face of the envelope/box shall also contain the title of the Court, the case caption, the case number, and a descriptive title of the document, unless such information is to be or has been included in the information ordered sealed. The face of the envelope/box shall also contain the date of any order or the reference to any statute permitting the item to be sealed. A document submitted for confidential in camera review also must be submitted to the Clerk’s Office securely sealed in an envelope/box marked as described above.

Summary: When filing a sealed document in paper form, submit to Clerk's Office with electronic copy, in a securely sealed envelope/box conspicuously marked with required notation, case information, and sealing authority.

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Filing a sealed document in a totally sealed case, or filing a sealed document in paper format in an otherwise public case where electronic filing cannot be effected, must be made in the Clerk’s Office during the business hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., daily except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. Filing a sealed document at the security desk is prohibited because the Security Officers are not authorized to accept this material.

Summary: Sealed document filings (in a totally sealed case or paper in a public case) must be made at Clerk's Office between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., not at the security desk.

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Documents that are being filed under seal pursuant to a protective order must be filed in the Clerk's Office during business hours because the Security Officers are not authorized to accept this material.

Summary: Sealed documents must be filed during business hours; cannot be delivered to security desk after hours.

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MAKING DOCUMENTS FILED UNDER SEAL IN THE BANKRUPTCY COURT PART OF THE RECORD IN THE DISTRICT COURT When a party wishes a document placed under seal by the Bankruptcy Court to be part of the record considered by the District Court in ruling on (1) a motion to withdraw the reference under DCt.LBR 5011-2; or (2) a de novo review under DCt.LBR 9033-1; or (3) any other non-appellate matter, the party must: (1) identify the document, without revealing confidential or secret information, as being part of the record the party wishes the District Court to consider; and (2) file a motion with the District Court to accept the document under seal. If the motion is granted, the movant must notify the Bankruptcy Court of the ruling, and the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court must promptly transmit the sealed document to the Clerk of the District Court.

Summary: To make a Bankruptcy Court sealed document part of the District Court record, a party must identify the document without revealing confidential information and file a motion to accept it under seal; if granted, the Bankruptcy Clerk transmits the sealed document to the District Clerk.

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Civil cases

Absent specific statutory authority, a proposed sealed document in an otherwise unsealed case must be accompanied with a motion to seal in accordance with Local Civil Rule 5.1(h) and be filed pursuant to the procedures established by the Clerk’s Office.

Summary: Sealed documents require motion to seal under Local Civil Rule 5.1(h).

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Civil cases

Parties may not justify sealing solely on the basis that information is covered by a protective order. When proposing redactions, parties shall also file an unredacted copy of the document with the proposed redacted portions highlighted.

Summary: Sealing cannot be justified solely by protective order; unredacted copy with highlighted redactions must be filed.

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Civil cases

If the parties have redacted or filed under seal any portion of the motion papers or attendant exhibits, courtesy copies shall be unredacted, but the portions redacted from public filings should be highlighted, so that the Court will know to refrain from quoting those passages in opinions and orders.

Summary: Unredacted courtesy copies required for sealed/redacted filings, with redacted portions highlighted

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Civil cases

Absent specific statutory authority, a proposed sealed document in an otherwise unsealed case must be accompanied with a motion to seal in accordance with Local Civil Rule 5.1(h) and be filed pursuant to the procedures established by the Clerk's Office.

Summary: Sealed documents in unsealed cases require motion to seal per Local Civil Rule 5.1(h).

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Civil cases

Any motion for leave to file under seal shall: (1) explain why sealing specific information is justified in light of the factors set forth in United States v. Hubbard, 650 F.2d 293 (D.C. Cir. 1980); (2) propose redactions or explain why redactions are sufficiently impracticable to outweigh the presumption of public access; and (3) include as a separate exhibit each document sought to be sealed.

Summary: Motions to seal must justify under Hubbard factors, propose redactions or explain impracticability, and include each document as separate exhibit.

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Civil cases

When proposing redactions, parties shall also file an unredacted copy of the document with the proposed redacted portions highlighted.

Summary: When proposing redactions, parties must file an unredacted copy with proposed redactions highlighted.

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Civil cases

Every document filed under seal in a totally sealed case shall be filed in paper form accompanied by an electronic copy in a format deemed compatible by the Clerk’s Office with CM/ECF filing. See LCvR 5.4(e)(1).

Summary: Sealed documents in a totally sealed case must be filed in paper form with an electronic copy compatible with CM/ECF.

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Civil cases

Absent specific statutory authority, a proposed sealed document in an otherwise unsealed case must be accompanied with a motion to seal. in accordance with Local Civil Rule 5.1(h) and filed pursuant to the procedures established by the Clerk’s Office. Motions to seal should explain why sealing is appropriate with reference to the factors identified in United States v. Hubbard, 650 F.2d 293 (D.C. Cir. 1980). Failure to file a proper motion to seal may result in the document being placed in the public record.

Summary: Proposed sealed documents in an unsealed case must be accompanied by a motion to seal explaining why sealing is appropriate per Hubbard factors.

