Date-of-birth redaction is the removal of a full DOB from a court filing under the DPA 2018. Data minimisation often means keeping only the year. anonym.plus finds each one on your device and reduces it to the chosen form.
When this applies
A filing may state a full DOB in the heading, in exhibits, and in quotes. You must reduce each one under the DPA 2018 before the document is filed.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the papers in anonym.plus on your device.
- The tool flags a full DOB tied to a person.
- Local OCR reads dates printed on scanned ID cards.
- Apply Replace to keep only the four-digit year.
- Confirm no full value remains anywhere.
- Save the clean papers locally.
What you need to provide
- The filing and exhibits (PDF, DOCX, scan).
- The Replace operator set to keep the year only.
- Optional allow-list for event dates you must cite.
PII entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | DATE_TIME | 04/12/1979 → 1979 |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | born 04/1979 → 1979 |
| Names | PERSON | party named → [PARTY] |
| Identifiers | UK_NINO | linked NINO → [NINO] |
| Minor | PERSON | child's DOB → 1980 |
| Financial | UK_BANK_NUMBER | acct on same page → [ACCOUNT] |
Compliance achieved
- Meets the DPA 2018 minimisation duty: keep only the year if asked.
- Tells a DOB apart from a filing or hearing day you may keep.
- Offline work keeps the data off any server.
Anonymise court filings offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
Not every value is a DOB. Use the allow-list so filing and event days survive. The tool flags a DOB tied to a person; confirm the context before you reduce each one.
Frequently asked questions
What part of a birth date should stay under the DPA 2018?
Often only the year, since data minimisation favours the least detail needed. anonym.plus reduces the full value to four digits while leaving event days intact.
Will my filing and hearing days be removed too?
Not if you allow-list them. The tool targets a DOB tied to a person, so event days can stay.
Can it read a DOB from a scanned ID card?
Yes. Local OCR reads the image, then reduces the value. Verify faint scans.