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Public Records
What are Public Records?
Public records are legal documents that are not considered confidential. Unless an application is marked "confidential", such as you'll find on a marriage license application, then the information will be "public". Public records refer to any publicly available information kept on file by a local state or federal government. Not only do you have the right to request public records that pertain to you, others possibly have a right to these records as well. With the accessibility to databases such as the National Archives, private citizens can access public records and use them for a variety of purposes.
Your birth, marriage, property, and other records can easily be obtained through an online database search. If you've spent time in jail or you're a sex offender, other people can obtain information on you. Public records include, but aren't limited to:
- Birth certificate
- Criminal record
- Death certificates
- Divorce decree
- Marriage license
- Missing person
- Property records
- Sex offender
- Voters
- Workers Compensation
Freedom of Information Act Provisions
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides guidelines to accessing public records in the United Sates. Some requests for access to records can be denied by the FOIA. In addition, each state may have additional guidelines.
In addition to records pertaining to individuals as given above, the following records are generally available under FOIA:
- Business licenses
- Census records
- Consumer protection information
- Government spending reports
For many public records, utilizing an online database search is most likely the easiest way to obtain records. Many records can also be obtained by contacting the Office of Vital Statistics in the county and/or state where the information was filed. Usually there is a small fee to obtain records, and the processing time can be lengthy.
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