Can anyone go on Pacer?

[jessegirl]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone can just go on pacer and look at anyones information? I have not filed but have been reading peoples answers on some of the threads saying that they went thru other cases? Someone said that they were able to read the questions that the trustee asked other people and there answers Is the right?

[JRScott]

Not sure about the questions being there but yes anyone who has signed up for PACER in your district will be able to see your case.

[csrhjr31]

I could be wrong, but I think you need a bankruptcy case #, to get into Pacer. ???????

[JRScott]

No you can search by name or social security number as well.

Thus to find a case they'd have to have some basic info, unless they just do all cases by lawyer X or trustee X but that can be expensive....

[jessegirl]

Ok, But can anyone who goes in and looks at Pacer, will they be able to see my SS# and address etc.? And does it cost you money as soon as you go into Pacer? I posted this here cause I am going to file a chapter 7 in a few weeks.

[justbroke]

Ok, But can anyone who goes in and looks at Pacer, will they be able to see my SS# and address etc.? And does it cost you money as soon as you go into Pacer? I posted this here cause I am going to file a chapter 7 in a few weeks.

I use PACER daily.

Social Security Numbers are protected, in as far as the Bankruptcy Court "locks" documents that may contain them. however, there are only a few documents that they lock. They currently lock the "Statement of SSN" and the "Payroll Advices" as well as any tax returns that are filed in the case. ALl other documents are public unless an attorney asks them to be sealed (or they are submitted under seal).

This does not mean that a creditor will "accidentally" forget to redact SSN numbers. You would then just tell the Clerk of the Court to have that corrected.

I just saw my CELL PHONE number on a Claim. Sheesh. I don't want everyone knowing that! I set up a phone number JUST FOR THE CASE.. but now my cell phone number is public.

Again, all information in a Bankruptcy Case is public information with the exception of SSNs.

As far as fees go, PACER charges based on a concept they call a "page". When you view a document of 1 page, you get charged $0.08 (8 cents). If you perform a search and it's a big one you get charged the same $0.08 per "page". Right now, looking at the "docket" for my case costs me $0.16 because it's 2 pages.

BE CAREFUL... I once searched for a prominent attorney in my area and it returned more than 7,000 results... cost me $7 for the one search!

[jessegirl]

Justbroke - thanks for the great explanation. Gesh, I didn't know they put your cell number too. Can I ask my attorney when I file to seal it? I will also have to be careful of Pacer, those charges can add up quick. Thats a great idea to set up an additional number just for the BK... Thanks again

[AngelinaCat]

Hi jessegirl: What we do is when we see a new entry in our case on PACER, since it comes up in PDF format, we save it to a BK7 folder on our hard drive and give it a name that corresponds to the entry number as PACER has in it index to History/Documents. That way we can go back later and examine to document as many times as we want to w/o having to pay the 8 cents each page. PACER can be addictive......

[AngelinaCat]

Double post... Sorry.

[HHM]

Just realize, it can only be somebody that has registered for your district that can access your info. PACER is not a national database in the sense that anyone, from anywhere, with an account can look up anyone in the US.

[Keebler]

Just realize, it can only be somebody that has registered for your district that can access your info. PACER is not a national database in the sense that anyone, from anywhere, with an account can look up anyone in the US.

I disagree. PACER is "Public Access to Court Electronic Records" and is only restricted in the sense that you need to be willing to pay $0.08 per page and can learn how to use it.

My PACER account has given me access to every Bankruptcy case I care to look at in my district as well as other cases in other states.

PACER won't disclose a Social Security Number but it is aware of them. For example, I can search for my SSN and it will lead me to my case.

[laurannm]

I disagree as well...I have looked up cases in other states other than my own with no problem. As long as you registered (which I believe anyone can do), you can view cases in all 50 states

[Flamingo]

Anyone with a credit card can sign up on PACER. Kinda gives you the willies that all your information is out there if someone wants to go find it and check up on you or view relatives/friends bankruptcies. You would think with all the privacy laws now in place that all that information would be restricted because it is online and makes it much easier for anyone instead of going to the courthouse where the case is located and looking up the case. Just as recently as 2002, the year we filed, you could view through our District's BK website all BK cases in our state which still at that time listed all social security numbers. I freaked when I saw that - we were not yet listed and I contacted our attorney when I saw that and was advised that changes were in the works to have SS numbers and/or that entire site removed. It was gone by 2003.

[HHM]

My bad, I haven't been on PACER in a while, I remember that I was only able to access cases in my district, but oh well.

[Keebler]

My bad, I haven't been on PACER in a while, I remember that I was only able to access cases in my district, but oh well.

In your defense, I think your memory is correct. There's different websites you log on to for different districts. They all look and act the same but they're actually different sites. You may have had a link to your district in your favorites and never had a reason to look beyond that one site.

One side effect is the records for the $0.08 per page fee are all maintained seperately. Not until the end of the quarter are the fees consolidated and billed. If you want to know how much you've spent before the end of the quarter you need to log in to each site you've visited and add up all the charges manually.