Court House Records: Public Access to Information
There is a wealth of information to be found in court house records. These records contain everything from local bankruptcy filings to marriage records, death records, birth records and more. The vast majority of these records are open to the public. Court house records are available through a number of different means, both in person and through electronic means like fax and the Internet.
Court house records go back a very long time, dating back to medieval England. The shires had centralized governments, which, for the time, was quite a governmental achievement. While court house records of the day were nowhere near as detailed, nor as widely available as they are today, they provided the basis for our current local government system as well as our notion of a court house for a county area.
Much information can be gained from court house records. From tracking divorce and marriage rates in a local area to demographics and crime rates, all manner of information can be gathered from these publicly accessible records. Whether being used by governmental agencies for statistical purposes or by individuals for relocation purposes, business investments and other uses, court house records are a valuable tool for society today. These are almost completely available to the public, with only a few that have elements not made available or completely sealed. Usually, if a court house record is sealed, it is due to the private nature of the contents; minor criminal charges, adoption records and others of this nature are the records not likely to be available to the public.
While these records are more than likely to be available to the public, most of them are on a fee based copy system. Most copies are available at a minimum fee cost, but some may be more expensive. The local government sets the charges for their copying fees; originals are generally not available to the public.
You'll find numerous ways of accessing court house documents today. Many times all that is required is a simple trip to visit the clerk of courts or equivalent office. Simply tell them the document you're interested in and they'll make a copy for you. Other means exist as well; you can mail a document request, or access the website of the city or county. The Internet is a great way to find information from court house records.