June 6, 2025
As a general rule, a bank or other financial institution is not required to produce full Social Security numbers in response to a N.Y. Information Subpoena. A bank/ financial institution should not do so unless directed by Court Order. Rather, when responding to an N.Y. Information subpoena, a subpoenaed financial institution should only provide the last four digits of a customer’s Social Security number (absent a Court Order specifically requiring the production of a customer’s complete Social Security number). We counsel our financial institution clients to follow this practice.
As a general rule, the dissemination of Social Security numbers is regulated and restricted. See, for example , New York Labor Law§ 203-d, which provides that social security numbers constitute “personal identifying information,” which should not be publicly displayed, printed on identification badges or cards, or communicated “to the general public.”
In Meyerson v. Prime Realty Servs., LLC, 7 Misc. 3d 911, 917, 796 N.Y.S.2d 848, 854 (Sup. Ct. 2005), the Court conducted a “broad review of the treatment of social security numbers” and determined that “it is clear that the weight of authority favors treating a social security number as private and confidential information. In casting for a proper legal characterization, the law appears to support a conclusion that a social security number is protected by something akin to a privilege against disclosure.” Accordingly, with respect to subpoenas, Courts will typically direct that social security numbers be redacted. See, for instance, Beaudette v. Infantino, 73 Misc. 3d 864, 873, 157 N.Y.S.3d 243, 251 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2021), where the Court held as follows:
the court directs the redaction of any personal identifying information of any natural person that appears within any record to be disclosed, including but not limited to such person’s name, address, telephone number, date of birth, social security number, and any information that would reveal such person’s medical or mental health condition.
(emphasis added).
For your information, it has long been our practice of redacting all but the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Specifically, New York’s electronic filing rules deem Social Security numbers to be “Confidential Personal Information” or “CPI” which should only be filed with the Court in redacted format:
“Here is the list of the CPI to redact and how to redact it:
Taxpayer ID numbers, social security numbers, and employer ID numbers are redacted by leaving out everything but the last four numbers. For example: xxx-xx-1234.”
https://www.nycourts.gov/Courthelp/goingtocourt/redaction.shtml
Accordingly, a customer’s full Social Security number should not be produced in response to a New York Information Subpoena. We would strongly suggest that when responding to a New York Information Subpoena, a bank or financial institution should provide only the last four digits of a customer’s Social Security number, unless a court Order is received requiring the production of the complete Social Security number.
At MKCI we have a team ready to handle the rigors of litigation faced by our financial and commercial clients. Peter Ragone has ably handled these matters for the last 40 years and leads our department.