PlainSite Opt-Out (2026 Guide)

PlainSite publishes court dockets and other government records. Its privacy policy says its content generally comes from government databases of public information, including the federal courts' PACER database, IRS, FEC, GPO and USPTO databases, and information from state agencies and courts, cross-referenced with a private database of information about legal entities kept by its owner and operator, Think Computer Corporation. It says it does not require your consent to publish public information about you.

There is no opt-out that deletes a case. The policy says that where information is publicly available and provided by the government, PlainSite does not remove it without a court order. What it does offer, with no promise for any particular record: keeping pages out of search engines, deleting what has been sealed or expunged if you provide the court order, redacting Social Security numbers and other sensitive information published in error, and, rarely, replacing names with initials.

Checked against PlainSite's privacy policy (last modified September 27, 2026) and its Contact Us page (we did not fill in the form), Google's help page on refreshing outdated content and California's data broker registry, on October 28, 2026. We read the pages; we did not search for anyone or submit anything.

What PlainSite will and won't do

• It won't delete public government records without a court order. The policy says so directly, and adds that even if PlainSite removed information, it would still be freely available on other websites it has no control over.
• It sometimes keeps pages out of search engines. The policy says PlainSite occasionally adds specific web pages and documents to its search engine suppression list.
• It follows sealing and expungement orders. If information has been sealed or expunged since PlainSite first accessed it, and you provide the court order, the policy says PlainSite will delete information according to the terms of the order.
• It redacts numbers published in error. On request, it redacts Social Security numbers and other sensitive information that the government published in error. The policy adds that it generally doesn't find the presence of such a number enough to justify any other action on a case.
• It rarely swaps names for initials. Where PlainSite sees a strong public interest in keeping information available but a person's privacy is also strongly compromised, the policy says it will on rare occasions replace names in public documents with initials.
• No promises in advance. The policy says PlainSite can't guarantee any particular action for any particular record ahead of time.
• It says the CCPA doesn't apply. The policy says PlainSite doesn't meet the CCPA's financial size threshold and collects most of its information from public sources, so the CCPA doesn't oblige it to remove public information.

How PlainSite decides

The privacy policy lists the factors it weighs. Read them before you write, because your request should speak to them.

Factors that generally make it keep information public:

• Hits. Many records have a hit counter. The policy says roughly 100 or more hits is a sign of strong public interest, and calls this one of the most important factors.
• Government involvement, such as a case involving a government official or agency.
• Money. It treats $2,500 or more as generally significant, and says even many small claims cases over $1,000 interest the public.
• Serious criminal charges that don't jeopardize anyone's safety.
• Recent or ongoing matters. The policy counts a matter filed within five years as recent.
• Precedent. It says it does not, as a rule, suppress a case that has been appealed even once.
• Novel legal issues and major societal issues.
• Business and intellectual property matters.
• Multiple cases. The policy says even two cases of any kind may show a trend. Its example: it might suppress an individual bankruptcy, but not for someone who has filed ten times.
• Lawyers and law firms, whose actions it says deserve public scrutiny.

Factors that generally make it keep information hidden from search engines, which the policy says outweigh all of the above:

• individual uncontested bankruptcy cases
• car crashes
• family matters, such as divorces and custody disputes
• matters involving minors

What it ignores: race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation; health conditions; whether an organization is non-profit; what other websites have done with a removal request; and the "Right To Be Forgotten," which it says does not apply in the United States.

Step 1: if you can, get the record sealed or expunged

The policy says that if a piece of public information is harming you, the first thing to try is having it sealed or expunged by the government agency that publishes it, and then contacting PlainSite. Whether a case can be sealed or expunged depends on the court and the kind of case, so ask the court clerk or a lawyer what applies to yours. Keep a copy of any order.

Step 2: send a request through the contact form

The policy says PlainSite once took removal requests by email but now asks you to use its web-based Contact Us form.

1. Open plainsite.org/contact/index.html (the Contact Us link in the footer).
2. Under "What can we help with?", choose one:

• Limit information about me, to ask PlainSite to keep information about you out of search engines.
• Court-ordered removal, if you have a sealing, expungement or other court order.
• Correct a record, if something on a case page is wrong, missing or out of date.

