The way to find public records offline is relatively clear, but far more time and energy consuming. Offline, you can find public records by visiting offices of government agencies and sometimes libraries. However, you may need to pay fees for access to information, and in cases where you need to request permission to view records through agencies, your request could be denied. Imagine traveling over several counties adding wear and tear to your car and burning gasoline money only to wait in line and be told you can’t get what you need!

The way to find public records online is less clear, because the path is riddled with a new crop of scam sites designed to take your money in exchange for bogus information or no information at all. However, the fair trade is a lot of energy saved, and little to no risk of request denial. As long as you do basic research into the reputation and legitimacy of the company providing you the records, you can do your best to avoid any scams and find public records with ease.

A simple way to begin is to search google for “find public records”. You’ll be presented with a long list of sites that claim to offer you free searches. They may search some details for free, but chances are in order to find the records you want you’ll need to pay for their search results. In most cases this is a modest, one-time fee. The key is to determine which site can help you find public records without scamming you. Your best tactic is to be an informed consumer. Before you pay any company money to give you records, make sure that you:

1) Check the company with Consumer Reports.
2) Check the company with the Better Business Bureau.
3) Google the company’s/site’s name to see if there are any fraud complaints.
4) Double check the web site of the government agency related to your query – in some cases, they’ve included free records search on their web site and you don’t have to pay anything to access the information.

If you follow these steps for fraud protection, and to help identify the most reliable sources of records, you’ll find searching for public records online is an inexpensive way to save time, effort, and money.