Free Public Records Search

When most people hear the phrase "free public record search", their first thoughts will probably be related to court and jail records. They are the most important and vital information gathered, stored, and sometimes published for free on the Internet by public institutions. Unsurprisingly, most of public debate concerning public record searches concentrates on the courts. However, there is much more in public records than court sentences and our personal information. Whatever you need to learn about the actions and inactions of any public institution or about virtually anyone who lives in the United States, it has probably been already openly published and is available for you - if only you know where and how to find it.

The U.S. public institutions and governments store incredible amount of information about their decisions and the U.S. citizens. Most of the public records are now open to public. As the popularity of the Internet grows, in many cases the information you seek is available online. The government hides little from us. It is finding the information we need that is the tricky part.

Of course, there are several paid sites that offer public record searches basing on the databases bought from courts or governments. Using them is an efficient, but quite expensive way of searching the public records. Anyone willing to perform a free public record search needs a roadmap on how to do that or risks hours of days browsing the Internet for some specific information.

There are a few ways of performing a free public record search. First, you can try using Google. As this search engine stores virtually every WWW page that exists on the Internet, there is a good chance that you will find what you seek by simply typing the phrase in Google. A tip: try to use long phrases, in "" (exact form) if applicable - this will greatly increase a chance of finding what you seek. Also, take a look at the second and third page of results - oftentimes you will find the right website there.

Google, however, aren't a perfect tool for that task. For one, they can't access restricted databases or documents that will be sent to you upon request only. A much more efficient if a bit more time-consuming method is finding the website of an exact institution responsible for the record you need to access. An invaluable tool for that is USA.gov - an official government website as well as great catalogue and search engine concentrated on all topics concerning the US government agencies. A tip: you will have to know which institution may be responsible for the information you seek. USA.gov is an excellent place to find the answer if only you know what agency is responsible for it. For example, you can't learn a jail record of anyone at USA.gov, but the site may lead you to the right court's website. A free public record search will take some time, since you will probably have to visit tens of different websites, but USA.gov will offer you a great deal of support in that task.

Finally, you can try using paid, not free, public record search engines such as Pretrieve by using them in a free/trial mode. Many of paid public record databases give you some information for free first and ask for a fee only later when you want to get more detailed information. In some cases even this few pieces may be enough for your needs.

Whatever you need a free public record search for, do not be surprised if some of the information, especially personal data, will be unavailable. It is an effect of a wave of identity thefts - most courts and government agencies do not provide some kinds of data concerning individuals. Such information as a social security number, minor problems with the law, accusations towards a person or a current phone number often remains unpublished on the Internet at all.