Sample Application to File Under Seal in California

A sample application to file under seal in California has four parts: a public motion, a supporting declaration, a memorandum of points and authorities, and a proposed order. All four must work together to satisfy the five express findings required by California Rules of Court, rules 2.550 and 2.551.¹ California does not publish a Judicial Council form for a general sealing motion, so you draft each piece yourself. Party agreement alone will not seal anything; the judge has to make findings on the record.

The Five Findings Your Application Must Support

The sealing standard comes from NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV), Inc. v. Superior Court, which held that court proceedings are presumptively open.² Rule 2.550(d) codifies the exception. Before sealing any record, the court must expressly find:¹

An overriding interest exists that overcomes the public’s right of access.
That interest supports sealing the specific record at issue.
A substantial probability exists that the interest will be prejudiced without sealing.
The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored.
No less restrictive means will adequately protect the interest.

The rules do not define “overriding interest.” Case law recognizes properly asserted statutory privileges, trade secrets, and certain privacy interests, but a general claim that material is “sensitive” or “confidential” will not carry the motion. Your papers must tie specific information to a specific interest and explain the specific harm public disclosure would cause.

The Four Documents in the Package

The Motion

The motion itself is filed publicly and served on every party that has appeared in the case.³ Because it is public, it must not repeat the material you want protected. Describe the documents precisely enough for the court and opposing parties to know what is at stake, without revealing the substance.

After the caption and case number, the body can track this pattern:

“[Party name] respectfully moves this Court for an order sealing the following documents lodged conditionally under seal: [identify each document or portion by title, exhibit number, and page range]. This motion is made under California Rules of Court, rules 2.550 and 2.551, on the grounds that the identified materials contain [trade secret information / confidential medical records / other specific interest] and that public disclosure would cause substantial harm to [identify the interest]. This motion is supported by the accompanying Declaration of [declarant name], Memorandum of Points and Authorities, and a Proposed Order.”

The Supporting Declaration

This is the piece that wins or loses the motion. The declaration must state facts sufficient to justify sealing, tracking each of the five findings from Rule 2.550(d).³ Address the sensitive items individually rather than arguing about the document as a whole. A contract with confidential pricing formulas and standard boilerplate should be handled item by item, explaining why the pricing warrants protection while conceding that the rest can remain public.

A functional framework, signed under penalty of perjury:

“I, [declarant name], declare as follows: 1. I am [role in the case, basis for personal knowledge]. 2. The documents lodged conditionally under seal contain [describe the sensitive information without revealing it]. 3. An overriding interest exists because [state the specific interest, e.g., this information constitutes a trade secret under California Civil Code section 3426.1 and its disclosure would eliminate its commercial value]. 4. There is a substantial probability this interest will be harmed by public disclosure because [explain how disclosure causes specific harm]. 5. The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored because it covers only [specific pages/portions], while the remainder of the document will be included in the public file. 6. No less restrictive means exist because [explain why redaction alone is insufficient, or why a protective order would not adequately protect the interest at this stage]. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.”

The Memorandum of Points and Authorities

The memorandum supplies the legal framework. Cite Rule 2.550, the NBC Subsidiary decision, and any case law recognizing the particular overriding interest you invoke. The goal is to place your request inside established boundaries rather than asking the court to break new ground.

The Proposed Order

The proposed order is a draft for the judge’s signature. It must specify exactly which documents, pages, or portions of pages will be sealed, and it must contain express factual findings tracking Rule 2.550(d) and (e).¹ It must also direct that non-sensitive portions remain in the public file. A proposed order that simply says “the document is hereby sealed” without itemized findings will likely be rejected and will not survive appellate review.

Recitals can follow this pattern:

“The Court, having considered the motion, declaration, and memorandum filed by [party], and having made the following express findings: (1) An overriding interest exists, namely [identify]; (2) This interest supports sealing the identified records; (3) A substantial probability exists that this interest will be prejudiced if the records are not sealed; (4) The sealing is narrowly tailored to cover only [identify specific pages/portions]; and (5) No less restrictive means exist to protect the interest; HEREBY ORDERS that [specific documents/portions] are sealed. All remaining portions shall be included in the public file.”

