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Data Handling

eCourtDate processes sensitive data on behalf of justice-sector agencies, including criminal justice information (CJI), personally identifiable information (PII), and court records. This page describes how the platform classifies, protects, and manages that data.

Data Classification​

ClassificationExamplesHandling Requirements
Criminal Justice Information (CJI)Arrest records, warrants, citations, case dispositionsCJIS Security Policy controls: encryption, access controls, audit logging, MFA
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)Names, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birthEncryption in transit and at rest, PII removal options, access logging
Court RecordsCase filings, hearing schedules, docket entriesAgency-defined access controls, encrypted storage, audit trail
System / Operational DataAPI logs, error logs, webhook delivery recordsEncrypted storage, retention per platform policy

Platform Data Handling Controls​

eCourtDate implements the following controls to protect agency data:

  • Encryption: All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES 256-bit). See Encryption.
  • PII removal: PII can be removed or redacted before data is exported or sent to external services, including AI model providers.
  • Reference-based identifiers: The platform supports client_reference and event_reference fields to allow agencies to track records without exposing PII in logs or integrations.
  • No AI training on customer data: Customer data is never used to train AI models. See AI Policies.
  • Customer owns all data: Agencies retain full ownership of their data. eCourtDate does not claim ownership of any customer data.
  • Agency-scoped access: API clients and user accounts are scoped to individual agencies. Cross-agency data access is not possible through a single client.

Data Residency​

All eCourtDate data resides within the United States, hosted in AWS GovCloud (US). Agencies select a deployment region during onboarding:

  • US East, US West, US South, US Texas, or Multi-Region
  • All regions operate within AWS GovCloud, a physically isolated environment operated by US persons on US soil

See Infrastructure for region details and Environments for API base URLs.

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For data residency requirements beyond the available US regions, contact the eCourtDate team through the Help Center.

Data Retention​

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For specific data retention periods, data destruction procedures, and retention policy documentation, contact the eCourtDate security team through the Help Center.

Best Practices for Agencies​

In addition to the controls eCourtDate provides, agencies should follow these practices for their own systems and workflows:

  • Minimize data collection: Only send and store data that is necessary for the integration
  • Use reference fields: Use client_reference and event_reference instead of PII in logs and external systems
  • Encrypt data in your systems: Ensure data at rest in your own systems is encrypted
  • Implement retention policies: Define and enforce data retention schedules for records that are no longer needed
  • Audit access regularly: Review who has access to sensitive data in your organization
  • Train staff on PII handling: Ensure personnel understand proper procedures for handling CJI and PII
  • Classify your data: Identify which fields in your integrations contain PII (names, phone numbers, emails, case numbers) and handle them accordingly