Online Guide to Public Records

Are you interested in whether your businessrecords, campaign contributions,copyright and
colleaguecontributed to the presidential campaign?trademark information, foreclosures, and
Wondering who ownsthe abandoned lot on theaseemingly endless list of other documents.
other side of town? Or on a morepersona note,Public Record Public Record Finder is another
are you trying to trace your family tree andcan'tdirectory with multiple linksto web sites offering
remember Great-Aunt Susie's third husband?public record searches. Since no feesapply, the
You might find your answers through an onlinesite is financed through advertising revenues.
public recordssearch. Due diligence applies, as theTheowners do not guarantee the accuracy of
data at some sites canbe outdated or inaccurate.records found at thelinked sites and do not
The sites below are good bets, butthe list is byprovide assistance to those who cannotfind the
no means inclusive.information they want. Nevertheless, their
PACERlinkselection is worth checking out.
Public Access to Court Electronic Records is aYahoo Real Estate
government sitethat provides electronic access toIn addition to the usual searches for listings, real
case and docket informationfrom Federalestateagents, etc., you can also run a search of
Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, andfromthousands of realestate documents to learn the
the U.S. PartyCase Index. Most of PACER'sprices that buyers are paying inyour neighborhood.
records areavailable on the Internet, but a fewAccording to site information, this salesdata lets
must be dialed directlyvia communication softwareyou analyze the value of your home or other
and a modem. Most jurisdictionsoffer toll-freehomes.
numbers for modem dialing.The results include price, square footage,
PACER provides an array of information, includingbedrooms and theyear built (if available). The
a listing ofall parties involved in a case,School Search tool gives youinformation about
compilations of case relatedinformation, dates ofschools in a specified neighborhood.
events recorded in a case record, aclaims registryGPO Access
and more. Criminal court records are notavailable"The U.S. Government Printing Office disseminates
through PACER.officialinformation from all three branches of the
PACER registration is free, but a service feeFederal
applies.Government," says the Web site, adding that
Effective 2005, Web searches are levied at a ratetheir mission isto keep America informed. The site
of eightcents per search page, including pagesprovides electronic accessto documents from a
telling you there areno results. Dial up PACERnumber of government branches, agenciesand
systems charge sixty cents perminute. You paydatabanks. For example, you can access
nothing until you accrue over $10 in acalendarCongressionalreports and records, public and
year. Accumulated fees of under $10 are erasedprivate laws, Federal laws,
atyears end.Presidential documents, and other related
U.S. Searchmaterials.
This highly rated search site uses patentedAdditionally, the GPO makes publications from
technology toaccess billions of public records.three levels ofgovernment available for free public
Search categories includeprivate investigativeuse in Federal depositorylibraries throughout the
services, criminal records searches,backgroundUnited States. The Access sitecontains links to
searches, financial services, home and family,the libraries and in some cases, to theircollections.
realestate reports, business searches and courtEDGAR
records.Operated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange
To expand upon just a few of the uses youCommission, the
might make of thissite, you could find out if aElectronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval
home contractor has liens,judgments andsystem
bankruptcies before contracting with him or her.(EDGAR) is an online database containing
You could do a background check on a child careregistrationstatements, periodic reports and other
providerbefore trusting your children to his or herforms filed by foreignand domestic companies.
care. You couldfind your old military buddies, locateCompanies are required by law tosubmit these
your lost sweetheart,find out if Cousin Bruno isrecords, which you can access and download
out of prison yet, look up thestatus of a civilfreeof charge. If you're considering buying shares
lawsuit filed against your former boss --andin a company,you might want to check out the
various other tidbits of information. Additionally,compulsory annual report on
youcan search your own public records to helpForm 10-K or 10-KSB, which contains much of the
protect yourselfagainst identity theft.sameinformation as the annual report issued to
To protect individuals from identify theft, U.S.shareholders.
Search doesnot provide social security numbers,Electronic Reading Room
date of birth, credithistory, and employmentCourtesy of the IRS, the Electronic Reading
records, nor to they offer bankaccountRoom makes anarray of public records available
information or other private financial information.for download. The Freedom of
U.S. Search is a fee-based site. Searches rangeInformation Act (FOIA) requires the IRS (and
from about $3to $300, depending on theother governmentagencies) to make certain
complexity of the search that youchoose.documents publicly available. The
IRS records include final opinions made in case
Search Systemsadjudication,statements of policy and
Search Systems aims to be the Internet'sinterpretation not published in the
primary source forfree public records. Site accessPublic Register, administrative manuals, copies of
is free, although some of thelinked sites mayrecordspreviously released under the FOIA and
charge a user fee. Yahoo Internet Life andothers.
PCWorld magazines rated this site as among theLocal Public Sites
most useful onthe Web.Lastly, check your local public web sites if you're
Search Systems categorizes its links by nation,lookingfor information specific to your city, county
state, andinternational databases. You can searchor state.
for adoption records,birth, death and marriage