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Public Records

Public records refers to information that has been filed or recorded by public agencies, such as court and property records. Public records are primarily created by the federal, state, and local government (vital records, immigration records, real estate records, driving records, voter registration, criminal records, etc.) However, other organizations can be involved in creating public records such as parish (church) records, membership rosters, and telephone directories. Most essential public records are maintained by the government and many are accessible to the public either free-of-charge or for an administrative fee. Availability is determined by federal, state, and local regulations. Public records are often held in physical files. Many public records are available via Internet or other sources; even though public records are indeed "public", their accessibility is not always simple, free or easy. Taking advantage of public records availability in the United States, a number of Web based companies began purchasing U.S. public records, digitizing data, and selling it online in a searchable format, primarily to assist the general public in locating people. Many of these sites advertise background checks and offer a 20 year history of addresses, phone numbers, marriages and divorces, employment, businesses owned and property ownership. [Source: Wikipedia]

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