OKEECHOBEE — Jerald D. “Jerry Bryant, Okeechobee County’s Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, is issuing this notice to the public about a recent change in the filing of court records with regard to the redaction of confidential information.

In accordance with a recent amendment by the Florida Supreme Court to Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420, “the clerk will not be required to identify and designate information as confidential,” in circuit civil, county civil and small claims court documents.

Effective July 1, 2021, filers will be solely responsible for ensuring any confidential information contained in filings in these cases is appropriately redacted or identified for redaction.

All filers, including attorneys and self-represented litigants, will be required to:

• File a Notice of Confidential Information in circuit civil, county civil and small claims court cases when filing documents with Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, or other non-public information;
• Identify the precise location(s) of confidential information within the document, including each page number on which it appears; and
• Identify the type of confidential information or provision that applies to the identified information.

The amended rule affects small claims court filings and circuit and county court civil cases, except for Jimmy Ryce civil commitments, cases stemming from sexual assault, and medical malpractice filings.

Clerks around the state are currently exploring options across county offices to address the amendment’s broad implementation. However, the Okeechobee County Clerk’s Office suggests attorneys, legal professionals, self-represented litigants and other individuals who file court documents review the amendment and become fully familiar with the rule change so that confidential information is not made public.

The Florida Supreme Court’s amendment to Rule 2.420 can be found at: https://www.floridasupremecourt.org/content/download/714814/opinion/sc20-1765.pdf.

Please visit https://www.clerk.co.okeechobee.fl.us/ or contact our Court Operations at 863-763-2131 to access the “Notice of Confidential Information Within Court Filing” document for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit or for answers to any questions you may have about these changes.