Lodging the Documents Conditionally Under Seal

The documents you want sealed are not filed in the ordinary sense. They are lodged with the court, meaning deposited temporarily while the judge considers the motion. Lodged documents do not become part of the public record unless the court later orders them filed.³

Prepare two versions of any document containing sensitive material. The unredacted version is lodged conditionally under seal. A redacted version, with the sensitive portions blacked out, is filed publicly. The redacted version must not reveal any of the information you are asking the court to seal.³

Label the unredacted materials “CONDITIONALLY UNDER SEAL.” For paper submissions, place them in a sealed envelope or container with that label displayed prominently.³ For electronic filing, check your local superior court’s protocol. Many California courts require sealed materials to be filed separately from public documents, with omission pages inserted where the removed material would appear.⁴ The public motion and memorandum are filed normally, separate from the lodged materials. The clerk holds the lodged documents off the public docket while the motion is pending.

When You Need to File Someone Else’s Confidential Material

A common situation: you need to file documents that the opposing party or a third party designated as confidential under a protective order or confidentiality agreement. The burden shifts. The party wanting the material to remain confidential is the one that must file the sealing motion, not the party that needs to use it.³

If you are the party needing to file someone else’s designated material, lodge the unredacted documents with the court, file redacted public versions, and serve notice on the designating party. That party then has a limited window to bring its own sealing motion. If it does not act in time, the material becomes part of the public file. A “confidential” label from discovery does not carry over automatically once documents enter the adjudicative record.

What Happens After the Court Rules

If the Motion Is Granted

The order must state the specific facts supporting each finding and direct that only the sensitive portions be sealed, with everything else placed in the public file.¹ For paper records, the clerk replaces the “CONDITIONALLY UNDER SEAL” label with one reading “SEALED BY ORDER OF THE COURT ON [DATE].”³ The order defines who, besides the court, may access the sealed record. All parties are bound by it and cannot disclose sealed contents in later public filings unless the order permits.

If the Motion Is Denied

A denial does not simply return everything to the status quo, and this is where filers get caught. You have 10 days from the date of the order to notify the court that the lodged record should be filed unsealed. If you give that notification, the clerk places the record in the public file. If you stay silent for 10 days, the clerk either returns paper documents to you or permanently deletes electronic ones.³ Permanent deletion means the material is gone from the court’s system, and you would have to refile through normal channels to put it back before the court. There is no option that keeps the material with the court but out of public view after a denial. You either accept public filing or withdraw and rework your presentation.

What the Sealing Rules Do Not Cover

Two categories fall outside Rules 2.550 and 2.551 entirely. Records already made confidential by statute (such as juvenile case files or certain mental health records) are protected automatically and do not require a sealing motion. Discovery motions and related records are governed by the discovery statutes, not the sealing rules, and use the lower “good cause” standard for protective orders. Discovery material that later gets used at trial or submitted as a basis for adjudicating something other than a discovery dispute does fall under the sealing rules, and a discovery protective order will not carry it into sealed status.¹ A fresh sealing motion under the full overriding-interest standard is required at that point.

Rule 1.201 also imposes a separate, universal redaction obligation on every public filing, sealing motion or not:⁵

Social Security numbers: include only the last four digits.
Financial account numbers: include only the last four digits.

Rule 1.201 is not a substitute for a sealing motion. If your documents contain sensitive material beyond these identifiers, the four-part application described above is the mechanism that gets it out of the public file.

1
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 2.550 – Sealed Records
2
Justia. NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV), Inc. v. Superior Court (Locke) (1999)
3
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 2.551 – Procedures for Filing Records Under Seal
4
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 8.74 – Format of Electronic Documents
5
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 1.201 – Protection of Privacy