How to Redact Text Messages for Court Without Losing Their Weight
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
Redact identifiers, not words. Court privacy rules typically make you cut personal numbers down: in federal court, Rule 5.2 allows only the last four digits of Social Security and account numbers, the year of a birth date, and a minor's initials; California's Rule of Court 1.201 sets the same last-four limit for Social Security and account numbers. Black out those details, keep everything else as it was, keep an unredacted copy, and never remove a message, a word or a date to make the thread read better.
Redaction protects privacy. Done carelessly, it can make an honest record look edited.
What to redact
- Social Security and taxpayer numbers: the last four digits only.
- Bank, card and other account numbers: the last four digits only.
- Birth dates: the year only, where the rule says so.
- Children's names: federal filings use initials; family courts have their own rules, so ask.
- An address you need to keep confidential, such as a safe address; some states run address confidentiality programs.
Under California's rule, keeping these identifiers out of a filing is the filer's responsibility, not the clerk's.
What never to redact
- Words in a message, even ones that make you look bad.
- Dates, times and the order of messages.
- Whole messages. If one is left out, the other side can ask for the rest (see the rule of completeness).
Removing content isn't redaction; it is editing, and it can damage your credibility or worse (see deleting texts during a case).
How to do it properly
- Work on a copy. Keep the original export and an unredacted printout for your lawyer or the court if asked.
- In a PDF, use a real redaction tool that removes the text underneath. A black box drawn on top can often be removed or copied around.
- On paper, black out, photocopy, and file the photocopy, so nothing shows through.
- Mark each redaction, or note on the cover what kind of detail was redacted and why.
- Keep the message numbers. A numbered list still lines up with the original when a number is blacked out.
Where the rules come from
Federal courts follow Rule 5.2. Family cases are in state courts, which have their own privacy rules (California's is rule 1.201) and often local rules on top. The clerk's office or the court's self-help center can tell you what applies to filings and exhibits in your court. For handing the record to a lawyer instead, see how to send your texts to your lawyer.
Start from a numbered copy
Verity reads your export in your browser, without uploading it, and numbers every message in date order. Redact the printed list as above; the numbers stay the same as in the original, so anyone can match them.
Rules cited
Read on November 3, 2026. Rules change and courts add local rules; check yours.
- Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2, Privacy protection for filings (Legal Information Institute)
- California Rules of Court, rule 1.201, Protection of privacy
This is general information, not legal advice. Ask your lawyer or the court's self-help center what your court requires.
Number the conversation first
Drop in your export and read every message numbered in date order. It is read in your browser and is not uploaded.