Declaration Anonymization under 28 USC §1746: protect third-party identifiers in unsworn declarations – CCPA/HIPAA-compliant de-identification per 28 USC §1746
28 USC §1746 permits unsworn declarations under penalty of perjury as substitutes for notarized affidavits in federal proceedings; such declarations routinely name third-party witnesses, medical providers, and business contacts, and anonym.legal pseudonymizes those non-party identifiers in draft declarations so teams and clients can review and approve the content without exposing third-party personal data before the declaration is executed and filed.
When this applies
Applies when counsel is preparing an unsworn declaration under 28 USC §1746 for support of a motion, opposition, or other court filing and the declaration references individuals beyond the declarant and the named parties.
How anonym.legal handles it
- Upload the draft declaration in DOCX or PDF format.
- Configure the allow-list to retain the declarant's name and party names in full — these must appear in clear in the executed document.
- anonym.legal identifies and pseudonymizes third-party names, contact details, and personal identifiers referenced in the declaration body.
- Factual assertions, exhibit references, and the penalty-of-perjury certification language are preserved without alteration.
- A reversible mapping is stored; full names are restored before the declarant signs and before filing with the court.
- Apply Rule 5.2 partial redactions to any filing-bound declaration that contains SSNs, birth dates, financial account numbers, or minor names.
What you provide
- Draft declaration (DOCX or PDF)
- Declarant's name and party names to retain in full
- Exhibits referenced in the declaration (optional, for consistent pseudonymization)
Limitations & cautions
- The declarant must execute the final, re-identified declaration — anonym.legal does not facilitate electronic signing.
- The legal sufficiency of the declaration's factual assertions is for counsel to confirm — anonym.legal handles data-minimization only.
- Declarations used as deposition exhibits or filed as court exhibits must comply with Rule 5.2 in addition to this pseudonymization workflow.
FAQ
What is the difference between an affidavit and a declaration under 28 USC §1746?
An affidavit requires notarization; a declaration under §1746 requires only the declarant's signature and the statutory penalty-of-perjury language, making it procedurally simpler for supporting motions in federal court.
Does anonym.legal preserve the §1746 penalty-of-perjury certification language?
Yes — the statutory certification language ('I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct') is recognized as structural text and preserved without alteration.
Can a pseudonymized draft declaration be sent to the client for approval?
Yes — sharing a pseudonymized draft limits exposure of third-party personal data during the client-review stage. The client must review and approve the re-identified, full-name version before signing.