Free Government Public Record Sites

The links below lead to government agencies that provide free online record searching and access to public record information. This data is taken directly from The Public Record Research System (PRRS).

If you are looking for the more than a free links list - please check out BRB's Public Record Research System (PRRS).

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State, County, and City Sites

State Occupational Licensing Boards

State Appellate & Supreme Court Opinions & Decisions

Federal Courts' Opinions and Decisions

Searchable Federal Sanctions Sites and Significant Agencies

U.S. Territories

Military Sites

Unclaimed Funds

Foreign Sites - Canada

Foreign Embassy Sites in U.S.

Keep in mind these important truths about searching online public records provided by government agencies:

• More than 25% of state and county government agencies do not provide public records online.
Less than 50% of the courts provide online/onsite search equivalency to docket lookups.
• Government sites can be free or fee-based. Generally, the fee-based sites are much more robust.
• Most free government public record name search sites contain no personal identifiers beyond the name. This can be a problem when researching a common name.
• Often the searchable and viewable information found online is limited to name indexes and summary data rather than document images. Most access sites – especially those that are free – permit the former and not the latter. While online portals can be a quick path to viewable or downloadable record data, they often are merely conduits to view a record index. To view the actual records, one must usually place an order to receive document images.