BRB's Public Records Blog

South Carolina Vital Records

The SC Department of Health and Environmental Control recently announced that their walk-in customer service office for vital records area will temporarily close beginning November 3. The closure is due to construction. The building is expected to re-open in March 2009. All other methods of ordering vital records will be available.

For more information about SC vital records, see the DHEC's web site at www.scdhec.gov.

Nashville TN Circuit Court

CaseLink is an online tool that provides information pertaining to cases filed in Circuit Court, Probate Court, and General Sessions Court - Civil Division in Davidson County. Effective November 1, 2008, the monthly subscription fee is increased from $20 per month to $35 per month. CaseLink provides only civil and probate-related case data, it does not provide criminal record information. The system is also undergoing a redaction program of certain identifiers in the imaged documents.
The web address for CaseLink is http://caselink.nashville.gov.

Montana Secretary of State Records

Several changes went into effect on October 1, 2008 for the office of the Montana Secretary of State. The fee increased for copies and fax-back services for corporation and other business entity records, and for UCC filing records. The new copy fee is now set at a flat rate of $5.00 for copies per search or file. Previously the rate was $.50 per page.  The Secretary of State will return copies or documents via fax. The new fax-back rate is a $5.00 flat fee. Previously, the fee was $3.00 for the first 10 pages then $.50 for each additional page.
 
A complete list of all fees, including all filing and search costs, is found at http://sos.mt.gov/BSB/forms/fees/Business_Filing_Fees.pdf.

Idaho Driver Services

The Driver Services walk-in counter at the Idaho Transportation Department Headquarters in Boise is closing.  After December 31st, 2008, all business will only be conducted by fax, mail, and web.
 
See www.itd.idaho.gov/dmv/driverservices/importantnotice.htm for phone and fax numbers.

Michigan’s Motor Vehicle Registration Status Inquiry

Michigan’s Motor Vehicle Registration Status Inquiry

Michigan maintains a searchable web site that allows dealers and others to verify if a vehicle purchaser can be denied registration under Michigan's "Repeat Offender Law" (MCL 257.219). 

The Web site verifies if the name, date of birth (DOB), and driver’s license number or state identification card number appearing on a Michigan driver’s license or state identification card match department records.

This law prohibits people with a suspended or revoked driver’s license from buying or transferring a license plate. The law also prohibits the Department of State from registering any vehicle owned, co-owned, leased, or co-leased by drivers subject to registration denial.

Visit https://services.sos.state.mi.us/RepeatOffender/Inquiry.aspx

© excerpt from Business Background Investigations book.

Area Codes - North American Numbering Plan (NANPA)

NANPA is an integrated telephone numbering plan serving the United States, its territories, and 18 other North American countries; Canada, Bermuda, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks & Caicos.

NANPA holds overall responsibility for the administration of NANPA numbering resources, subject to directives from regulatory authorities in the countries that share participate in the NANP.  www.nanpa.com/guide/guide.html

Key online searches include:

·  Area code maps - Select a state and see area code boundaries.

·  Central office code assignments - Find out what codes are assigned or available for assignment in each geographic area code

·  Area code search - Get information about individual area codes, including dialing plans and pointers to planning letters with split/overlay information.

·  Electronic mailing lists - Sign up to obtain the latest information on area code assignments and other areas of numbering interest.

Connecticut Public Record Research Tip

Local Searching in Connecticut

In Connecticut there are 8 counties and 169 towns/cities with signficant public records. There is no county recording in Connecticut, all recording is at the town/city level. The recording officer is the Town/City Clerk.

Be careful not to confuse searching in the following towns/cities as equivalent to a countywide search (since they have the same names): Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, New Haven, New London, Tolland, and Windham.

© excerpt from Business Background Investigations book.

U.S. Tax Court

The jurisdiction of the U.S. Tax Court includes the authority to hear tax disputes concerning notices of deficiency, notices of transferee liability, certain types of declaratory judgment, readjustment and adjustment of partnership items, review of the failure to abate interest, administrative costs, worker classification, relief from joint and several liability on a joint return, and review of certain collection actions. For a less formal and speedier disposition in certain tax disputes involving $50,000 or less, taxpayers may choose to have the case conducted under the Court's simplified small tax case procedure. However, these decisions may not be appealed.

Docket information is available for cases filed on or after May 1, 1986. Call Docket Information at 202-521-4650. For case records, call Records and Reproduction at 202-521-4688.

Direct questions to United States Tax Court, 400 Second Street, NW, Washington, DC 20217. The main number is 202-521-0700. Dockets and opinions also may be searched on the web at www.ustaxcourt.gov.

© excerpt from The Public Record Research TIPS Book

UCC Public Record Research Tip

A significant change in UCC filing took effect in July 2001.  Prior to that date UCC documents were recorded either at a centralized state agency or at a local recording office.  At the time there were over 4,200 locations in the U.S. that recorded UCC’s.  Revised Article 9 of the Code mandated effective July 2001 that all UCC documents were to be filed and recorded at a state level agency, with the exception of real estate filings such as farm-related real estate.  According to the UCC Filing Guide 24, now less than 3% of filings are done so at the local level.  However, there is a caveat - any existing UCC filings if previously filed locally can be renewed or extended at the local level, instead of being renewed at the state level.

Although there are significant variations among state statutes, the state level is now the best starting place to uncover liens filed against an individual or business but is not the only place to search.  Strict due diligence may require a local search also, depending on the state.

© excerpt from the Business Background Investigations book.