Arizona

Family Law

Family Law

Rule 17 – Sealing, Redacting, and Unsealing Court Records

(a)Request to Seal or Redact Court Records; Service. Any person may request that the court seal or allow the filing of a redacted court record in a case that is subject to these rules by filing a written motion, or the court may on its own seal or allow the filing of a redacted court record. The title of the motion to seal or allow the filing of a redacted court record must disclose that the motion seeks sealing or redaction. The motion must be served on all parties in accordance with the applicable rules of service.
(b)Hearing. The court may conduct a hearing on a motion to seal or allow the filing of a redacted court record.
(c)Grounds to Seal or Redact; Written Findings Required. The court may order the court files and records, or any part thereof, to be sealed or redacted, provided the court enters written findings of fact and conclusions that the specific sealing or redaction is justified. The conclusions must include the following:

(1) there exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record;
(2) the overriding interest supports sealing or redacting the record;
(3) a substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be prejudiced if the record is not sealed or redacted;
(4) the proposed sealing or redaction is narrowly tailored; and
(5) no less restrictive means exist to achieve the overriding interest.
(d)Access. Court records that are sealed may be examined by judicial officers. Access by the public to sealed records will be allowed only after entry of a court order in accordance with this rule.
(e)Motion; Service. A sealed court record will be unsealed only upon stipulation of all the parties, on the court’s own motion, or on a motion filed by a party or another person. A motion to unseal a court record must be served on all parties to the action in accordance with the applicable rules of service. If the movant cannot locate a party for service after making a good faith effort to do so, the movant may file an affidavit setting forth the efforts to locate the party and requesting that the court waive the service requirements of this rule. The court may waive the service requirement if it finds that further good faith efforts to locate the party are not likely to be successful.
(f)Objection to Unsealing. Any party opposing a motion to unseal must demonstrate why the motion should not be granted. The opposing party must show that overriding circumstances continue to exist or that other grounds provide a sufficient basis for keeping the record sealed.

Ariz. R. Fam. Law. proc. 17

Added Oct. 19, 2005, effective Jan. 1, 2006; amended effectiveJan. 1, 2019.

COMMENT TO 2019 AMENDMENT

This rule uses the adjective “overriding interest” to conform to the court’s use in State v. Tucker, 231 Ariz. 125 (App. 2012), and Rule 5.4 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure.