Quick Answer: Many adult criminal court records are public — including case dockets, charging documents, plea records, judgments, and sentencing orders. Juvenile records, sealed cases, expunged records, active investigation files, and certain personal identifying information are typically restricted. Because criminal records are maintained by multiple courts and agencies across separate government systems, determining whether a … Read more
Quick Answer: Property records are maintained primarily by county governments and document who owns real estate, when ownership changed, and what financial claims are attached to the property. These records are created when deeds, mortgages, liens, and related documents are recorded with the county recorder or register of deeds. Because property records are organized at … Read more
Quick Answer: Court records are documents created during legal proceedings and maintained by the court that handled the case. Federal court records are stored in the federal judiciary’s PACER system. State and local court records are maintained by thousands of independent state and county court systems. Because the United States has no single national court … Read more
Quick Answer: A background check is the process of reviewing government records and official filings to verify information about an individual. Background checks may include criminal cases, civil litigation, property records, professional licenses, and other documented government actions. Because public records are decentralized, a complete check requires searching multiple jurisdictions and official government systems. A … Read more
Quick Answer: Public records in the United States are organized by jurisdiction and maintained by the government agency responsible for creating the record. Federal records are held by federal agencies and courts. State and local records are maintained by state departments, county offices, and municipal agencies. Because records are distributed across thousands of separate systems, … Read more
The process of asset searches uncovers property, business, and lien details, revealing hidden liabilities and interests—discover how this vital step ensures clear ownership.
Quick Answer: Public records are government-created documents that record official actions and are generally available to the public unless restricted by law. Common examples include court records, property deeds, business registrations, and criminal case records. They are maintained by the government agency that created them — not by any single centralized database. Public records are … Read more
State courts handle the overwhelming majority of legal matters that affect people’s lives — criminal prosecutions, evictions, civil lawsuits, divorce, probate, restraining orders, and debt collection cases. For investigators, landlords, journalists, and anyone conducting serious due diligence, state court records are often far more important than federal records. The problem is access. Unlike the federal … Read more
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) is the official federal judiciary system for searching and accessing U.S. federal court case filings and documents online. It is operated by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and covers millions of case filings from federal district courts, courts of appeals, and bankruptcy courts across all 94 … Read more
Theories behind what makes a record “public” reveal how laws and privacy concerns shape open access; discover the full story to understand the balance.