GETTING PUBLIC RECORDS ONLINE

By Jonathan Oatis

The wealth of information available on the Internet includes public records. But there's a big catch: a lot of it is not available online. We can expect more records to appear online as the Internet becomes more tightly woven into the fabric of everyday life. But, for now, journalists and others seeking information on a property assessment, a conviction or a death may still have to make trips down to city hall or the county courthouse.

That said, it doesn’t hurt to see what's available online. Use a search engine such as Yahoo! to find government sources of public records on the Internet or obtain the addresses from official sources -- then check them out (Hint: make sure you bookmark useful Web site addresses so you don't have to hunt them down all over again.).

In some cases, you'll find abstracts or indexes of public records online, meaning you'll still have to obtain a hard copy of the full record. Still, an index can help you track down that key piece of paper.

Don't give up on electronic records if they're not on a Web site. You may be able to persuade a county clerk or other official to e-mail you a record if you can help him or her put their hands on it. And don't forget fax machines.

In addition to free, public sources, there are a number of commercial sources of public records that charge a fee for their services. Are they worth it? If you have to pay a big fee for something you could obtain easily by crossing the street and walking into the courthouse, maybe not. On the other hand, a commercial service may offer quick access to a record that may not be available any other way, and for a reasonable fee your editor will gladly pay. It's a case-by-case decision.

For more on getting at public records online, read Chapter 7 of Alan M. Schlein's excellent book, "Find It Online, The Complete Guide to Online Research" (3^rd Edition, Facts on Demand Press, August 2002, $19.95).

Here are some public records Web sites, many of them suggested by "Find It Online" (thanks to Alan for graciously allowing me to use them) or by other computer-assisted reporting experts.

• BRB Publications Inc. (http://www.brbpub.com) -- Very useful and free. Links to free public records sites, as well as local and national records retrieval companies. A good place to start.
• Search Systems (http://www.searchsystems.net/) -- Another good launching pad. Guide to more than 11,240 free searchable public records databases, categorized by state. Also offers links to nationwide databases.
• LEXIS-NEXIS (http://www.lexis-nexis.com) -- The journalists' stand-by for archived stories also provides access to state government records and civil court records, among other things.
• AutoTrackXP (http://www.autotrack.com/) -- Access to more than 4 billion public records, including names and addresses, vehicle registrations, drivers license information, business reports, corporate and business information, booking and arrest information, criminal records, trademarks, bankruptcies, phone numbers, liens and judgments, property ownership and professional licenses.
• DataQuick (http://www.dataquick.com) -- Sells real estate information online.
• IQ Data Systems (http://www.iqdata.com) -- Real estate information, as well as full document retrieval from every U.S. jurisdiction, including secretaries of state, county criminal, civil and tax lien judgments; and U.S. district courts and federal bankruptcy courts.
• International Association of Assessing Officers (http://www.iaao.org) -- No online real estate records but may help you find somebody who can find what you're looking for. And it's free.
• VitalChek Network (http://www.vitalchek.com) -- Can obtain certified copies of birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates and other vital records in 48 states as well as British Columbia. An index showing which records are available is free, but you have to pay a fee for the actual record. The site also provides phone numbers for obtaining vital records from other Canadian provinces, Mexico and the United Kingdom/
• Vital Records Information, United States (http://vitalrec.com) -- Provides free pointers to sources of vital information, broken down by state and county.
• Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com) -- This valuable resource includes a database of the Social Security Death Index. Once you track someone down using the index -- they have to be dead -- the site enables you to generate a letter that you can send to the Social Security Administration requesting a copy of that person's Social Security application, which may contain useful additional information.
• PFC Information Services Inc. (http://www.pfcinformation.com) -- Services include asset and liability searches, profiles of businesses and individuals and public record retrieval. Company President Lynn Peterson wrote part of the chapter on public records online in Alan Schlein's book.

There are other information services. For example, for civil court records, in addition to LEXIS-NEXIS (http://www.lexis-nexis.com), you can use KnowX (http://www.knowx.com); and ChoicePoint (http://www.choicepointonline.com/cdb/). These services provide other information as well.