RESEARCH FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

RESEARCH FAQs:
PUBLIC RECORDS

The Law Library Staff prepares "Research Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) for the convenience of our users to provide access to a variety of sources addressing particular points of law. These are general legal information sources, and are not to be construed as a substitute for personal legal advice from an attorney. Please seek legal counsel to help you determine the applicability of any of the information in these resources to your specific situation. The Law Library makes no recommendation as to whether you should purchase any services offered by the websites contained in this FAQ.

See other FAQ's for information regarding People Finders and Privacy.

I. Public Records Laws

FOIA Advocates: How to file a FOI request, sample requests and sample appeals.
Citizen's Guide to Using the Freedom of Information Act
Freedom of Information Act Reading Rooms: This blog entry from the Moritz Legal Information Blog provides links to electronic reading rooms for eleven federal departments and agencies. The reading rooms contain response materials, and sometimes contain frequently requested documents.
Department of Justice FOIA: Besides FOIA for the Department of Justice, this site provides links to the FOIA sites for other federal agencies.
Looking for Sunshine: Protecting Your Right to Know: Information on state and federal sunshine laws and Freedom of Information Act requests.
Society of Professional Journalists: Open Door: FAQs on various aspects of FOI law, and an alphabetical list of FOI issues involving particular types of documents.

Ohio Attorney General:

Ohio Legislative Service Commission:

Ohio Dept. of Insurance: Online Public Records Request
Ohio Auditor of State: Ohio’s Open Government Unit

II. Finding Public Records on the Web - Public Records Portals and Guides

AdvancedBackgroundChecks.com: Public record and contact information, containing birth records, census, divorce, death, and marriage records. It also includes WWII, internment, and obituary records
Online Searches: Free Public Records Search Directory
CriminalSearches: Provides criminal history checks, sex offender finder, criminal alerts, and criminal statistics.
NETRonline: Contains public records with direct links to the actual county and state databases that contain the data.
Search Systems: A collection of public records from all over the country.
BRB Publications: Links to free sites, arranged by jurisdiction. Links and hints for finding motor vehicle records.
PeopleSmart
Finding People Resources and Sites
The Art of Public Records Research: from the Virtual Chase. Discusses what is a public record and what is private information.
Lexis and Westlaw provide public records databases by subscription. Members may request public records reports from Lexis.

III. Vital Records

A. Birth/Death/Marriage Records

Ohio Department of Health: Information on ordering birth, death, marriage and divorce records for Ohio
Cuyahoga County Probate Court Marriage License Index: Contains records for marriages from 1810 to the present
Cleveland News Index: Covers 1975 - present. (A CPL database)
Cleveland Necrology File: Covers 1833-1975. (A CPL database)
Ohio Obituary Index: 1810 - present.
Ohio Death Index
Social Security Death Index at Ancestry.com: 1935 - present.
National Center for Health Statistics: How to obtain vital records (birth, death, marriage) in all fifty states
Online Searchable Death Indexes: listed by state and county.
Genealogy.com
VitalChek: Source for Government Certified Vital Records.
Vitalrec.com: Links and information on how to order copies of birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce records in all fifty states
ObitsArchive: A collection of newspaper obituaries and death notices in the United States
Obituaries 101: A list of obituaries in the United States and Canada
Rootsweb from Ancestry.com
Fee-based databases such as Lexis and Westlaw may provide access to marriage, divorce and death records.

B. Name Changes

Check local court dockets (usually a Probate Court where one exists). e.g. Cuyahoga County Probate Court (search by name).

IV. Corporation Records - See our FAQ on Business Information

V. Property Records

All Types of Property

Lexis and Westlaw provide access to many types of asset and property databases, as well as databases showing liens.

Real Estate

Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office: Search by name, parcel #, address, AFN #
Medina County Auditor: Links to the auditor's web site for each Ohio County.
Neo Cando: Property, tax and transfer information for properties in Cuyahoga county. Search by address, parcel number, census tract, ward, city or other criteria.
MyPlace.cuyahogacounty.gov: Cuyahoga County's Online property search.
Local Foreclosure Cases: e.g., Cuyahoga County Docket

Airplanes

Federal Aviation Administration: The FAA maintains a free, searchable database of aircraft registrations.
Lexis and Westlaw also have aircraft searches for a fee.

Boats

Ohio Department of Public Safety Online Vehicle/Watercraft Title Inquiry: Search for an owner of a boat by watercraft ID or outboard motor ID number.
Lexis and Westlaw also have boat searches for a fee.

