Searchadex is a free public records directory linking to official government portals for property records, court records, business filings, vital records, and more. Every link goes to a verified government or official source. Used by legal professionals, researchers, journalists, and anyone doing due diligence.
Last Updated: June 2026 · Reviewed quarterly by the Searchadex editorial team.
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Find out who owns a property, see deeds, parcel data, and assessed value through official county portals.
Look up federal cases on PACER and state and county case dockets through official judiciary portals.
Verify an LLC or corporation's status and registered agent via official Secretary of State filings.
Search free official state databases for forgotten bank accounts, checks, and deposits in your name.
Public records are documents and information created or held by government agencies that are open to public inspection by law. There are over 2.5 billion public records in the United States, maintained across roughly 3,000 counties and thousands of federal and state agencies. They exist to keep government transparent and to let citizens verify ownership, status, and history without special permission.
Public records fall into broad families: real-property records (deeds and assessments), court and criminal records, business filings with each state's Secretary of State, vital records (births, deaths, marriages, divorces), voter registration data, and financial records like unclaimed property. Access is guaranteed by laws such as the federal Freedom of Information Act and the public-records acts every state has enacted.
Not everything is public. Sealed and expunged criminal records, juvenile and adoption files, most medical and tax records, and national-security material are protected. The line between open and closed records is set by statute and varies by record type and state — which is why knowing the correct official source matters.
Public records are documents or pieces of information created by government agencies that are not confidential and are open to inspection by the public. They include property deeds, court filings, business registrations, vital records, voter rolls, and more, maintained at the federal, state, and county levels.
Most public records are free to search through official government portals. Some agencies charge small fees for certified copies of underlying documents, but viewing and searching the records themselves is almost always free.
The best approach is to go straight to the official government source — the Secretary of State, county recorder, court, or state agency that maintains the record. Searchadex is a free directory that links you directly to those official portals instead of charging for resold data.
Search the County Assessor or Property Appraiser website for the county where the property is located, using the address or parcel number. The 'owner of record' is listed there at no cost.
Yes. Federal cases are searchable through PACER (fees waived under $30 per quarter), and most states offer free online case search through their judiciary or county clerk websites.
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) is the federal judiciary's official case-search system. Registration is free and viewing fees are waived if you accrue under $30 in a calendar quarter.
Search the Secretary of State business entity portal for the state where the business is registered. Enter the legal name to see status, registered agent, and formation date — all free.
Partly. Death records and older birth records often become public, but recent birth and death certificates are restricted to the person and immediate family for a set number of years to prevent identity theft.
Sealed and expunged criminal records, juvenile records, adoption records, most medical and tax records, attorney-client privileged material, and certain law-enforcement and national-security files are not public.
Professionals go directly to the authoritative government source for each record type, verify identity carefully, and use FCRA-compliant providers when a search is for employment, housing, or credit decisions.
Official portals are perfect for verifying a single record. When you need compiled reports — combined people search, contact data, or multi-source background information — these professional lookup tools go further. They are paid services, not government sources.
People search, contact info, and background reports.
Reverse phone, email, and people lookup.
Background checks and public-records reports.
Disclosure: links to professional tools are affiliate links. Searchadex may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you. These are not government sources, and results are not FCRA-compliant for employment, housing, or credit decisions.
Occasional updates when we add new record types, states, or official portals. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.