Perform a Public Records Search - How to Search Public Records

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Perform a Public Records Search

Here’s how to search public records in order to find people, information and peace of mind.

Public records, online and offline, are chalk full of information. Names. Dates. Addresses. Phone numbers. And that’s just the beginning. Whatever information you’re seeking, public records requests are a good tool for finding it. The reason is simple: All private citizens have public personas—and public paper trails behind them.

Indeed, whether you realize it or not, when you visit the DMV, go to court, sign up for a new credit card or interact with any number of public and private entities, you’re leaving behind public records in the form of open documents and data. When you’re the subject of a people search, public records can therefore connect people with your sensitive personal information, including your contact information, criminal history and more.

Of course, if you can be the subject of a public records search, you can just easily initiate one of your own. In fact, there are many reasons to do exactly that. Whether you want to research your family tree, study a court case that you’re interested in, or just check up on a friend or acquaintance, a public records search can help you find public records with which to answer some of your most burning questions. That’s because:

A public records search includes public address records, public phone records, etc.
A public records search includes public real estate records and public property records.
A public records search includes public birth records, public death records, public marriage records, public divorce records, etc.
A public records search includes public criminal records, public court records, etc.
A public records search includes miscellaneous public records from government agencies on topics such as immigration, military service and more.

Public Records Search Tools and Techniques

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

To find people, search public records

When you’re doing a people search, public records are your best friend, as they can help you locate people by name, address, phone number, Social Security Number or even e-mail address.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: When you visit Records.com to do a people search, public records will inform your search results in order to help you successfully complete a people search by name, a people search by address, a people search by phone number and more.

Before buying real estate, search public records

Public records requests can be made not only on people, but also on properties. If you’re interest in a new home or in a new neighborhood, a public records search can therefore tell you all you need to know about property histories, property values, property residents, etc.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: To search public records associated with a given address, try doing an “Address Search” using the U.S. Census Bureau’s American FactFinder.

To research family births, deaths and marriages, search public records

Because you can find public records to tell you when a person was born, as well as whether he or she is married, divorced or deceased, a public records search is an ideal genealogy tool with which to research your family history and fill in your family tree.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: The best place to start a public records search in order to find public records about birth, death, marriage or divorce is the National Center for Health Statistics, which can connect you with public birth records, public marriage records, public divorce records and public death records.

To do a background search, search public records

When you need to—for safety, security or just peace of mind—you can do a public records search in order to access public criminal records, public court records and more.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: You can find public records online for use in a background search courtesy of the federal government; public criminal records are available, for instance, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, while public court records are available from the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

To access government knowledge, search public records

Although many companies and organizations receive and honor public records requests, probably the single largest clearinghouse for doing a public records search is the U.S. government, which maintains a variety of databases that U.S. citizens can search in order to find public records.

PeopleSearch.info Recommends: A good place to start a government-directed public records search is with the National Archives. Another good resources is USA.gov, which will connect you with several other government resources with which to find public records, including military records, immigration records, death records and more. Finally, if you’re looking for something that’s more specialized or obscure, consider filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the appropriate government office (the U.S. Department of Justice has a comprehensive list of federal FOIA contacts online).

Public Records Search Tips and Tactics

Although you can typically do a free public records search offline at local government agencies, libraries and courthouses, a paid online public records search is likely to be more convenient, more current and more comprehensive.
Of course, if you’re wondering how to search public records online that are especially old or historic, you may indeed want to supplement your online public records search with an offline one, as older information may not have been digitized, existing only on paper, microfilm or microfiche.
Just as it’s good for accessing extremely old public records, an offline public records search might also be best for accessing extremely new public records. That’s because it often takes time for companies and government agencies to process new records, which must be digitized and uploaded into an electronic system before they can be included in public records requests.
Although a public records search is extremely useful and surprisingly comprehensive, there are still a slew of private records that cannot be accessed with public records requests. Academic information, medical histories, tax returns and credit card data, for instance, are all private and protected by U.S. privacy law, which prohibits them from being included in a public records search.
If you’re wondering how to search public records online, make sure to evaluate the credibility of a public records search site before using it. Look for a reliable About Us page, clear contact information and a third-party seal of approval, from the Better Business Bureau, for instance, or from an e-commerce verification service.
Remember: When it comes to doing a public records search, the more you know, the more you’ll learn. In other words, if you only know someone’s name, your public records search may return only a few results. If you know someone’s birth date and Social Security Number, however, your public records search will probably return many, many results.

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