Understanding Public Records: What Information Is Publicly Available?

"Public records" is one of those terms everyone uses but few people actually understand. I've had conversations with people who are convinced nothing about them is available anywhere. I've talked to others who think every last detail of their lives is floating around online for anyone to grab. Both are wrong.

The reality sits somewhere in the middle, and it's honestly more interesting (and more useful to know) than either extreme.

What Makes a Record "Public"?

A public record is any document or data point that a government agency creates, stores, or accepts as a filing -- and that's legally accessible to regular people. The idea behind it is pretty straightforward: you should be able to see how your government operates, where the money goes, and what official actions are being taken in your name.

At the federal level, FOIA (the Freedom of Information Act) gives you the right to request records from federal agencies. Every state has its own version -- sometimes called "sunshine laws" or "open records acts" -- covering state and local government records.

But not everything the government touches becomes public. Records get exempted for national security reasons, active law enforcement investigations, attorney-client privilege, trade secrets, and certain personal privacy protections. And the exemptions aren't uniform. The same type of record might be freely available in Georgia and restricted in Pennsylvania. It's a patchwork, and it can be frustrating to navigate.

Types of Public Records

Vital Records

Birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees. These live with state vital statistics offices, usually under the health department. Access rules are all over the map. Most states will let you search birth and death indexes publicly, but the actual certificates? Those are typically locked down to family members or people with a legal reason to see them. Marriage and divorce records tend to be more accessible -- lots of counties post indexes online.

Property Records

This is the big one for people searches. When you buy a house, the deed gets recorded with the county recorder's office. Your name, the address, the sale price, assessed value, mortgage info, tax history -- all of it becomes public record.

Nearly every county in the country has an online portal now where you can look this stuff up. And because property records reliably connect a name to a physical address (and get updated every time a property changes hands), they're one of the most valuable data sources for locating people.

Think about it: if someone buys a home in a new state, there's a paper trail whether they wanted one or not.

Voter Registration Records

Most states treat voter files as public records. A typical voter record includes your name, home address, date of birth, party affiliation, and which elections you've voted in (not how you voted -- your actual ballot is always secret). Some states throw in phone numbers and email addresses too.

Access rules vary. Some states hand the file to anyone who asks. Others limit it to political parties, journalists, or researchers. A few states keep voter files pretty locked down. For the full picture on this, check out our piece on how voter registration records work.

Court Records

Unless a judge seals them, court records from civil and criminal cases are fair game. Complaints, motions, orders, judgments, sentencing records -- public. Federal cases go through PACER. State cases are usually on the court's website or the state judiciary's portal.

Criminal records are a big subset here, heavily used in background checks. Some states have great online databases. Others make you go in person or file a request through the state police. It's inconsistent, which is one of the recurring themes with public records in general.

Business Filings

Form an LLC or corporation? You filed registration documents with your state, probably the Secretary of State's office. Business name, registered agent, officers, formation date -- all public, all searchable online. These records are useful for people search because they link individuals to business addresses and to the other people listed as co-officers.

Professional Licenses

Doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, contractors, nurses -- if you need a state license to do your job, there's a public record of it. License databases usually include name, license number, type, status, issue and expiration dates, and sometimes a business address. Most licensing boards have searchable websites.

Campaign Finance and Political Donations

Here's one that surprises a lot of people. If you've donated more than $200 to a federal campaign, your name, address, employer, and donation amount are public record, searchable on the FEC website. Many states have similar rules for state-level contributions.

I once had someone ask me to help them understand why a neighbor knew about their political donations. Took about thirty seconds to show them the FEC database.

Liens, Judgments, and Bankruptcies

Tax liens, mechanic's liens, civil judgments, bankruptcy filings. All public. Federal bankruptcies go through PACER. State and local liens and judgments are recorded with the county clerk or recorder.

How to Access Public Records

You've basically got three routes:

Go straight to the government agency. This is the most authoritative source, and most agencies have online portals now. For stuff that isn't online, you submit a written request under FOIA or your state's open records law. They can charge you for search time and copies, but the records themselves aren't secret.

Use an aggregator. People search sites like OpenDataUSA pull records from thousands of government sources into one searchable database. The upside is convenience -- one search instead of dozens. The tradeoff is that aggregated data can lag behind the source or pick up errors during compilation. You can see the specific sources we draw from on our data sources page.

Commercial data brokers. Companies specializing in background checks, skip tracing, or due diligence buy bulk records and repackage them for professional clients. These are usually subscription-based and geared toward businesses, not individual consumers.

What Is NOT a Public Record?

This is where people get tripped up. Some things you'd assume are public simply aren't:

• Social Security numbers -- not public records. They show up in some older filings, but modern law restricts disclosure.
• Medical records -- protected by HIPAA. Not accessible to the public.
• Education records -- protected by FERPA for students at schools receiving federal funding.
• Tax returns -- confidential. The IRS isn't sharing your 1040 with anyone.
• Sealed court records -- including most juvenile cases and anything a judge has ordered sealed.
• Bank and financial account information -- protected by federal financial privacy laws.

Privacy Considerations

Just because something is technically public doesn't mean you should treat it carelessly. These laws were built for government transparency -- making sure citizens can hold their government accountable. They weren't designed so that anyone could build a dossier on their neighbor (even if that's technically possible now).

Responsible platforms, including OpenDataUSA, let people opt out and get their info pulled from search results. And a growing number of states have passed privacy laws giving residents more control over their personal data, including stuff derived from public records. Our guide to data privacy rights by state covers the details.

The Bottom Line

Public records are baked into how American government and law work. They serve real purposes -- verifying property ownership, keeping elections honest, enabling investigative journalism. Knowing what's out there (and what isn't) puts you in a better position to both use these records when you need them and protect your own information when you want to.

Curious what public record data is attached to your name? You can run a free search on OpenDataUSA to find out.