Motor Vehicles

Ohio Department of Public Safety Online Vehicle/Watercraft Title Inquiry: Search by title number or VIN number.
Carfax.com: Free search will tell you the year and make a vehicle, when a VIN number is entered. There are free searches for manufacturers buy backs under lemon laws, and for recalls. For a fee, you can find out how many people owned the vehicle and for how long, whether there are title problems, odometer problems and whether the car was in an accident or stolen. Carfax reports DO NOT provide the names of the former owners.
Lexis, Westlaw has motor vehicle searches for a fee. One can search for a person's name, unlike the BMV site above, to see what vehicles they own.

Unclaimed Funds

Ohio Department of Commerce Unclaimed Funds: To find unclaimed funds held by the State of Ohio. After five years, funds held by county or local governments are required to be turned over to the Ohio Department of Commerce. See ORC 9.39 and the Cuyahoga County Treasurer's Webpage.
National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators: Links to state web sites to find unclaimed funds.
County Unclaimed Funds: Check for money not yet transferred to the State, or money not reported to the State. Contact the County Auditor's office or Treasurer's office.
For Cuyahoga County, contact the County Treasurer's Office
Unclaimed Money From The [Federal] Government: From the United States Treasury Department. Includes links to online databases to find unclaimed federal money.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Expanded Missing Participants Program.
Internal Revenue Service: Information on tax refunds which may be due to you.

VI. Criminal Records

Inmate/Corrections information

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Offender Search: Data on offenders who are currently incarcerated, under Dept. supervision, judicially released or dead.
Federal Bureau of Prisons: Search by name for inmates released after 1982.
Vinelink.com: Search by state and name for offender custody status.
Corrections.com: Links for prison and offender searches
Lexis, Westlaw and Bloomberg provide criminal records databases.

Sex Offender Registries

Ohio Attorney General: Protecting Ohio Families: Search by name for registered sex offenders in Ohio.
Individual Ohio County Registries: Ex.: Cuyahoga County: search by name.
National Sex Offender Public Registry: Search for convicted sex offenders living in your area. Enter a zip code to see a picture of an offender and view their home and work addresses.
FBI's State Sex Offender Registries: provides links to state sex offender databases.
www.sexoffender.com: Links to state sex offender databases.

Try searching court dockets, below.

VII. Bankruptcies

Cleveland Law Library: Bankruptcy FAQ: How to find bankruptcy case information.

VIII. Court Dockets

The U.S. Party Case Name Index (PACER)
Justia - Federal District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals Filings: Can search for name, lawsuit type and date of filing. Will give the case number and basic case information, but not the docket. Can be used before going on Pacer to save the initial search for the case number.
LLRX.com Court Rules & Dockets: Links to sources for federal and state dockets.
Virtual Chase - United States Federal Dockets and Briefs.
Cleveland Law Library: Links to Ohio court dockets and court websites.
Lexis, Westlaw and Bloomberg both offer docket databases.
Court House News Service: A subscription database which provides information on new cases filed in certain courts. New case information is provided for Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas, and others.

IX. Voter Registration Records

Cuyahoga County Voter Search: When name and DOB is entered, yields address of voter, party affiliation, polling location and polling history.

X. Military Records

Service Members Civil Relief Act Site: Search for active military by name (SSN or DOB is required).
National Archives: Search by name for information on current and former personnel (mostly before 1981); covers honors, deaths, wounds, POW information.
Federal Civilian Personnel Folders: Covers past and present workers, provides position titles, occupational series, grades, annual salary rates, duty stations, and position descriptions.
Local County Recorders: May contain a searchable index of Discharge forms.
National Archives: Certain individuals can obtain current and archival information.
Ancestry.com: Free to search by name; mostly historical information.

XI. Political Campaign Donations

Ohio Secretary of State: Campaign finance database.
Political Money Line: Provides a donor look-up for federal campaign contributors.
Opensecrets.org: Donor name lookup for federal elections.
Follow the Money.org: State political campaign donations.

XII. Professional Licenses, Information & Discipline

General Resources

Professional License Verifier: Verify State-Issued Professional and Occupational Licenses.
eLicense.Ohio.gov: Search selected professions by name or license number.