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Civil cases

(A) EXCEPTIONS TO ELECTRONIC FILING. (i) Every document filed under seal in a totally sealed case shall be filed in paper form accompanied by an electronic copy in a format deemed compatible by the Clerk's Office with CM/ECF filing. See LCvR 5.4(e)(1).

Summary: Sealed documents in totally sealed cases must be filed in paper with electronic copy.

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Criminal cases

Finally, if the government has identified any information which is favorable to the defendant but which the government seeks to withhold from disclosure, the government shall submit such information to the Court for in camera review.

Summary: Favorable information the government seeks to withhold must be submitted to the Court for in camera review.

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Criminal cases

Finally, if the government has identified any information which is favorable to the defendant but which the government seeks to withhold from disclosure, the government shall submit such information to the Court for in camera review.

Summary: Government must submit favorable information sought to be withheld to Court for in camera review.

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Criminal cases

In addition to Local Criminal Rule 49(f)(6), the parties should not presume that entire documents will be permitted to be filed under seal, but instead should strive to redact only the information that cannot be disclosed on the public docket. Therefore, when filing a motion for leave to file under seal, the moving party must not only submit the unredacted version that it seeks to file under seal, but also submit a proposed redacted version of the document for public docketing, if possible.

Summary: When filing under seal, submit both unredacted and proposed redacted versions.

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Criminal cases

In addition to Local Criminal Rule 49(f)(6), the parties should not presume that entire documents will be permitted to be filed under seal, but instead should strive to redact only the information that cannot be disclosed on the public docket. Therefore, when filing a motion for leave to file under seal, the moving party must not only submit the unredacted version that it seeks to file under seal, but also submit a proposed redacted version of the document for public docketing, if possible.

Summary: When seeking to seal, parties must submit both unredacted version for sealing and a proposed redacted version for public docketing.

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Civil cases

when filing a motion for leave to file under seal, the moving party must not only submit the unredacted version that it seeks to file under seal, but also submit a proposed redacted version of the document for public docketing, if possible.

Summary: Motion for leave to file under seal requires both unredacted and proposed redacted versions.

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When it is necessary to file a sealed document in paper form, the document must be submitted to the Clerk's Office with an electronic copy in a format deemed by the Clerk's Office to be compatible with CM/ECF filing. The document shall be submitted to the Clerk securely sealed in an envelope/box. The envelope/box containing such a document shall contain a conspicuous notation that states 'DOCUMENT UNDER SEAL' or 'DOCUMENTS SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER,' or the equivalent. The face of the envelope/box shall also contain the title of the Court, the case caption, the case number, and a descriptive title of the document, unless such information is to be or has been included among the information ordered sealed. The face of the envelope/box shall also contain the date of any order or the reference to any statute permitting the item to be sealed.

Summary: Paper sealed documents must be submitted to Clerk's Office with electronic copy, in sealed envelope with required markings.

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A party wishing to file a document containing unredacted personal identifiers listed in LCvR 5.4 (f) (1)-(4) may file an unredacted document under seal. This document shall be retained by the Court as part of the record.

Summary: Unredacted documents with personal identifiers may be filed under seal.

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Except for documents specifically identified in LCrR 49(e)(3), every such document is not subject to the limitations set forth in Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49.1, and the filing of every such document under seal shall not require a motion to seal.

Summary: Pre-initial appearance criminal documents are exempt from FRCP 49.1 redaction limitations and may be filed under seal without a motion to seal.

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the affidavit shall be sealed and not be publicly disclosed or made available for use in any other proceeding except upon order of this Court.

Summary: Affidavit for disbarment on consent is sealed and not publicly disclosed except by court order.

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Civil cases

Parties may not justify sealing solely on the basis that information is covered by a protective order.

Summary: Protective order coverage alone is insufficient justification for sealing.

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Civil cases

If the parties have redacted or filed under seal any portion of the motion papers or attendant exhibits, courtesy copies shall be unredacted, but the portions redacted from public filings should be highlighted, so that the Court will know to refrain from quoting those passages in opinions and orders.

Summary: Sealed/redacted filings require unredacted courtesy copies with redacted portions highlighted.

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Criminal cases

Should such a case qualify as “widely publicized or sensationalized” under Local Criminal Rule 57.7(c), parties, witnesses, and counsel must refrain from making extrajudicial statements that are likely to interfere with the rights of the defendant to a fair trial by an impartial jury.

Summary: In widely publicized cases, parties must refrain from extrajudicial statements that could prejudice a fair trial.

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If the party does not wish its full residence address to appear on the public docket, it shall omit the address and simultaneously file under seal a notice containing its full address, which notice shall be available only to the Court and the opposing party.

Summary: Party can file a sealed notice with full address instead of public caption address.

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First it permits the attorney affidavit, which is the predicate for disbarment on consent, to be filed under seal.

Summary: Attorney affidavit for disbarment on consent may be filed under seal.

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Sealed submissions in criminal cases and emergency or sealed filings in civil cases may be submitted via email to the Court for prompt docketing.

Summary: Sealed and emergency filings may be submitted via email to the Court.