Mississippi Advisory Opinions March 22, 2013: AGO 2013-00077 (March 22, 2013)

Advisory Opinion Text

Debbie Berryman

Justice Court Clerk

P. O. Box 108

Tupelo, MS 38802

Re: Verification Social Numbers and Date of Birth

Dear Ms Berryman:

Attorney General Jim Hood has received your request and has assigned it to me for research and reply.

ISSUE

During the past few weeks I have had an individual who comes into my office asking for verifications on Social Security numbers and Date of Birth. I am assuming that they are getting this information from the individual themselves and coming to our court with a docket and page number and wanting us to identify their information with the information we have in our computers.

This is creating a problem in my office as to the case numbers he is verifying, as well as the disrupt of the clerk and staff. Please advise me of my obligations concerning this matter.

RESPONSE

Court records are "public records" as defined in the Mississippi Public Records Act. Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 25-61-3(b) (Rev. 2010). As such, court records are available for inspection by any person unless exempt by law or protected by an order of the court. See exemption for certain judicial records in Section 9-1-38. A public body may establish and collect a fee, not to exceed actual cost, for "searching, reviewing and/or duplicating and, if applicable, mailing copies of public records" in accordance with Section 25-61-7. Identifying or confirming information falls within the meaning of "searching" and "reviewing" for which a fee may be charged.

We do not generally opine with regard to federal law. However, we note that in certain contexts, the release of personal information like social security numbers and birth dates may be a violation of federal law. If it is determined that the release of such information violates federal law, then the information is exempt under the provisions of Section 25-61-11. MS AG Op., Thompson (August 8, 2008).

With regard to Mississippi law, Section 25-1-111 addresses social security numbers found in records in the possession of state agencies and provides:

When any state agency mails, delivers, circulates, publishes, distributes, transmits, or otherwise disseminates, in any form or manner, information or material that contains the social security number of an individual, the agency shall take such steps as may be reasonably necessary to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of the individual's social security number to members of the general public or to persons other than those persons who, in the performance of their duties and responsibilities, have a lawful and legitimate need to know the individual's social security number. State agencies shall be in compliance with this section on or before July 1, 2003.

Section 23-15-165 addresses social security numbers and dates of birth found in voter registration files and provides:

(6)(a) Social security numbers, telephone numbers and date of birth and age information in statewide, district, county and municipal voter registration files shall be exempt from and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.

(b) Copies of statewide, district, county or municipal voter registration files, excluding social security numbers, telephone numbers and date of birth and age information, shall be provided to any person in accordance with the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 at a cost not to exceed the actual cost of production.

We are aware that exceptions to the Mississippi Public Records Act are to be narrowly construed. However, we find that Sections 25-1-111 and 23-15-165 are in pari materia with the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act and are indicative of a general policy of the state with regard to the release of sensitive personal information, including social security numbers and birth dates, which appear in public records. See Lopez v. Holleman, 219 Miss. 822, 69 So.2d 903 (Miss. 1954) . As such, we opine that Sections 25-1-111 and 23-15-165 are applicable to all public bodies as defined in Section 25-41-3(a). This opinion is consistent with previous opinions of this office. See MS AG Ops., Beech (November 15, 2002) and McGinnis (November 3, 2008).

Section 25-1-111 allows limited disclosure of social security numbers to persons "who, in the performance of their duties and responsibilities, have a lawful and legitimate need to know the individual's social security number." Permitting such limited disclosure requires that the public body or public officer in possession of the records exercise careful judgment in determining whether the requestor's need for the records is consistent with the language of Section 25-1-111.

It is a matter of common knowledge that social security numbers and birth dates are used for the purpose of committing identity theft, which is a felony under Section 97-19-85. Oftentimes, a legitimate request seeking a record for the purpose of determining or confirming a social security number, which has previously been provided to the requestor by an individual, can be satisfied by redacting the first five or six digits and leaving only the last few digits visible.

Sincerely,

Jim Hood, Attorney General.

James Y. Dale, Special Assistant Attorney General.