Who Needs a Public Records Search?

Public records searches benefit many people. Individuals can use public records searches to learn more about another person, and this usually comes in the form of a background check. Businesses and major international corporations also use public records searches to research business transactions, court proceedings, patents, and financial transactions. Hiring a private investigator to conduct a public records search can save you valuable time, and an experienced private investigator knows how to find more public records than the average civilian.

What is a Public Record?

The term public record usually refers to government documents. These generally include court records (excluding juvenile records, which are almost always sealed), real estate records, professional licenses, business filings, bankruptcy filings, liens and judgments, and intellectual property and business records. Online public records research cannot reveal all public records; even today many public records are on paper only. Spending the time to dig up public records on paper is impractical for most people and businesses, which is why people so commonly turn to private investigators to access a full range of public records.

What can Public Records Reveal?

Public records can tell if a person or business has had major financial problems in the past, if they have been arrested or convicted of a crime, if they have been blacklisted from any government agencies, if they have been disbarred or lost their license to practice medicine, determine how much property a person or business owns, if and when patents, trademarks, and copyrights have been granted, and much more. This type of information can be crucial for businesses when they are deciding to hire an employee, do business with a vendor, or enter into a business relationship, begin work on new technology or invest in Research and Development projects, buy or sell property, to name only a few.

Public records research can be conducted on an incident driven basis, or can be a routine task carried out preemptively, especially for businesses and law firms that needs research on a regular basis. Speak to a private investigator from ICS today to begin your public records search.