1. When the form asks "Which record is it about?", choose A case (docket), A court opinion or A document or page. For a case, search by case number or title; the form says that if you can't find it, leave the box blank and give the court and case number in the details. For an opinion, give its PlainSite link or its citation; for a document or page, paste its PlainSite link.
2. In the details box, say what you want and why, in terms of the factors above.
3. Enter your first name, last name, email and phone. Organization is optional.
4. The page says you'll get an email confirming receipt, with a tracking code.

Send one request per case. The contact page says PlainSite gets 5 to 10 suppression and removal requests a day, asks you to read its privacy policy first, and says calls, letters and repeat requests don't speed things up.

A suggested wording, for keeping a case out of search engines:

> I am a party to this case. It is [an individual uncontested bankruptcy / a car crash lawsuit / a family matter / a matter involving a minor], which your privacy policy lists among the factors that favor keeping information hidden from search engines. Please add this case and its documents to your search engine suppression list.

For a court order:

> This case was [sealed / expunged] by [court] on [date], after PlainSite first accessed it. Please delete the information according to the terms of the order. Please tell me how to send you a copy.

The form we read has no file upload, which is why the second wording asks how to send the order.

For a number published in error:

> The document at [link] shows my [Social Security number / bank account number]. Please redact it.

What a request covers

• Search engines, not PlainSite itself, for a suppression. The policy describes suppression as adding pages to a search engine suppression list. It doesn't say a suppressed page leaves PlainSite.
• Deletion only with a court order for a record sealed or expunged after PlainSite first accessed it.
• Not other sites. The policy says the same information is freely available on other websites it has no control over. See our guides to Justia (which also covers CourtListener), UniCourt and Docket Alarm.
• Not the court's own file. That changes only through the court.

How long does it take?

The contact page says replies on suppression and removal usually take 30 days, while questions and requests to find or add records get a reply within a day. It says calls, letters and repeat requests don't speed things up.

If it doesn't work

• Come back with an order. The policy treats a sealing or expungement order differently from a plain request. If you get one later, send a new Court-ordered removal request.
• Check the factors. If your case has many hits, was appealed, or is one of several cases, the policy says those weigh toward keeping it public.
• Clear the old search result. Once a page has actually changed, for example after names are replaced with initials or the page is deleted, Google may still show the old version. Google's Refresh outdated content tool is for content that has been removed from a site but still appears in Google Search: click Request refresh, enter the page's address and submit. See how to remove your home address from Google search results for the wider picture.

PlainSite's privacy policy names no removal email or postal address; its contact form is the route it gives.

PlainSite isn't one of the sites in Defynta's free scan, and Defynta doesn't file requests with it: this one is do-it-yourself.

Who runs PlainSite. Think Computer Corporation, which the privacy policy calls PlainSite's owner and operator. The pages we read give no postal address. We did not find Think Computer Corporation or PlainSite on California's data broker registry (searched October 28, 2026), so a registry-based request is not a route here.

Related pages

• Justia, a legal-information site that publishes court dockets
• UniCourt, another court-records site, with a redaction request for parties to a case
• Docket Alarm, a court-records service with a free suppression form
• How to remove your home address from Google search results
• Where data brokers get your information

Full list: the master opt-out guide.

Frequently asked questions

Will PlainSite delete my case?

Only with a court order. The policy says PlainSite does not remove publicly available government information without one, and that it deletes information that was sealed or expunged after it first accessed it when you provide the order.

Does a CCPA request make PlainSite remove it?

PlainSite says no. Its policy says the CCPA doesn't apply to it, because it is below the law's financial size threshold and collects most of its information from public sources. It adds that PlainSite Pro and Pro Se members who think it has collected data about them can get in touch to ask for its removal.

My bankruptcy is on PlainSite. Can I get it out of search results?

You can ask. The policy lists individual uncontested bankruptcy cases among the factors that favor keeping information hidden from search engines. It says it tries "to honor requests to suppress bankruptcy information if it is getting in the way." It also says multiple cases weigh the other way.

Can I email my request?

The policy says PlainSite at one point took removal requests by email, and now asks you to use its web-based Contact Us form instead.

How long does it take?

The contact page says replies on suppression and removal usually take 30 days.

Does it cost anything?

None of the pages we read mention a fee for a suppression or removal request.

A court case is one place your name can surface; people-search sites are another. See which of the sites we track list you with a free Defynta scan.