Many of us have not even heard of public record search. In reality, such information retrieval is practiced a great deal more than we think. Amidst the great tussle between the Freedom of Information and the Privacy Rights Acts, public records have made their way. It is believed that millions of searches relating to public records are made every month on every one of the major search engines. Background check, criminal, driving, birth, death, genealogy, marriage, arrest, property, military and court records are just some of the more commonly searched record categories.

Nowadays, public record searches are predominantly purposeful and specific. There's just no beating around the bush anymore. Casual browsers and snoopers are a dying breed. Except for categories such as background checks, criminal, genealogy, court records and so forth, all information are structured as detailed and specialized as they can get. Even so, such generic categories will inevitably zoom into further niche categories. For instance, background checks often lead to employment history and credit records, criminal records exploding into arrest, sex offender or even traffic violation records and court records finding marriage and divorce records in its path.

No matter which camp of the controversy you are in, Information, Privacy, or on the proverbial fence, public records are an invaluable information resource if you choose to utilize it. Searches can be conducted online, on site, mail, telephone or fax. It can be by DIY with the government offices directly, engaging investigation agencies, or subscribing to fee-based information brokers. Each method has its pros and cons. At the end of the day, it's the individual needs and circumstances that will determine the choice.

Engaging the government agencies directly on your own can be frustrating or rewarding, depending on where you are coming from. If process is more of the essence than the result itself, by all means, have fun. Otherwise, pass. Private agencies dispatching field investigators offer the most comprehensive, accurate and reliable service but are the most costly by far. Commercial databases are the fastest and most convenient. The danger of this option is their notoriety for sub-standard delivery or even outright scams. Whichever way you go, there are possibly wisdom or pitfalls.