How To Find Public Court Records Online And At The Court

January 25th, 2012 by admin

public court records, court records, court records online

All public records are available for access; it is simply a matter of looking for them in the right places. Sometimes they are available online while others are only available through a visit to the county courthouse where the public court records are accessible. First, you need to identify what records you are looking for.

Public court records cover an individual’s contact with the court system. Everyone has a birth and death certificate on file, and many have a marriage certificate as well. These are known as vital records. Someone who has had a brush with the law and has gone through the court system is going to have a criminal record for misdemeanors and felony arrests and convictions. All of these records are open to the public for viewing unless they have been expunged or sealed. An expunged record means it is as if the crime never happened. Sealing is where the case cannot be viewed by the public, only law enforcement.

The most direct way to get public records is to head to the county courthouse. There you can view the file in person to get a full picture of the information you are after. However, many states have enacted laws to allow the public to view court records online, eliminating the need to go to the courthouse.

Finding public court records online really is as easy as doing a web search. Many sites exist that aggregate all of the states in one place and allow you to do one-click searches for files. From there it is a matter of clicking the links for the appropriate type of record you want. Generally the files are scanned in and saved as a PDF format to provide a copy of the original. The PDF is considered a legal document by the courts as it preserves the original information in its entirety, so if the information is needed for legal purposes, the PDF suffices.

Keep in mind that not all states have passed legislation to put records online for public viewing. You may have to go through a paid search to find out more.

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