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ONLINE PUBLIC RECORDS

Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential.

The idea of public records is nearly as old as civilization itself. Reports of births, deaths, and marriages go back as far as ancient Babylon, where they were etched into clay tablets.
Nowadays, public information is much easier to record—and to track down. And with public records so easily accessible, it’s important to know exactly what can be found out there, and where to find it.

What Are Public Records?

The concept of a public record is relatively self-explanatory. It constitutes an official reporting of facts accessible to any member of the community. However, just because they’re open to the public doesn’t mean they’re easy to access.
Governments have a variety of regulations placed upon:

• What types of information can be made public.

• Where information can be stored.

• How information can be distributed.

If you are like most people, you might not have even been aware your entire life that public records exist. Of course, with the help they can be to legal settlements and litigation, genealogy and historical research, public policy precedents and more, it makes a lot of sense to keep certain documents on record for easy viewing by the public. In fact, since the first settlements resembling modern day societies sprouted up, public record keeping has been commonplace as a means of resolving or preempting disputes. Even so, public records remain an underused resource for the average citizen. In this article, you will learn the various types of documents and information that can be unearthed through public records requests. While the methods for retrieving public public records vary between jurisdictions and based upon the specific information you’re seeking, general information on retrieving each type of document or record will be given when readily available.

Ownership Records

One of the earliest forms of public record keeping we know of pertained to property records. Once someone had purchased a plot of land, they wanted who it belonged to on record. Not much has changed, and property records pertaining to public lots, buildings, or establishments are readily available. In addition, if a building or area was commissioned by the city itself, or by any public representative, records of the communications setting up the build as well as the contract terms themselves will, in most cases, be matters of public record. While private house sales and ownership are not subject to public records law, any real estate appraisals done on a property are public record (to presumably ensure honesty in sales negotiations and expectations). County or city clerks offices often house these records.

Births, Marriages, and Deaths

It would appear that, from beginning to end, all of the biggest events in your life are also part of public record. New births are always reported by the hospitals or professionals who deliver the child, while coroners offices assign death certificates. These records assist with census data and other commonly used statistics. Additionally, birth and death records help states avoid having unidentified or non-existent residents in their records or on their social programs. Marriage licenses are also kept as a matter of public record. These three types of documents can be extremely helpful when researching your family tree and history, as tracking down past family members and their spouses would be a real pain without it. States will often have a “vital statistics office” or similar operation to house birth and death records (marriage records can be separate). In addition to physical locations, many states are putting or have put these databases online for ease of access – most public document systems are going this way, so keep that in mind when looking at other types of records.

Public Records on the Internet

Courts and government agencies at all levels of government – local, state, and federal – are increasingly making public records available on web sites. Some jurisdictions are just beginning, while others have done so since the mid-1990s.
There are two ways public records are accessible electronically. Some jurisdictions post them on their government web sites, thereby providing no cost or low-cost access to records. Government agencies and courts also sell their public files to commercial data compilers and information brokers. They in turn make them available on a fee basis, either via web sites or by special network hookups. The following are examples of public records containing personal information available remotely via electronic access.

Negative Consequences of Electronic Public Records

There will be significant negative consequences to individuals when public records containing personally identifiable information are widely available on the Internet or via proprietary fee-based systems. I list nine such consequences here, and then conclude with suggested solutions.

Less participation in public life. Fewer individuals will choose to participate in government. There is the very real possibility that the continued growth of public records web sites and information services that compile government records from many sources will result in the chilling effect of people choosing not to take part in public life. If the result of participation in public life is to lengthen one’s electronic dossier and make more personal information available to whoever wants to obtain it, then it is likely that people will avoid those situations where personal information is gathered.

• Justice only for the rich. Justice will only be available to those with the resources and know-how to seek private judicial proceedings. Those who can afford to hire private judges will choose this option in order to keep their personal information out of the public records generated by the traditional court system. Only the rich will be able to safeguard their personal information in this manner. Many of those who do not have the means to hire private judges will choose not to file suit against their insurance company, for example, or their abusive employer. We may become a society in which only the rich get justice. Indeed, many say we already are.

• Identity theft. The crime of identity theft and other types of fraud will be fueled by easy access to personal identifiers and other personal information via electronic public records. Such information includes Social Security numbers, credit card and bank account numbers, and details about investments.

  Identity thieves use information such as SSNs and date-of-birth to obtain credit in another person’s name. They purchase goods and services in the innocent person’s name and destroy their credit history when the bills go unpaid.