Public Records: Restrictions of Use

The public records are documents or files which are created and maintained for the sole purpose of public viewing. Public records hold a wide array of information, from legal records like court records and criminal records to census related documents like birth and death records, marriage and divorce records and statistical data related to population.

FOIA and PA

The Freedom of Information Act allows for a full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents which are controlled by the government of United States. As per the Act, the agency records are open and can be accessed by the general public.

The Act was enacted in the year 1966 to deal effectively with the requests for the government records with the belief that the general public of the country have the right to know about these records. The Privacy Act of 1974 in addition to this covered the government documents charting individuals.

The FOIA amendments regulate the government control of documents and it gives an individual right to see records of his or her, it also provides an individual with the right to amend a record if the information contained is inaccurate, irrelevant, incomplete and it also provides power to the individual to sue the government for violating the statute including the permission of others to see a record of another individual unless the Act specifically permits it.

Both FOIA and PA are used to extend the rights of an individual in gaining access to the information which are held by the government. The Office of Information and Privacy under the Justice Department and court in the federal districts are the two modes of appeal available in the hands of the information seekers.

Use of Records

The access to the public records is guided by the FOIA or the Freedom of Information Act. Every state in the country has its own version of FOIA guidelines. There are various degrees of public record accessibility between states, with some making it easy to request for records while others may have restrictions to access the records.

Public records are beneficial to people. The matters which are private like divorce cases, insurance lawsuits, voter registration or any other transactions which people make with the government or courthouse is entered into the public records and it is made available to the public. Criminal records which are available from the information agencies are often used by the employers to do background checks and it plays a vital role in the recruitment process.

The FOIA have made the following records available to the public:

- Criminal records
- Sex offender registration records
- Real estate appraisal records
- Minutes of legislation
- Spending report of government
- Information on consumer protection
- Business and professional license information
- Records of census
- Dockets of court cases

Public Records for Conducting Research:

The public records are the best information base for conducting research. The facts, figure and statistics required about a particular location is available in the public records. One can come across information related to land use laws, policies, maps, population statistics and others from the public records.

Public Records for Genealogical Information

With the online availability of genealogical information it has become easier for individuals to trace their lineage and find out about their forefathers. For getting a information about an individual’s lineage, one can conduct a marriage or a birth search in the respective state or county where their forefathers lived and will be provided with the required information.

Public Records for Background Checks

The public records are also used for background checks which include all criminal records of an individual and it is used by various organizations to screen candidates for jobs.

Restrictions of Record Usage

The Open Public Records Act or OPRA provides that government records are made easily accessible to the public for inspection, examination or copying by record requestors but with certain exemptions.

There are certain records which cannot be disclosed to the requestors of these records. The records which cannot be accessed by public are inter agency advisory, deliberative, consultative material, legislative records, records on law enforcement like medical examiner photos, criminal investigation records, victims’ records, proprietary commercial or financial information, trade secrets, records which falls within attorney client privilege, information regarding technical or administrative which is related to computer network, hardware and software, social security numbers, credit card numbers, unlisted phone numbers, driver license numbers, personnel and pension records and others. But these records disclosure can vary from state to state depending on the Open Public Records Act guidelines. Information on national defense and military records are also restricted for public to access.

Public Records Determination

One can determine for what purpose a public record can be used for or cannot be used from the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act. These acts clearly specify the use of a public record as per the federal rules.

The public records like genealogy, criminal, sex offender records, census records and others are accessible by the public and they can be obtained from courthouses and other agencies and other records which contain military records, defense information and records having personal records like social security records, financial records cannot be accessed by the public. These are given to the individuals on special requests. The Open Public Records Act of different states also mentions which records can be accessible to the public and which cannot be accessed.