Bankr. W.D. Tex. L. Rule 9018-1 — Secret or Confidential Matters

High confidence· verified September 26, 2026Local Rules

Summary

Bankr. W.D. Tex. L. Rule 9018-1 — Secret or Confidential Matters: the court's own rule, verbatim from Local Court Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas (These Rules are effective as of February 3, 2025.), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas alongside the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and any judge-specific procedures.

Requirement

(a) Filing. (1) Documents or proceedings may be sealed only by order of the Court, and on motion with notice to parties in interest. (2) Documents to be sealed shall be presented to the Clerk after the order has been entered. The documents shall be contained in an envelope or other secure device, with the initials or signature of the submitting party or attorney written across the edge of the closure, and transparent tape placed on top of the mark for security. The envelope (or other secure device) shall have affixed to it a letter-size sheet of paper bearing the style and caption of the matter with reference to which the documents are being filed. (3) The form of order submitted with the motion requesting a matter be sealed shall contain the following recitations: (A) The matter shall remain under seal for no longer than one year from the date of entry of the order, unless the Court orders otherwise. (B) The only entities permitted to review documents or transcripts of proceedings placed under seal are those entities specified in the order, except that the following entities shall also have access to matters placed under seal unless the Court specifically rules otherwise: (1) the judge presiding over the case, (2) the law clerk to whom the matter is assigned internally by the presiding judge, (3) the Courtroom Deputy responsible for the matter, (4) the Clerk of the Court, and (5) the presiding judge and staff of any appellate tribunal. (b) Disposition of Sealed Documents. (1) Documents or transcripts of proceedings under seal may be forwarded to an appellate court without the necessity of unsealing the matter. The matter so forwarded shall be accompanied by a true copy of the order placing the matter under seal. Further motions with regard to the sealing or unsealing of a matter shall be filed with the Court that entered the original order sealing the matter, notwithstanding the pendency of an appeal. (2) Upon the entry of an order unsealing a matter (or upon the expiration of the time period specified in paragraph (a)(3)(A), supra), the Clerk (or other person responsible for the maintenance of the matter) shall place the document or transcript of proceedings in the file of the case or adversary proceeding.

Source of truth

(a) Filing. (1) Documents or proceedings may be sealed only by order of the Court, and on motion with notice to parties in interest. (2) Documents to be sealed shall be presented to the Clerk after the order has been entered. The documents shall be contained in an envelope or oth

Official source: Bankr. W.D. Tex. — Local Rules (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Texas)
Source health: Healthy · checked October 4, 2026
Effective date: February 3, 2025
Last verified: September 26, 2026benchpath-appfed-rules-2026-09-25

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