Public Access to Court Records: How to Access Public Court Records
It is always possible to gain public access to court records. You may be able to get information for free. In some cases you will be charged, and the price you have to pay may either be just a small price or as steep as hundreds of dollars for those public access to court records. You have three options on how to do this.
The first way, and a common means of gaining free access, is to personally visit the court house in your vicinity and inquire from there all the necessary information you need. It will only be difficult if you are going for the first time. The whole process might take you several hours or even several days if you are not familiar with their step-by-step procedure. There are written steps to follow posted in the walls of some court houses. However, for most others, they do not have such guidelines.
Although it is free public access, be reminded that if you live quite far from the court house, you would do well to consider travel time and cost also. If you do not live inside the state, a personal visit seems like a far fetched idea. Consider other means of getting the records you want.
Your second option is to hire someone to get the records for you, maybe a lawyer or private investigator. The disadvantage with this is that their professional fees could be quite heavy. Lawyers and investigators usually charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars to retrieve records for you. Another setback is that it could take them a few days to find information you need. However, an advantage is that, given their professions, they easily earn the respect of the staff in a court house, and this makes it easier for them to get public access to court records.
A third option is perhaps also the fastest method among the three, and that is, to go online and use any one of various websites dedicated to such searches. This online service does not come for free though. You will be charged a certain amount, ranging from $35 to $50. This amount depends on how simple the information you are requesting. These search sites work quite accurately and fast, producing results in a matter of hours, sometimes in just a few minutes.
Choose a search website that is able to access records even from other states also. For a few dollars you have to pay, it will save you a lot of time and effort. This is perhaps the best and most commonly used method of getting public access to court records.
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