How to Lookup Public Records

How to Lookup Public Records

Finding public records, especially those of other people, might feel like the domain of a private investigator or police officer but it’s not. The Freedom of Information Act makes most US government collected records, on it’s citizens, public domain. With the advent of the internet and smartphones, finding public records that you’re looking for is easier than ever. Using a public records website is a good starting place, it’s convenient and anonymous. Learning how to lookup public records just got a whole lot easier.

Are you looking for public records of your own, trying to find information a family member or trying to find out about someone else public record? While a background check is slightly different and more detailed, obtaining public records can help you find the information that you’re after. There are a multitude of public records available so if you know what you’re looking for specifically it will help you to locate the information you’re looking for. A great resource for locating someone’s public record is to use a privately run resource, like SearchQuarry.com, where you can enter a first and last name and search nationwide. These types of online public record resources are accessible by anyone and are intended for reference and unofficial purposes only.

What Are Public Records?

Public records are government collected records that are deemed public domain, and therefore available to the general public. An example of a public record might be a marriage record marked public by the couple getting married. That means that that particular marriage record would be searchable by the general public and part of a system of records that everybody can obtain. This can be researched by anyone with third party public record websites like SearchQuarry.com, for online reference only. State agencies will typically only allow you to lookup your own records and not those of others.Court records are also commonly public. These can include driving records, traffic citations, criminal records, incarcerations, judgments, liens, civil records and jail and prison records.

Different Types of Public Records Include

• Vital records are a part of the public records domain. Vital records, like a person’s birth record, death record or marriage record. These are all life events that are recorded as public vital records
• Court records are also considered public record and can be viewed by anyone online. A variety of different court records are available to the general public, ranging from criminal records, felonies, misdemeanors and infractions. Some of the exclusions for public court records are juvenile court records and military court records as they are not public domain.
• Criminal records. In many cases, criminal records are made public and available for anyone to find. While some details of a criminal case may vary as to what is considered public. You can often look up a particular case or find out if a person was arrested and convicted of a crime. Felonies, misdemeanors and infractions are all part of the public court record system.
• Driving records. Records of accidents, traffic citations, driver’s license information and proof of auto insurance may be available to the public. However, some of this information may be hidden to protect the privacy of the individual. For example, you may be able to find a person’s driving record and verify vehicle records, but some information may be limited according to the DPPA.

How To Find Someone’s Public Record

A very popular way to find someone else’s public record is to use a privately run public record website. These online resources offer people the ability to resource publicly recorded information on anyone with a simple name search. There are billions of public records available and many people with the same first and last name so it’s a good idea to also know their middle name, age, DOB or other identifying information that you can cross-reference to make sure you’ve found the right record for the correct person. These privately run public record websites are different that government agencies, where you typically cannot lookup records on other people with state run or federally run agencies. That being said, these third party resources are usually for reference and verification only and cannot be used for official purposes.

How Can I Lookup My Public Records?

• Use state government websites. For example, you can find a wide range of California public records via the state website here.
• Find court records through the United States Courts’ records. Here, you can find a wide range of public court records going back many years via the PACER system.
• Consider looking up records via a third-party website. Third-party websites can be particularly helpful when you’re searching for records quickly. Offering a range of different public records, a third-party site is also ideal if you’re not quite sure what you’re searching for.

Looking up public records online can be a relatively simple process if you know where to begin. These are a few of the most common way to lookup public records online. It’s important to note that you can only lookup your own public record through state and federal government agencies, not those of other people. That means that if you’re only looking up your public record, this could be a good option for your, especially if you need official copies of your own records.