BRB's Public Records Blog

Watercraft Records in North Carolina

NC Wildlife & Resource Commission, Transaction Management, 1709 Mail Service Center, Raleigh  27699 (800) 628-3773, fax is 919-707-0293  http://ncwildlife.org.  All motorized boats and all sail boats over 14 ft must be registered. Effective 01/07, titles are mandatory; previously this was optional. Paper records maintained from 2003, computerized index from 1970. Record search fee is $20.00 but can be higher if extensive research is required. All requests must be in writing. Search by name, hull ID or registration #.  Turnaround time is 1-2 days. Although liens could previously be filed at the state with the UCC filings, most lenders filed liens here. Now all liens are filed here. Liens are shown on a Title Certificate.


Note: This tip is from Michael Sankey's The MVR Book

Public Record Search Tip... Information provided on the Colorado MVR

The length of time violations and activities are listed on the public record is for seven years. Records released contain address, height, weight, and DOB, but not the SSN.  Parking, pedestrian, and bicycle violations are not listed on the driving record. All other convictions and points will appear. An entry on the record shown as OJW stands for Outstanding Judgment Warrant. Convictions on the record indicate an accident occurred or not by a Y/N. Thus, accidents are not reported on the vehicle record if the driver was not convicted of a violation. Colorado does not permit driver school attendance in lieu of conviction.

Note: This tip is from Michael Sankey's The MVR Book

Watercraft Records in Pennsylvania

PA Fish and Boat Commission, PO Box 68900, Harrisburg, 17106-8900, 717-705-7940, fax is 717-705-7931, www.fish.state.pa.us.  Any boat powered by a gasoline, diesel or electric motor, including sailboats with auxiliary power must be registered. Boats must be titled if with inboard motor or outboard motor and 14 ft or longer and has a manufacture year of 1997 or newer. The agency follows the FCRA regarding the release of boat registration and ownership information. Liens are filed here for $5.00 per lien. As of 1998, this agency issues certificates of title. Search requests must be in writing and require signature of requester, reason for request, as much information about the boat or owner as possible. It can take as along as one month before new records are ready for inquiry. The Request Boat Title or Security Interest Information form is found at www.fish.state.pa.us/images/pages/forms/pfbc_t9.pdf. There is a $5.00 fee for either current ownership information or lien information. A title history report is $5.00 for each owner shown on the record chain. Credit cards are accepted.

Note: This tip is from Michael Sankey's The MVR Book

Idaho Driver, Vehicle, and Crash Report Record Fees to Increase

As of January 1, 2009, the fee for many motor vehicle related records will increase in Idaho. The fee for a paper copy of a driving record and the fee for obtaining a hard copy of a title, lien, or registration record will increase from $4.00 to $7.00. Certification will be an additional $14.00, an increase from $8.00. The fee for an electronic driving record will increase from $6.00 to $9.00. The fee ID drivers pay to obtain their own records online will increase from $6.24 to $9.56 per record. Also affected is the fee to obtain an accident report; the fee increases from $4.00 to $7.00 per report.
 
There are a number of other services that will have fee increases. See a complete list at www.itd.idaho.gov/dmv/importantnotices.htm. 
 
Be aware that the Idaho Driver Services Department and Access Idaho (which processes the online records) both refer to driving records as Driver License Records and refer to records related to vehicle title or registration as MVRs.
 

Information provided on the Colorado MVR

The length of time violations and activities are listed on the public record is for seven years. Records released contain address, height, weight, and DOB, but not the SSN.  Parking, pedestrian, and bicycle violations are not listed on the driving record. All other convictions and points will appear. An entry on the record shown as OJW stands for Outstanding Judgment Warrant. Convictions on the record indicate an accident occurred or not by a Y/N. Thus, accidents are not reported on the vehicle record if the driver was not convicted of a violation. Colorado does not permit driver school attendance in lieu of conviction.

Note: This tip is from Michael Sankey's The MVR Book

Ohio Vehicle Record Data

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles website at https://www.dps.state.oh.us/atps/titleinq.asp?mode=i offers a free search by either title number or identification number. Search by title or VIN. The site also includes information on watercraft. Results do not include personal information. The title information available from this web page is obtained from Ohio county title offices. Title information may not exist in the system and on this web page for titles issued prior to March 1993, because all Ohio county offices were not automated until March 1993. For more information call 614-752-7598.

Note: This tip is from Michael Sankey's The MVR Book

South Dakota - Accident Reports -

Copies of officer-completed reports are available from the Department of Public Safety, Accident Records, 118 W Capitol Avenue, Pierre 57501, 605-773-4156. The fee is $4.00 per report. Records are available for ten years to present, five years on paper. New records are available for inquiry after one week, but can take 20 days. Full name, the date and location of the accident is required. Turnaround time is five to fifteen days. To obtain an accident report request form, go to http://dps.sd.gov/enforcement/accident_records/images/accrequest.pdf. The SSN is not released.

Note: This tip is from Michael Sankey's The MVR Book

Heads-up: Idaho Driver and Vehicle Record Fees to Increase

Effective January 1, 2010, the fees for driver-related records and vehicle-related records from the Idaho Transportation Department will increase by $3.00 per record. This is regardless of access method.
We will present specifics next month.

Many DMV Record Fees to Increase in Florida

Effective September 1, a number of driver licensing and motor vehicle services fees will change. Some increases are significant. Below are the increased fees associated with record access.
Driving Records - Fees are increasing for both the electronic and non-electronic versions. For non-electronic, the fee for a 3-year driver history increases from $2.10 to $8.00 and the fee for a 7-year or certified or complete record increases from $3.10 to $10.00. In general for electronic accessed records, the fee for a 3-year record increases from $3.05 to $8.05, and the fee for a 7-year record increases from $3.05 to $10.05. Note that online requesters are directed to a "Network Provider" who are ongoing requesters with 5,000 or more records per month. Service fees will vary by provider.

Crash Reports - The fee for a crash or accident report increases from $2.00 to $10.00. the fee for a homicide-involved crash report remains the same at $25.00.

Vehicle Records - The Florida Real Time Vehicle Info System fee increases from $.50 to $1.25 per inquiry.

Note that the vehicle registration fees will increase approximately 30% overall as well. A complete list of all fee increases, showing both old and new fees, is found at www.flhsmv.gov/MotoristFees.htm

The above article appeared in the August Issue of the Public Record Update newsletter. To sign-up for this free monthly newsletter visit http://www.brbpub.com/articles.aspx

Check out a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) for Fraud

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) provides a free and valuable online service known as VINCheck. The service assists the public in determining if a vehicle has been reported stolen but not recovered, or if a vehicle has been reported as a salvage vehicle to one of the cooperating NICB members. All that is needed to search is the VIN - the Vehicle Identification Number. Searching is not unlimited as VINCheck allows each user no more than 5 free searches within a 24-hour period. 
Visit https://www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xchg/nicb/hs.xsl/vincheck.html.

© excerpt from The Sourcebook to Public Record Information