Maryland Public Records Information

As per the guidelines of the Freedom of Information Act, US states have to make accessible to the public, all criminal records and court case records that have not been declared confident or sealed by the court, contain information that may jeopardize national security, or involve juvenile offenders or victims. The state of Maryland too conforms to the dictates of this law and as such, Maryland public records like birth, marriage, divorce and death records, driving, fishing and hunting licenses, drunk driving offense records, and court cases are easily accessible.

Accessing Maryland Public Records

Maryland is one of the members of the Interstate Driver’s License Compact. As per its guidelines, it is mandatory for the state law enforcement officers to share drunk driving convictions and driver license actions with other member states. This information is also housed in the central database maintained by the National Driver Registry (NDR).

To request a driver license check from this database, you have to download the FAA Form 8060-13 from http://forms.faa.gov/forms/faa8060-13.pdf, fill it out, and dispatch it via US mail to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, ATTN: Bureau of Records, Neil Kirkman Building, PO Box 5775, Tallahassee Florida 32314. You can also submit this form at the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles, but an MD records search using the previous method is speedier.

A NDR driving record contains the present status of the driving license, whether the license had been suspended or revoked, the location where the offense was committed within the last five years, and references to all drunk driving offenses committed within the past five years.

The Maryland Department of Corrections stores copious volumes of information on the various inmates housed in the many correctional facilities in the state. You may search for an inmate using the Inmate Locator search tool at http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/inmate/.

The Central Records System under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) contains a database of Maryland warrant records. These Maryland records are available at http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/foiaindex.htm.

You may also conduct a Maryland public records search for arrest warrants at FBI’s Reading Room situated at FBIHQ, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm. You will have to book the services of this facility before 48 hours, by calling at 202-324-4682.  You may also send your request to view a Maryland arrest warrant record to FBI, Record/Information Dissemination Section, 170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843.

The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services stores sexual offender information on their official web site and you can carry out a search at http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/sorSearch/.

Maryland court records have been put up on the official web sites maintained by the courts. It is easy to search Maryland records here since you can use various parameters to obtain results: the case number, the date of filing, the name of the plaintiff or the defendant, or the name of the attorney.

Reasons for Searching Maryland Records

Maryland public records have been made accessible as a public safety measure. It is your easiest way to ensure your safety before you let in a new tenant, hire a new employee, or entrust your company vehicle to a new driver.