What Personal Information Do Your Public Records Have?

Depending on what stage of your life you are in, public records can contain quite a bit of information about your life. Even if you are a newborn baby who has just taken his or her first breath, there is a public record about to be on file that marks this milestone moment in your life.

There are quite a few different records that fall under the public banner, including birth, death and marriage certificates, as well as divorce decrees, criminal records and court records. Let's take a closer look at exactly what information is contained in these files.

A Birth Certificate
Even if you have no other public records, chances are, you do have a birth certificate on file in a county clerk's office somewhere in the United States.

Your birth record will not only tell you what county you were born in, but also the date and time of the event, the name of the doctor present and the names of your parents and their address at the time. Not only do you need your birth record to get a driver's license and to get married, but you need one to get a passport, too.

A Death Certificate
As you would imagine, a death certificate carries much of the same information as a birth record. A name, address, occupation and marital status is standard operating procedure on these kinds of documents.

You will also find the cause of death listed below and the name of the official that declared you deceased. Death records are vitally important if you wish to collect a life insurance policy or if you are looking to trace your family tree. You may also need a certified copy of a death certificate to settle a person's estate and to take care of any outstanding debts.

Other Forms of Records
Your marriage and divorce records are important, too. In the case of a marriage, they list the name and address of the two individuals, the date they were married, and the county where the union took place.

Divorce records offer fairly similar information, but they also include the reason the two parties applied for a divorce. In the case of court records or criminal records, you can learn all about a person's brushes with the law and about any court cases they may have been involved with.

All of this information is a matter of public record and can be accessed by anyone, at any time. While much of the material is accessible through the individual states, it may also be ordered from online records finders.

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