Learn How to Access the Virginia Public Records.

Virginia conforms to the guidelines laid down by the Freedom of Information Act. As such, it has to make accessible to the public all civil and criminal records that are not confidential or sensitive, have expunged, or involve juvenile individuals. Thus the law applies to vital records like birth, death and marriage certificates, criminal records like sex offender information, inmate records, and driving history abstracts.

Virginia public records are held, maintained, and regularly updated by government agencies like the Department of Corrections, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, the various courts in the state, and the Office of Vital Records. These records are usually posted on the respective department’s web site or can be accessed from their respective offices. So it is wise not to acquire information from the commercial websites which can be found on the Internet.

How to Access VA Public Records

Vital records like birth, death, and marriage certificates are held by the Office of Vital Records under the Virginia Department of health and you can access them via any of the three ways: mail, express delivery, or walk-in. The address for mailing is VDH, Office of Vital Records and Health Statistics, P.O Box 1000, Richmond, Virginia 23218-1000. You can visit their office at The Shops at Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, Suite 275, Richmond, VA 23230. A customer service officer is available to answer your queries at (804) 662-6200. Detailed instructions on how to go about these Virginia public records search are listed on http://www.vdh.state.va.us/vital_Records/index.htm.

The Virginia Department of Corrections maintains detailed records on the inmates housed in the various correctional facilities of the state or are under supervised parole. These can be accessed using the Offender Locator tool available on http://www.vadoc.state.va.us/offenders/records/records.shtm. You can also call the Inmate Locator Desk at (804) 674-3131 to inquire about an inmate’s location and expected date of release. Some kinds of information can be obtained only if the inmate permits in writing. You will have to request in writing and send your request to the Central Criminal Records Manager, P.O Box 26963, 6900 Atmore Drive, Richmond, Virginia 23261-6369.

Megan’s Law makes it mandatory for all US states to put up in the public domain all information related to registered sex offenders in the state. Virginia public records related to sex offenders are posted at http://sex-offender.vsp.virginia.gov/sor/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/policy.html?original_requestUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsex-offender.vsp.virginia.gov%3A80%2Fsor%2http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/FzipSearch.html&original_request_method=GET&original_request_parameters.

Search the public records in Virginia, if you have to find out about the status of your driving license or want to obtain a certified copy of your driving record. You can view your driving records at the web site maintained by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, which is https://www.dmv.state.va.us/dmvnet/common/pin_option_ques.asp.

Virginia Court Case Records

The offices of the various courts in Virginia, like the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the circuit, district, juvenile and domestic relations courts, also post records of active and dismissed cases on the Internet. You can access case status and information details using the case management system available from http://www.courts.state.va.us/caseinfo/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/home.html. You can search using a variety of parameters like the name, case number, date of filing, or the hearing date.