Michigan Supreme Court Amends Rule on Redaction of Dates of Birth

Posted: December 22, 2021

Breaking news out of Michigan! After months of discussion, the Michigan Supreme Court has adopted an amendment to its personal identifying information (PII) court rule, which was set to go into effect on January 1, 2022. The rule has huge implications for the background screening industry, since it originally stated that court clerks would not be able to perform a search using date of birth, nor be able to verbally confirm that a date of birth exists on a record.

The adopted amendment, which will go into effect April 1, 2022, requires an “Authorized User” to gain access to personal identifying information (PII) court records and establishes a process for individuals to be authorized to have access to a party’s date of birth for purposes of verification of identity with consent. This amendment appears to strike a much-needed balance between the need to protect individuals’ identities with background companies’ need to gain access to records to properly verify identities.

By pushing out the implementation date to April, the Michigan State Court Administration Office (SCAO) will have additional time to create an “Authorized User List” and make any necessary changes to place in Judicial Information Systems (JIS) and non-JIS case management systems.

We will be monitoring this amendment as it continues to unfold, and we will communicate any updates made as they are encountered. For questions on Michigan’s adopted amendment to its personal identifying information (PII) court rule, please contact us at (877) 360-4636.