Sunday, November 16, 2014

In Search For Public Records

By Claire Dowell


The state of Ohio has implemented the Freedom of Information Act. This law mandates the government of a certain state to allow its local residents to access any of their personal files. With this access to the public records Ohio manages has been opened to its residents.

The public documents of Ohio includes but not limited to documents of birth, death, marriage, divorce and criminal records. These documents are used in separate ways. Records of birth and death as well as marriage and divorce are primary sources of information for genealogy. It has information that is vital in updating the family tree. These documents are also requirements when dealing with transactions in the government. Birth certificates are used as proof of one's identity while death, marriage and divorce licenses are used when dealing with financial matters or insurance. Criminal records of Ohio are used primarily to conduct a background check on an individual. This is done mostly by business owners and people who wish to make sure they are with people they can trust.

A public document in Ohio would contain information about the person involved. The personal details such as the complete name and other related information are indicated on a public file. The information that can be found on a public document would also depend on the type of file it is. For example, records of birth are found on a birth certificate while information about one's marriage can only be seen in a marriage certificate. AS for criminal records, it would show all of the offenses that an individual has committed.

To have a smooth retrieval of any of the public document, one has to know the process in obtaining a certain type of file. The state of Ohio can only release copies of the public document if the one who filed the request is the person himself. Requesting for any document would require one to provide their contact details during the process which will be used only for verification of identity. An authorized request is needed in order to proceed with the retrieval of the records of other individuals.

It would help, if one knows where to request for a specific document. Records of Birth, marriage, divorce and death are available at the office of the Vital Records Section at the office of the Department of health. Criminal records, on the other hand are available at the office of the Department of Public Safety in Ohio. One can also request for a copy of the documents at the local county offices where the incident has been registered or filed. A processing fee has to be paid in order to proceed with any request. A mail request is also possible but the wait time can be longer than usual.

The Internet has made the retrieval of any of the public records of Ohio easier and convenient. There are a lot of websites that offer to conduct a search for the public documents. One can even request for any of the free public report.




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