Sensitive information filed in court cases must be limited to a designated format. For instance, Social Security or credit card number cannot be used. Driver license or passport numbers are restricted to the last 4 digits and birth years should be used in place of a birth date.

If information is required, review Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420(d) which also contains proper procedures for sealing and unsealing of court records, establishes procedures for criminal cases, and addresses sealing of appellate court records.

If the Notice is filed after a document containing confidential information is filed, you must specifically identify the case information and the exact location of the confidential information within the document. A Notice of Confidential Information Within Court Filing is required for each document previously filed with this office.

The Clerk has the authority to redact or make confidential only specific information. If the request is outside the authority of the Clerk, you will be notified within five days of filing the notice and must file a Motion to Determine Confidentiality of Court Records form to schedule a hearing. The court shall make the ultimate determination whether confidentiality is proper and may provide a Court Order.

The Florida Judiciary requires protections of sensitive information pursuant to the Rules of Judicial Administration 2.425 (Minimization of the Filing of Sensitive Information) and 2.420(d) (Notice of Confidential Information within a Filing).

Notice/Motion Form Submission Options

• Electronically via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
• Mail or In Person: 1700 Monroe Street, Courts Customer Service, 1st Floor.

When preparing a document for recording in the Official Records, do not include Social Security numbers or complete bank account, debit, charge, or credit card numbers. Only include such numbers if they are specifically required by law.

If a Social Security number or a bank account, debit, charge, or credit card number was included in a document, it may become part of the public record. Any person has the right to request this information to be removed from a publicly available image or copy of an Official Records document.

To ensure this information is properly removed from the Official Records, you will need to provide the Official Records (OR) book and page or the instrument number. If you do not have this information, you can search the Official Records.

Florida law exempts certain documents from being placed on a publicly available website. These documents include: death certificates, military discharges, and court documents related to family law, juvenile actions, and probate matters. If you are named in these recorded documents, you may request to remove them by completing the Request to Remove Information from Public Inspection form and sending it to one of the submission options below. No fee is charged for this service.

Florida law allows individuals in certain professions, as well as their spouses and/or children, to request the removal of specific personal information from the Official Records.

If you qualify for the exemption under Florida Statutes 119.071 and 493.6122, you may complete and submit the Request to Remove Information From Public Inspection form. A new form will need to be submitted for each new request. If you need to request to remove your redacted information, you may complete and submit the Request to Release Redacted Information on Recorded Documents form.

Form Submission Options for documents recorded in Official Records (NOT court records)

• In Person: Recording Department, 2115 Second Street, 2nd Floor, Fort Myers
• Mail to: Lee County Clerk of Court, P.O. Box 227, Fort Myers, FL 33902-2278

Any veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces or his/her widow/widower, attorney, personal representative, executor, or court appointed guardian has the right to request the Clerk to remove from the Official Records any military separation forms recorded by or on behalf of the veteran. The forms eligible for removal include: DD-214, DD-215, WD AGO 53, WD AGO 53-55, NAVMC 78-PD, and NAVPERS 553.

The request must be made in person at the Clerk's office. The requestor must be present appropriate identification and provide the book and page number of the form to be removed. No fee is charged for this service.

Once requested, the record will be permanently removed from the Official Records and will not be able to be re-recorded. Please obtain as many certified copies of your separation document as you might need in the future before this removal is made.

To learn more about how to avoid identity theft and what to do if your identity is stolen, visit Fighting Back Against Identity Theft.

NOTICE OF THE RIGHT OF ANY AFFECTED PARTY TO REQUEST REMOVAL OF CERTAIN CHAPTER 119 INFORMATION OR RECORDS:

Any person has a right to request that a county recorder remove, from a publicly available Internet website, information made exempt from inspection or copying under s. 119.071, F.S., or an image or copy of a public record, including an official record, if that image or copy is of a military discharge; death certificate, or a court file, record or paper relating to matters or cases governed by the Florida Rules of Family Law, the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, or the Florida Probate Rules. However, grantor, grantee or party names may not be removed from the Official Records index unless the grantor, grantee or party name includes the street address, such as in a Trust or LLC. Requests must be notarized, state the statutory basis for removal, and confirm the individual’s eligibility for the exemption. To make a request contact the clerk’s office by mail or in person at 2115 Second Street, Fort Myers, Florida 33901 or by email at recsupport@leeclerk.org.

NOTICE OF THE RIGHT OF ANY AFFECTED PARTY TO REQUEST THE ADDITION OF INFORMATION TO A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INTERNET WEBSITE:

Any affected person has a right to request that a county recorder or clerk of the court add information to a publicly available Internet website if that information involves the identity of a respondent against whom a final judgment for an injunction for the protection of a minor under s. 741.30, s. 784.046, or s. 784.0485, F.S., is entered, unless the respondent is a minor. The request must be in writing and contain the case number. To make a request contact the clerk’s office by mail or in person at (2115 Second Street, Fort Myers, Florida 33901 or by email at recsupport@leeclerk.org.