Illinois Supreme Court Rule 138, amended to protect against identity theft and the disclosure of sensitive information through electronic filing, goes into effect Monday, July 1 with two of its provisions being deferred.

A requirement that birth dates and the names of minor individuals be excluded from documents in civil cases has been deferred until Jan. 1, 2014. The delay will allow attorneys and state agencies that handle high volumes of affected cases additional time to adapt to the new requirements. In the interim, the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committeee will schedule a public hearing on the deferred provisions.

In response to additional inquiries from judges, practitioners, clerks and other court partners, the following clarifications are offered:

1. Rule 138 applies only to civil cases and does not apply to cases defined under Article V of the Supreme Court Rules, ie. traffic, conservation and ordinance violations.

2. Paragraph (c) allows personal identity information to be filed, in its entirety when accompanied by a Notice of Personal Identity Information Within Court Filing, if required by law, ordered by the court, or necessary to effect disposition of a matter. As such, the rule is consistent with family law, guardianship, and other statutes which require the inclusion of personal identity information within petitions, notices or other court documents.

3. Paragraph (d) requires that the personal identity information, in its entirety, be made available to the parties, the court, the clerk and to all justice partners who require the information to perform official duties such as service of orders of protection and collection of child support.

4. Federal forms, such as the Income Withholding for Support and various IRS documents, require information such as Social Security numbers, minor names and birth dates. Under Rule 138, these formsforms shall be completed with all information necessary to comply with federal requirements, filed confidentially, and transferred to appropriate justice partners consistent with paragraph (d). A redacted copy may be included in the public file.

5. Rule 138 applies to personal identity information in all publicly accessible court records. It does not apply to publication of notice as required by certain statutes.

6. Rule 138 applies to documents filed on or after the effective date.

A template of the Notice of Personal Identity Information Within Court Filing will be forthcoming. A form siliar to that attached to Supreme Court Rule 15 may be utilized in the interim.

As Illinois courts move toward electronic filing, Supreme Court Rule 138 attempts to ensure that access to e-filed cases will not pose a threat to the privacy and security interests of parties and litigants.

Beginning July 1, social security numbers and taxpayer-identification numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account numbers, and debit and credit card numbers will be excluded from documents and exhibits in civil cases.