Physicians

Ohio License Center: Search by name or license number; Physician information is voluntary and may contain DOB, practice location, residence, professional education, specialties and credentials. (Type of license, initial date, expiration, status, and discipline).
AMA DoctorFinder: Search by name or specialty to find information on members and non-members.
WebMD: Search by name, retrieve contact information, education, ratings and insurance accepted.
American Board of Medical Specialties: Searching requires free registration.
Doc Finder

Attorneys

Ohio Supreme Court: Attorney Information Search. Displays contact information, law school and discipline.
Ohio Supreme Court Cases: Can be searched for attorney disciplinary actions back to 1992
OSBA Certified Specialists: Free to search by specialty, then name.
Martindale.com Powered by Martindale Hubbell^®: Free to search by name, law firm, or organization; results include contact information, practice areas, bar admissions and AV Peer Review Ratings.
AVVO: Free to search by name; can provide contact information, licensure information, fee schedules, and reviews.
Justia: Free to search by name; provides contact information, bar admissions, and some memberships.
AMBest Directory: Free to search by name for ratings on insurance attorneys.
Daily Legal News: Find out if a lawyer is licensed in Ohio
Association Of Corporate Counsel: Members can search the member directory.
ABA - Directory of Lawyer Disciplinary Agencies 2014: Provides phone numbers and sometimes web addresses for lawyer disciplinary agencies in the fifty states.
ABA National Lawyer Regulatory Databank: For a fee, one can request a search nationwide for disciplinary actions against an attorney.

Stock Brokers, Investment Advisors and Financial Planners

FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) BrokerCheck: Contains information gleaned from industry registration and license Forms BD and U-4.
Securities and Exchange Commission: Investment Advisor Search
Certified Financial Planner Look-up
National Futures Association's Background Affiliation Status Information Center (BASIC).
Ohio Department of Commerce: Securities Division: Request Records.

Accountants

Accountancy Board of Ohio: License Look-up
Ohio Disciplinary Actions: The Accountancy Board of Ohio lists disciplinary actions from 1990 to the present, as a result of formal hearings conducted under Chapter 119 of the Ohio Revised Code.
American Institute of CPAs: Disciplinary Actions
Search Systems.net: To find license look-ups for other states, click on the state in question, and look for Licenses: Accountants. If the state does not provide an electronic look-up, call the Accountancy Board.
AICPA Links to State Boards of Accountancy: Links to State Boards of accountancy.

XIII. Social Security Numbers

Social Security Death Index: Verifies social security numbers for deceased people.
Social Security Number Verification: The Social Security Administration runs this site. Employers input names and social security numbers, to verify the social security numbers. Site requires registration.
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: "My Social Security Number: How Secure is It?" - discusses whether you must provide the government or a business with your social security number.

XIV. Your Credit Report

Your Access to Free Credit Reports: Information from the Federal Trade Commission on how to obtain your free annual credit reports. (Credit reports are not public records)

XV. Map Services

XVI. Fee-Based Services

Lexis Smartlinx Report: With a permissible purpose, users can search by name, alias, address or SSN to find people. Reports can include name variations, DOBs, partial SSNs, current and former addresses, phone numbers, emails, employment and businesses, voter registrations, professional licenses, other licenses (sport, pilot), bankruptcies, liens and judgments, real property, boats and aircraft, UCC liens, criminal and traffic cases, associates, relatives, and possible neighbors.
Accurint Person Search (from Lexis): Government agencies and private investigators can use this tool to obtain the same information that is contained in a Lexis Smartlinx report. (See above). Depending on their permissions and purpose, searchers may be able to obtain additional information.
Westlaw PeopleMap: With a permissible purpose, users can search by name, address or SSN to find people. Reports can include name variations, DOBs, partial SSNs, current and former addresses, phone numbers, emails, employment and businesses, voter registrations, professional licenses, other licenses (sport, pilot), bankruptcies, liens and judgments, real property, boats and aircraft, UCC liens, criminal and traffic cases, associates, relatives, and possible neighbors.
CLEAR (from Thomson Reuters): Investigative professionals can use this tool to obtain the same information that is contained in a Westlaw PeopleMap report. (See above). Depending on their permissions and purpose, searchers may be able to obtain additional information.
LexisNexis Analyzer: Information on attorneys, judges, experts, arbitrators, and companies.
Thomson Reuters/Westlaw Profiles: Background information on attorneys, judges, and experts.

XVII. Authorship

A. Article Databases

Worldcat.org: Search articles.
Ohio Web Library Databases
Cuyahoga County Public Library Catalog
Cleveland Public Library Catalog
Google Scholar: Articles.
Lexis and Westlaw offer law review and journal databases.

B. Book Databases

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Created on: August 16, 2004 -