# Redact case numbers

> Redact legal case and docket numbers from filings, correspondence, and legal-ops exports.

Canonical: https://bitbanger.in/entities/case-number
Last updated: 2026-10-27

Category: Legal identifiers · Entity type: `legal.case_number`

A case number is a public key into a court record, which typically contains the parties, the amounts, and the allegations. Redacting the narrative but leaving the number achieves nothing.

## How Redactly detects case numbers

- Detected from a case or docket cue together with the value.
- Handles the federal docket format as well as free-form references.
- The court name and party names are reported under their own types.

## Why redact case numbers?

A case number resolves to a public docket that may name the parties and reveal the dispute.

## Example request

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.bitbanger.in/v1/redact \
  -H "X-API-Key: rdct_your_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "Re: Case No. 1:26-cv-04417, hearing set for 12 November.", "style": "replace"}'
```

## FAQ

**Does Redactly redact case numbers automatically?**

Yes. Send text to the API and every detected type is redacted, including case numbers. To redact only this type, pass the value legal.case_number in the entities filter. No training or configuration is required.

**What happens to case numbers after redaction?**

With style set to replace, each match becomes [legal.case_number] — the entity type in square brackets. Setting style to mask replaces every character with a block character, and remove deletes the span entirely.

## Related entity types

- [Person names](https://bitbanger.in/entities/person-name) — Redact personal names from free text, including partial names the model only half-captures.
- [Company names](https://bitbanger.in/entities/company-name) — Redact organisation and employer names where the counterparty itself is confidential.
- [Monetary amounts](https://bitbanger.in/entities/amount) — Redact prices, salaries, balances, and invoice totals in multiple currencies from text and tabular data.

Try it on your own text: https://bitbanger.in/entities/case-number