dimanche 5 janvier 2014

Missouri Public Records Available Online

By Ben Kingsley


The state of Missouri is only one of the many states that have implemented the Freedom of Information Act. This means that the residents can request for any of the public records Missouri issues to its people. The records that the government keeps include the birth, death, marriage, divorce and criminal records.

Birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates are among the sources of information when conducting genealogy research. These documents can also prove one's identity especially when dealing with transactions in the government. Each document has its own purpose. Claiming the insurance of the decease would require a death certificate, while verifying the marital status of an individual can be checked from a marriage or divorce license. The criminal records are the primary source when conducting a background check. This is usually done by business owners to make sure that the people who work for tem have a clean criminal history.

All of the public documents of Missouri contain the personal information of the involved individual. The information that can be found would depend on the type of document it is. A marriage license would not contain information about the death of an individual since such information can only be found on a death certificate. Likewise, marriage records would not have details about the divorce of a couple because it only contains information about the marriage itself. Criminal records on the other hand, have details about the crimes and offenses that an individual has committed.

Although, these documents are public files that the residents of Missouri can request anytime, access to it is limited only to the involved individuals and their immediate family. The information that can be found on a public document is also limited only to the basic details about the event or incident. Sensitive information is kept private only to the people involved. A good example would be the reason for the divorce of a couple. It is not visible on a public record since it is one of the sensitive information that may affect the privacy of the couple. In criminal records, the names of the witnesses as well the investigator who handled the case are kept confidential to protect their security.

Retrieval of each document would follow certain guidelines. A processing fee has to be paid in order to get a copy of any document. Only birth, death, marriage and divorce which have been registered since the year 1909 are available in Missouri. One can go to the office of the Vital Records Section or the county clerk office in order to get family related documents while criminal records has to be obtained at the state's Department of Public Safety. One has to fill out the application form with the necessary information to help in the retrieval process. A mail request can also be sent to get copies of any document needed.

Government public records in Missouri can now be obtained online. There are several websites now that offer to do the search for you. Some offer it for free while other would charge certain fees. Fees may be higher than the usual but the convenience and the speed in the search process is priceless.




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