Contents
Agistors Liens
Child Support Liens
Colorado Housing and Financing Authority
Federal/State Tax Liens
General Lien Questions
Harvesters Liens
Hospital Liens
Mechanics Liens
Orders of Restitution
Redaction of Tax Identification Numbers
Searching Records
Spurious/Fraudulent Liens
Stud Service Liens

 

Redaction of Tax Identification Numbers

Q1. What is a tax identification number?

A1.  A tax identification number is a group of numbers in a secured transaction record that the Secretary of State deems likely to be the social security number or individual tax identification number of an individual named in the secured transaction record.

 

Q2. What does "redact" mean?

A2.  In this case, redact means to obscure information contained in the publicly accessible copy of a secured transaction record filed in the Secretary of State’s Office.

 

Q3. Why have social security numbers been removed from some secured transaction records?

A3.  Through a history of statutory requirements and the submission of extraneous information, filers have included social security numbers ("SSN") in secured transaction records. In an effort to protect individuals’ privacy, the Secretary of State’s Office has undergone several projects to redact SSNs from images of secured transaction records.

Prior to the first project, Colorado enacted Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC"), which eliminated the requirement to include a federal Internal Revenue Service taxpayer identification number in a financing statement, including a debtor’s SSN. In 2002, the Colorado General Assembly enacted further legislation that required the Secretary of State to remove SSNs from financing statements. This legislation necessitated the first redaction project, which began in 2002. By the completion of the first redaction project, the Business Division had reviewed approximately 1.6 million financing statements. At that time only social security numbers were redacted. For more information, see section 4-9-531, C.R.S.

On March 29, 2007, due to privacy concerns, online public access to most images of UCC, effective financing statements ("EFS"), and other secured transaction records was suspended. During the suspension of public access, the Secretary of State’s Office redacted SSNs and employer identification numbers ("EIN") from approximately 500,000 images of certain UCC, EFS and other secured transaction records.

In April 2009, the Business Division deployed automated redaction software to remove SSNs and EINs from approximately 800,000 images of secured transaction records not previously processed and from all newly filed secured transaction records. On June 1, 2009, Senate Bill 283 was signed into law creating sections 24-21-301-302, C.R.S., which gives the Secretary of State specific authority to redact SSNs from secured transaction records. The new law also gave the Secretary of State authority to use commercially available redaction software. All newly filed secured transaction records are processed through the automated redaction software, and if an SSN is identified, it is redacted. Redaction of EINs was discontinued on June 2, 2009.

 

Q4. What information has been redacted from my filing?

A4.  Depending on the date of filing, social security numbers, individual taxpayer identification numbers, and some employer identification numbers, sometimes referred to as taxpayer identification numbers or federal identification numbers, were removed from images of secured transaction records. As of June 2, 2009, redaction is limited to social security numbers and individual taxpayer identification numbers.

 

Q5. How was information redacted?

A5.  Information was redacted either through a manual review process or an automated redaction process utilizing redaction software. Initially, a secured transaction record was manually reviewed for social security numbers and those numbers identified would be redacted using white correction tape. Beginning in April 2009, the redaction process was automated, whereby an image of a secured transaction record is processed through redaction software, information identified is redacted and depending on the confidence level assigned to the redacted item, the image is manually reviewed to help ensure that all tax identification numbers are redacted and that other information remains unchanged.

 

Q6. What is the result of the redaction?

A6. The tax identification number will not be visible by viewing the image of the secured transaction record. Depending on the process used to remove the tax identification number from an image, a black box may appear in place of the tax identification number, or the image may contain a stamp with the words "INFORMATION REDACTED", or "SSN removed".

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Q7. What if a number has been redacted that was not a tax identification number?

A7.  It is possible that an error may have been made in the redaction process, resulting in the redaction of an important number that was not a tax identification number. If a person would like redacted information to be restored, an "Application for Redaction of Tax Identification Number(s) or Restoration of Information from a Secured Transaction Record" may be submitted. The application is available upon request by contacting the Business Division.

 

Q8. What if a social security number was not redacted?

A8.  It is possible that an error may have been made in the redaction process, resulting in a tax identification number not being redacted. If a person would like to request that a tax identification number be redacted, an "Application for Redaction of Tax Identification Number(s) or Restoration of Information from a Secured Transaction Record" may be submitted. The application is available upon request by contacting the Business Division.

 

Q9. Are social security numbers ever required for filing a secured transaction record?

A9.  A social security number ("SSN") is only required for a debtor named in an effective financing statement ("EFS"). This requirement is mandated by the Federal Food Security Act of 1985. Regardless, SSNs will be redacted from the publicly accessible images of EFS records. However, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office has developed and gained approval for a unique identifier that will be used as a substitute for a debtor’s SSN in EFS records.

 

Q10. If I submit a new secured transaction record that contains a social security number, will the number be displayed on the online image?

A10.  All images of secured transaction records are processed through automated redaction software. If a social security number is identified, it is redacted from the image.

 

Q11. Why is there a delay between the filing of a secured transaction record and the image of that record being displayed online?

A11.  All images of filed secured transaction records are processed through automated redaction software prior to displaying the images online. Some of the information contained in the secured transaction record will be immediately available and searchable online. However, the image associated with the secured transaction record will not be made available until it has been processed and in certain cases, manually reviewed. Images of secured transaction records are usually available online within 24 hours of filing.

 

Q12. Why are employer identification numbers redacted from some secured transaction records?

A12.  Due to practical considerations and privacy concerns, the Secretary of State’s Office redacted employer identification numbers ("EIN") from secured transaction records for a period of time. Redaction of EINs was discontinued on June 2, 2009, after sections 24-21-301-302, C.R.S., became effective.

 

Q13. How can I obtain a copy of an unredacted secured transaction record?

A13.  An unredacted copy of a secured transaction record may be obtained by requesting a certified copy of a specific record. A certified copy may be obtained by submitting a UCC-11 Information Request. The UCC-11 Information Request is available on the UCC Forms page.

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