Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Florida Public Records Search

By Ben Kingsley


The Freedom of Information Act has mandated the government of Florida to allow the local residents to access their personal documents. Florida public records can be easily requested by the residents and other individuals if they have been granted to do so.

Florida records are grouped into two categories: personal documents and criminal files. Personal files include the birth and death certificates as well as the marriage and divorce licenses issued in the state. Criminal records are issued to individuals who have been reported for crimes and violations. Such violations are documented in the form of a criminal file, arrest or a police report.

Personal files are primarily used in genealogy research. Researchers would refer to the certificates of birth, death and marriage to update the family tree. Divorce records are the last file that is checked in updating the family history. Divorce and marriage records are also used to verify the marital status of an individual. The criminal records are the source of information when conducting a background check on certain people. Business owners would regularly do this to make sure that they have people with clean criminal history. Investigators would also use it as part of their case investigations.

In order to get a copy of any of the public document in the state of Florida, one has to prepare fees for the retrieval process. Fees would vary depending on the document being requested as well as the place of request. The basic detail about the record that is being obtained has to be known and indicated on the request form. Although, the documents are opened to the public, only the person himself and his immediate family are allowed to request for the documents. This is the reason why the application form required individuals to provide their contact details. Getting a copy of a public document may take several days. Delays can be experienced if issues are faced during the retrieval process.

It is important that one knows where to request for the document in order to avoid delay. The Vital Statistics of the Department of Health is responsible for managing the birth, marriage, divorce and death records of Florida. The Department of Public Safety office is the one that manages the criminal records of the state. The county clerk and county court house can also provide the record if the state office is too far. Mail order can also be sent to the office but this can take longer. The long wait time can be avoided if the search is done online.

Online retrieval of public records is now possible and has made the retrieval process easy. Not only that it is convenient but it is also fast compared to requesting it from the office. All it takes is to fill out the online form and after submitting it, the needed information is displayed in just seconds.




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