Rule Text
(a) Unless public access is otherwise constrained by applicable authority, any attorney or any unrepresented party who files a document pursuant to these rules shall comply with the requirements of Sections 7.0 and 8.0 of the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (‘‘Public Access Policy’’). In accordance with the Policy, the filing shall include a certification of compliance with the Policy and, as necessary, a Confidential Information Form or a Confidential Document Form.
(b) Unless an appellate court orders otherwise, case records or documents that are sealed by a court, government unit, or other tribunal shall remain sealed on appeal.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 127 adopted January 5, 2018, effective January 6, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 461; amended June 1, 2018, effective July 1, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 3517; amended December 1, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7618. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (396035).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When you file documents in a Pennsylvania appeals court, you must follow the state's rules about keeping certain information private. This means some personal or sensitive details need to be handled differently than regular information. Lawyers and people representing themselves must sign a statement saying they followed these privacy rules. In some cases, you may also need to fill out a special form for confidential information or confidential documents.
If a document was sealed by a court before the appeal, it stays sealed during the appeal. A sealed document is one that has been locked from public view by a judge. The only way a sealed document can be opened is if the appeals court decides on its own, or someone asks the court, to unseal it.
Committee Notes
Paragraph (a)—‘‘Applicable authority’’ includes but is not limited to statute, procedural rule, or court order. The Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (‘‘Public Access Policy’’) can be found at https://www.pacourts.us/public-records. Sections 7.0(D) and 8.0(D) of the Public Access Policy provide that the certification shall be in substantially the following form:
I certify that this filing complies with the provisions of the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania that require filing confidential information and documents differently than non-confidential information and documents.
Appropriate forms can be found at https://www.pacourts.us/public-records. For certification of the Reproduced Record and Supplemental Reproduced Record in compliance with the Public Access Policy, see Pa.R.A.P. 2152, 2156, 2171, and accompanying notes.
Paragraph (b)—Once a document is sealed, it shall remain sealed on appeal unless the appellate court orders, either sua sponte or on application, that the case record or document be opened.
