BRB's Public Records Blog

BRB Publications Launches New Web Page www.verifyprolicense.com Providing Access to State Licensing Boards

BRB Publications annouced today a new website that enables the public to verify individuals and businesses required to be licensed or have a certification or registration.

This free, new resource enables a researcher to check the representations people make to the public in day-to-day personal or business life. Users of www.verifyprolicense.comcan choose an occupation or business category, by state, to find the direct address, phone number, and web page of the licensing or certification board. The resulting screen also provides a hot link to a License Validator to verify the license, permit, and registration information for individuals and or businesses. Another valuable feature of the search is that it often indicates when disciplinary action has been taken against an individual or business. This site is updated weekly and includes over 8,000 occupations with over 4,500 "name searchable" links providing immediate results.

According to BRB Publication’s CEO Michael Sankey, "Professional occupational licensing and non-voluntary certifications and registrations are generally a matter of public record, intended to protect the public from fraud and the misrepresentations of qualifications. It is simply a smart business practice to check on those with whom you deal, particularly if strangers come into a home, or if money and property are involved."

Also, the new website is dedicated to educating the public about The Sue Weaver C.A.U.S.E. (Consumer Awareness of Unsafe Service Employment).

About the Sue Weaver C.A.U.S.E.
On August 27, 2001, Sue Weaver was brutally raped and beaten to death by a twice convicted sex-offender. Ms. Weaver’s attacker was hired through a major department store to do service work in her home. In memory of Sue Weaver, C.A.U.S.E. was founded in 2004 as a non-profit organization that brings awareness and education to consumers and employers regarding the necessity of criminal background checks on all service employees, contractors and subcontractors hired to work in or near clients’ homes. For more information about C.A.U.S.E. visit www.sueweavercause.org.

Key Trade Associations - Public Record Research Tip

Researching a fact or problem related to public records or finding the right public record vendor can be difficult. People often overlook trade associations as resources of information and companies.

A list of the nation's top trade associations whose members are involved with public records to some degree, visit http://www.brbpub.com/prs/TradeAssn.asp

© excerpt from The Sourcebook to Public Record Information

Ohio Redaction Law on Court Records to Take Affect Soon

Per Ohio’s Public Access Rules and Public Records Act, as of July 1, 2009 the redaction of certain personal identifiers contained on court documents seen by the public will go into affect. “Personal identifiers” means Social Security Numbers, except for the last four digits; financial account numbers, including but not limited to debit card, charge card, and credit card numbers; employer and employee identification numbers; and a juvenile’s name in an abuse, neglect, or dependency case, except for the juvenile’s initials or a generic abbreviation such as “CV” for “child victim.”
For a copy of the text and a summary of the rules visit www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/Boards/superintendence/PAR/default.asp.

Fee to Record Documents in Iowa Increases

Effective July 1, 2009, the electronic transaction fee to record most documents at an Iowa county recorder’s office will increase from $1.00 to $3.00 per record transaction. The purpose of the fee increase is to pay for the redaction of Social Security Numbers from records obtained at www.iowalandrecords.org. The fee does not apply to a military separation or discharge record, a birth record, a death certificate, or marriage certificate unless such record or certificate is incorporated within another document or instrument that is recorded and displayed for public access on a website. The fee is scheduled to stay in effect until June 30, 2011 when the fee will be reduced by $2.00.  The fee increase is part of Senate File 465 - see SF 465 at http://www.legis.state.ia.us/index.html.

New Utah Law for Employers Using Personal Identifiers

The Utah legislation has enacted H.B. 206. The legislation prohibits employers from requesting a SSN, DOB or DL# until either 1) the time in the hiring process when a criminal background check, credit history, or driving record is going to be run or 2) a conditional offer of employment is made. In general, H.B. 206 affects employers with 15 or more employees. This means that the SSN, DOB or DL should not be indicated on the initial job application form. This is not out of the ordinary, since this procedure is common for employers who work with and are advised by a pre-employment screening agency. However, vendors who provide employment screening on occasion for their employer clients may want to make sure to supply the proper forms to an employer at the appropriate time when a background check is initiated or public records are checked.
An excellent overview of the new law is provided by the Employer’s Council (which covers Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming) at www.ecutah.org/newsampl.pdf.

South Dakota Driving Record Fee to Increase

Per legislation, the fee for a South Dakota driving record will increase from $4.00 to $5.00 on July 1, 2009. This fee increase affects both online accessible and manually processed driving records. Additional mandated fee increases affect driver licensing and vehicle registration, but do not affect other record fees. The fee for an accident report remains at $4.00. For example, the fee for VIN, plate, owner, title, or lien searches remains at $2.00 per record or $5.00 for a complete title history from microfilm.

