Can You Remove Court Records from PACER? (2026 Guide)

PACER is operated by the US federal judiciary, and it is the advanced category: removal there often needs deeper analysis and may still be possible through sealing, redaction, or de-indexing. Records in PACER are removed, sealed, or restricted by order of a federal judge rather than through a privacy request form, which is the nature of the federal public records system. Learn more about background check reports on our blog.

How PACER Records Can Be Changed

The federal courts operate under a presumption of public access - rooted in the First Amendment, the common law right of access to judicial records, and federal statutes. This presumption exists because open courts are a cornerstone of democratic accountability: the public and press have the right to know how federal courts exercise their authority. For more information, visit the US Courts.

As a result, PACER does not use an individual request form for removing records, and the route to change a record runs through the court that holds it. The record belongs to the court rather than to the parties, so the request is built around the court's own process: a sealing, redaction, or other order that the clerk then implements.

What appears in PACER is altered through the court itself - either by a judge's order or through specific procedural mechanisms. That is a legal process rather than an online form, and a free review shows which mechanism fits your record.

What CAN Be Done: Legal Paths That Exist

Several legal mechanisms can restrict access to federal court records - either eliminating or significantly limiting what appears in PACER. Each works through the court system, typically with the assistance of an attorney. For more information, visit the Privacy Act of 1974.

Step-by-Step: Using a Court Order with PACER

If you have obtained a court order sealing or expunging your federal record, there are specific steps required to have that order reflected in PACER. Receiving the order is not enough - it must be processed through the court's clerk's office.

1. 1
   Obtain a certified copy of your sealing or expungement order. Request this from the clerk of the federal court that issued the order. Keep multiple certified copies - you will need them for both PACER and third-party platforms.
2. 2
   Submit the order to the clerk of court. The clerk's office of the court where your case was filed is responsible for updating the PACER docket to reflect the sealing or expungement order. Contact the clerk's office directly to confirm their process for implementing the order.
3. 3
   Follow up on implementation timing. Court clerk's offices can take several weeks to process sealing orders and update PACER records. Follow up to confirm the record has been sealed or restricted as ordered.
4. 4
   Verify the PACER update. After the clerk has processed the order, check PACER directly to confirm that the case docket reflects the restricted access status. If the docket still appears publicly, contact the clerk's office again.
5. 5
   Address third-party sites separately. After PACER is updated, submit removal requests to PACERMonitor, CourtListener, Justia, UniCourt, DocketBird, and any other third-party platforms that mirrored the data before the sealing order. These sites do not update automatically, so each one gets its own documented request.
6. 6
   Request Google de-indexing. After third-party sites remove the content, use Google's tools to request de-indexing of any pages that appeared in search results. Pages removed from their source can linger in Google's cache, so a direct removal request clears them out.

PACER vs. Third-Party Sites: A Critical Distinction

Many people searching for PACER removal are actually most concerned about what appears on Google when someone searches their name - and for most people, the Google results are driven by third-party commercial sites, not by direct access to PACER.gov itself.

The practical distinction is this:

• PACER.gov: The official federal court system. Access is restricted through a court order. Accessed directly by attorneys, legal researchers, and journalists via paid subscription.
• PACERMonitor: A commercial service mirroring PACER data. Can receive privacy requests. Accessible without PACER subscription.
• CourtListener: A non-profit legal database aggregating PACER and state court data. Has a removal request process.
• Justia: A commercial legal database publishing PACER data. Has privacy request channels.
• UniCourt: A legal analytics company aggregating PACER and state court data. Has a privacy request process at privacy@unicourt.com.
• DocketBird: A commercial PACER aggregator. Can receive privacy requests.

If someone finds your federal case by Googling your name, they almost certainly found it via one of the third-party sites above - not by directly accessing PACER. This means addressing the third-party sites and Google is often the highest-impact action you can take, even while pursuing formal legal process for PACER itself.

Google De-Indexing of PACER Pages

PACER.gov pages themselves are sometimes indexed by Google - particularly for high-profile cases or cases with a lot of public interest. Google de-indexing of actual PACER.gov pages may be possible when specific circumstances line up, and it is a more advanced request than de-indexing third-party sites.

The circumstances where Google de-indexing of PACER.gov pages may be possible:

• The case has been sealed by court order and the PACER page now returns a restricted access notice
• The PACER page contains personal information that qualifies under Google's Personal Information Removal criteria - particularly if it includes home addresses, Social Security numbers, or information about minors
• The page was indexed at a time when the content was accessible but subsequent court action has restricted it

In many situations, Google de-indexing efforts have the most reach when directed at the commercial third-party sites that republish the same data, where removal from the source and then from Google is achievable. PACER.gov pages are generally treated by Google as authoritative government content, which is why those requests need deeper analysis.

Working with Professionals on PACER-Related Privacy

Addressing a federal case in PACER involves two distinct tracks that require different types of expertise:

Track 1 - The legal process track: Pursuing sealing, expungement, or FRCP 5.2 redaction through the federal court system. This requires a licensed attorney who practices in the relevant federal district. Motions in federal court are filed by licensed counsel, and the removal service runs alongside that work.

Track 2 - The online presence track: Identifying and addressing every commercial website currently displaying your federal case, managing Google de-indexing, and suppressing remaining results. This is where a professional removal service adds significant value.

These two tracks often run in parallel. While an attorney pursues the court-side process, a removal service can be simultaneously working to remove the case from PACERMonitor, CourtListener, Justia, UniCourt, background check sites, and Google - reducing your online exposure right now, while the legal process works toward a more complete solution.

We help identify whether removal may be possible from the third-party sites currently displaying your federal case - and we coordinate with the Google de-indexing process throughout. Our review is free and there is no upfront cost.