(a) A levying officer shall exclude or redact the following identifiers from any record or document made available to the public:
(1) Social security number.
(2) Financial account number.
§ 263.7.Exclusion or redaction of identifiers
Title 4. Ministerial Officers of Courts of Justice · Chapter 2. Levying Officer Electronic Transactions Act · Enacted 2010 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 263.7 requires a levying officer to exclude or redact Social Security numbers and financial account numbers, showing at most the last four digits, from any record made available to the public and from any writ return filed with the court, while excluding the creditor, debtor, garnishee, and third-party claimant from the definition of “public.”
Full Text of § 263.7
(b) If an identifier is redacted, only the last four digits of the number may be used.
(c) A levying officer also shall exclude or redact the identifiers listed in subdivision (a) from any writ return filed with the court.
(d) The term “public” does not include the creditor, debtor, garnishee, or third-party claimant.
Plain-English Summary
Levy records often carry sensitive financial identifiers. § 263.7(a) requires a levying officer to exclude or redact two of them — Social Security numbers and financial account numbers — from any record or document made available to the public. Subdivision (b) sets the limit on how much can still show: if an identifier is redacted, only the last four digits of the number may appear.
Subdivision (c) extends the same duty to a writ return filed with the court, so the redaction requirement does not stop at documents handed out over the counter — it reaches the court file too.
Subdivision (d) defines who is not “the public” for this purpose: the creditor, debtor, garnishee, and third-party claimant. Because the redaction requirement runs to public access, excluding these parties from that definition means the requirement, by its own terms, is not aimed at what those parties may see in connection with the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What personal identifiers must a levying officer redact from public records?
§ 263.7(a) lists Social Security numbers and financial account numbers.
How much of a redacted number can still appear in the record?
§ 263.7(b) allows only the last four digits to remain visible.
Does this redaction requirement apply to the writ return filed with the court?
Yes. § 263.7(c) extends the same exclusion or redaction duty to any writ return filed with the court.
Are the creditor, debtor, garnishee, or third-party claimant treated as “the public” under this section?
No. § 263.7(d) excludes those parties from the definition of “public” for purposes of this redaction requirement.
Amendment History
Added Stats 2010 ch 680 § 4 (AB 2394), effective January 1, 2011.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: redact social security number sheriff writ californiaccp 263.7 identifier redaction levying officerfinancial account number redaction writ return california