About Record Indexing

A record index serves as a pointer system to the location of file documents and is frequently used at recording offices, courts, and state agencies. A record index is often computerized, but indices can be on card files, in books, on microfiche, etc. Also, a record index can be organized in a variety of ways – by name, by year, by case or file number, or by name and year. Depending on the type of public record, an alpha index could be sorted by plaintiff and/or defendant, by grantor and/or grantee, by address, etc. Perhaps checking a microfiche reader or card file for a record on an individual you find nothing. That does not necessarily mean a record does not exist. The case or document files could be listed in another media index for a different time period, or perhaps you are searching using the wrong criteria such as a maiden name or an alias. 

If you are searching an unfamiliar location, then the makeup of the index is one of first items you need to check. For example, if you are searching an index of court records, you are searching dockets. A docket can be a list of cases on a court’s calendar, or a log containing the schedule and all the actions involved within a court case. 

An important fact to take note of is that the primary search that government agencies provide is often merely a search of the index. When someone tells you “I can find xxx county court records online,” this person is most likely talking about an index summary of cases and not about the records themselves.

© excerpt from The Sourcebook to Public Record Information

Certification Fee for Iowa Court Records Increased

Effective May 27, 2009, the charge for a certification and seal fee on a court document increased from $10.00 to $20.00. The bill, which was signed by the governor on May 26th, also increased a number of court filing files.  For example, the fee to file a statutory or mechanics increased from $10 to $50, the fee for filing and docketing increased from $50 to $85, and for an appeal from a judgment in small claims or for filing and docketing a writ of error the fee increased from $75 to $185.
For more information and a complete list of all the fee increases go to www.legis.state.ia.us/index.html and enter SF478 in the Quick Find: Bills & Iowa Code box

Certification Fee for Iowa Court Records Increased

Per SF 478 and effective May 27, 2009, the charge for a certification and seal fee increased from $10.00 to $20.00. The bill, which was signed by the governor on May 26th, also increased a number of filing files within the state's court system.  For more information, go to http://www.legis.state.ia.us/index.html and enter SF478.

Jurisdiction Alert

1. Harrison County Mississippi

On the 18th of February 2009 the Harrison County Circuit Clerk shut down the public access system for researchers. The clerk (Ms Gayle Parker, 228-865-4051) advises that the system will be down until 1 June 2009. Please expect delays on record research.

Reportedly, this shut down is for main maintenance, but it is believed that the court may be also redacting identifiers, including DOBs, from the public record.

Thanks to Mr. Jim Smith from Pro-Tech Investigations for this tip.

2. California State Offices

Beginning February 6, 2009 the DMV and many other state offices, will close the first and third Friday of each month. This closure is meant to help address the state's deficit of $42 billion.

3.  Maine – Cumberland County Courts – Criminal Record Search

In Maine, the District Courts handle misdemeanors and the Superior Courts handle felonies. Recently, one of Cumberland County’s three District Courts merged its criminal record division with the county’s Superior Court. Records from Portland District Court - South 9 were merged with the Superior Court criminal record database. The new court is designated as the Unified Court.  A criminal record search at the Unified Court will include a search of both courts. This merger does not affect civil or probate records held by the Portland District Court. Note the two other District Courts in Cumberland County (Bridgton District Court North 9 and Bath District Court East 6) each have a separate record database. Therefore, for a complete countywide criminal record search with misdemeanors, all three courts must be searched.

Thanks to Nils Nelson of Main Public Record Services for the heads up on this!

4.  Indiana Counties and New Online System
A handful of Indiana courts are now displaying their indices on an open access system, known as Odyssey, via the Internet. The combined courts in Monroe County were the first in the state to go online with Odyssey, and it has been a less than stellar success. Conversations with a few deputy clerks and judges' clerks have confirmed that in the transition from one computer network (available in the clerk's office or by online paid subscription) to the Odyssey open network, cases were "lost" and other data were missing. Also, certain identifying information beyond the name was the address at the time of charging; we all know the limitations with that. After protests wide and large from the legal community, the DOB has reappeared with the defendant's name and address on criminal case chronologies, now known as "case registries." However, the missing cases and other data transfer problems remain.  You can note the courts available through Odyssey at http://mycase.in.gov/   Courtesy of PRRN Member Don Johnson, Trace Investigations, Inc.