Sunday, March 15, 2015

Public Records Quick Search

By Claire Dowell


The Texas Public Health Office and various public agencies of the state and its counties are the ones in-charge of safeguarding the State Of Texas Public Records. When the Freedom of Information Act was passed, citizens were since then given the liberty to obtain public documents provided that the appropriate request procedures were observed. The usual details that are included on any public document and revealed to its requestor include a person's name, the kind of document, and when and where it occurred. Some pieces of information are considered confidential and, therefore, are not disclosed to just anyone. You have to get consent from the court or from the agency-in-charge to access them.

Birth, death, marriage, divorce and criminal records are examples of public records. The procedure for making a request is different depending on what kind of record you want to obtain. Since Texas does not have a central repository for public records, you have to figure out which specific public office or county has the records you want and submit your request there.

To start a search, secure the appropriate request form and supply all the necessary pieces of information. You have to at least be able to provide the full name of whoever owns the record you want to obtain. It is also important to include other details such as a specific year, an address, contact details and many more so that the search category can be narrowed down. The narrower the search category gets, the higher the chance of finding the exact record you are looking for. The records are technically for free, but you have to pay for the search process. Once fees are settled, a no-refund policy automatically takes full effect regardless of the outcome of the search. Return period for requests take a couple of weeks to a couple of months. If you wish to obtain the records a lot faster, you can opt for a priority handling for an additional fee.

There are laws that should be strictly followed in regards to how the public files can be used. Using the files to commit defamation, harassment, embarrassment, blackmailing and/or threatening other people will is a violation against the law and violators will be dealt with accordingly.

Public documents can also be obtained from various authorized online search tools. Just be careful when picking which one to avail the services of because not all of them can be trusted. Although not all of them are legit providers of genuine information, many will claim that they are. As a precautionary measure, run a history check on their business and see if they have a reputation as a reliable source or not.

There are two types of service providers that will allow you to conduct a Public Records Search: fee-based and free service providers. Fee-based service providers are known to provide extensive version of public records. Meaning they can get you more than just the basic details. On the other hand, free service providers will usually provide you with just the basic details.




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