Rule 27 - Sealed Documents and Protective Orders (a)General Principles.(1)"Persons" Defined. References to "persons" in this rule include parties and nonparties who are interested in the confidentiality of a document.(2)"Provisionally Under Seal" Defined. A document is "provisionally under seal" if it is filed electronically with a confidential designation in the electronic-filing system or if it is filed in paper inside of a sealed envelope or container marked "Contains Confidential Information - Provisionally Under Seal."(3)Open Courts. A person who appears before the court should strive to file documents that are open to public inspection and should file a motion to seal a document only if necessary.(4)Scope. This rule does not apply to documents that are closed to public inspection by operation of statute or other legal authority, nor does it apply to search warrants and other criminal investigatory documents. This rule does not affect a person's responsibility to omit or redact private information from court documents pursuant to statute or other legal authority. (b)Procedure for Sealing a Document. (1)Filing. A person who seeks to have a document (or part of a document) sealed by the court must file the document provisionally under seal and file a motion that asks the court to seal the document. The document must be filed on the same day as the motion. (2)Motion. The motion to seal must contain:a. a nonconfidential description of the document the movant is asking to be sealed; b. the circumstances that warrant sealing the document;c. an explanation of why no reasonable alternative to sealing the document exists; d. a statement that specifies whether the document should be accessible only to counsel of record (as opposed to the parties); e. a statement that specifies how long the document should be sealed and how the document should be handled upon unsealing; f. a statement, if applicable, that (i) the movant is filing the document provisionally under seal because another person has designated the document as confidential and the terms of a protective order require the movant to file the document provisionally under seal and (ii) the movant has unsuccessfully sought the consent of the other person to file the document unsealed; and g. a statement, if applicable, that a nonparty who designated the document as confidential under the terms of a protective order has been served with a copy of the motion and notified of the right to file a brief in support of the motion. (3)Briefing. A person may file a brief in support of or in opposition to the motion no later than twenty days after having been served with the motion. (4)Hearing. The movant must notice a hearing on the motion as soon as practicable after the briefing period ends. (5)Disclosure Pending Decision. Until the court rules on the motion, a document that is provisionally under seal may be disclosed only to counsel of record and unrepresented parties unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to by the parties.(6)Decision by Court. The court may rule on the motion with or without a hearing. In the absence of a motion or brief that justifies sealing the document, the court may order that the document (or part of the document) be made public.(7)Public Version of Document. If the movant seeks to have only part of a document sealed by the court, then the movant must file a public version of the document no later than ten days after filing the document provisionally under seal. The public version of the document may include redactions and omissions, but the redactions and omissions should be as limited as practicable. If the movant seeks to have the entire document sealed, then the movant must file a notice that the entire document has been filed provisionally under seal instead of filing a public version of the document. The notice must contain a nonconfidential description of the document.(c)Protective Orders. The procedure for sealing a document in subsection (b) of this rule should not be construed to change any requirement or standard that governs the issuance of a protective order. The court may therefore enter a protective order that contains standards and processes for the handling, filing, and service of a confidential document. To the extent that a proposed protective order outlines a procedure for sealing a confidential document, the proposed protective order should include (or incorporate by reference) the procedures described in subsection (b) of this rule. Persons are encouraged to agree on terms for a proposed protective order before submitting it to the court.N.c. R. Prac. Sup. & Dist. Ct. Civ. P. 27
377 N.C. 736.
Adopted effective 5/10/2021; amended June 18, 2024, effective 6/18/2024.