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Learn to Access Public Court Records

How to find court records—and the answers you need to the questions you have.

1. Public court records are more than documents. They're information. And very often, they're answers—particularly for people who have questions about other people. Whether you want to know more about someone you're doing business with, someone you're dating, someone who's working for your family or someone—anyone—who has the potential to threaten your finances, your safety or your well-being, doing a public court records search can give you the tools you need to make informed decisions about the people in your life.

2. In fact, public court records are useful to a variety of people for a variety of purposes and in a variety of situations. Consider, for instance, the following reasons for performing a public court records search

3.  If you're about to enter into a business partnership with someone, a public court records search can tell you if that person has filed for bankruptcy, has a criminal history or has been sued—and therefore if that person will be a trustworthy, capable partner.

4. If you're going to marry someone, a public court records search can tell you things about your betrothed that you may not have previously known, including whether they've been previously married and divorced.

5. If you're interested in genealogy, a public court records search can tell you about the sordid pasts of family members with criminal histories so that you can tell your family story.

6. If you're engaged in a legal battle, a public court records search can help you research the backgrounds of those you're in conflict with, as well as establish legal precedents with which to make your case in court.

7. If you're a student, a journalist, a teacher, a lawyer, or just a history or true crime buff, a public court records search can help you do your homework or pursue your hobby.

Public Court Records Tools and Techniques

If you need to search public court records, use these “how-to” strategies for doing a public court records search and gaining public access to court records:

• Search court records for bankruptcies

Bankruptcy courts keep public court records that will help you if you're preparing to do business with a new client, partner or peer. After all, by doing a bankruptcy court records search, you can find out if someone has previously filed for bankruptcy, not to mention the general financial stability and creditworthiness of the individual or company in question.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: To learn how to find court records from bankruptcy courts in your state, consult the National Archives Web site, which has state-specific links to information on accessing public court records from bankruptcy courts.

• Search court records for family history

Probate courts keep public court records related to a deceased person's estate, including their will, assets, etc. A probate court records search can therefore tell you a lot about deceased family members in case you're interested in tracking down family heirlooms or researching family history.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: The best place to start a probate court records search is with the courts themselves. To find probate courts nationwide, consult the National Center for State Courts.

• Search court records for marriages, divorces and more

Divorce courts keep public court records related to all things marriage. You can therefore do a divorce court records search in order to find out if, when and why someone was divorced, and sometimes to get information about settlements, etc.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: Although public court records include divorce cases, you can often access basic public divorce records with a simple people search, at sites like Records.com.

• Search criminal court records for criminal histories

Perhaps the most obvious reason to do a public court records search is to access criminal court records, including arrest records, convictions and sentencing information.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: Often, when you search criminal court records, what you're really after is a criminal history. You can piece one together by registering with PACER, a government-sponsored service that provides information on individuals arrested on federal crimes, including arrest affidavits, indictments and other criminal records. Want to know if someone's been in prison? Use the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Inmate Locator.

• Search court records for legal precedents and case histories

Because public court records include cases from across the country and from throughout the nation's history, they're an excellent place to look for legal ammunition and historical trivia.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: If you need case histories, you can find them online at FindLaw. Or, consult the National Archives, which collects prominent public court records and criminal court records from American history for the purpose of education and research

Public Court Records Tips and Tactics

•  In order to successfully access public court records, you must know where an individual was arrested, sued or charged—whatever the case may be. If a case was tried in a California state court, for instance, you won't be able to gain public access to court records for that case by doing a public court records search in New York federal courts. You must search court records within the appropriate court system.

• Because U.S. courts are so complicated—there are state and federal courts, for instance, civil courts and criminal courts, trial courts and appellate courts, bankruptcy courts and family courts, etc.—it may be worth paying a small fee in order to have a professional find and gather the public court records you need from the appropriate places and systems.

• If you're not able to access public court records online, it might be worth it to visit the courthouse in person. That's because the "public" in public court records does not necessarily mean "online." Public court records are still considered public if they're not available electronically, so long as they're accessible offline and on paper.

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