There are numerous web resources that provide access to public records, or at least guidance to locating public records. The following is a brief list of resources that provide access to public records online or guidance on how to obtain access to public records.

• Annual Reports for Investors (http://www.annualreports.com): Annual reports are accessible in their original formats. The user can search by company name, ticker symbol, industry, or sector. There is also an alphabetical index of all companies providing reports. All reports are free, and no registration is required.
• Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org): Reliability reports are provided on complaints and other claims filed against registered companies. Users can learn if specific companies are reputable by performing searches on the business's name, address, phone number, or URL.
• BRB Publications Free Resource Center (http://www.brbpub.com/pubrecsites.asp): More than just a directory to free public records searching, the Free Resource Center also provides links to articles to assist users in public record searches. In addition, the "Public Record Newsroom" lists current items in the news relating to public records of all types.
• Construction Weblinks: Public Records (http://www.constructionweblinks.com/Industry_Topics/Public_Records/public_records.html): This is a directory of mostly free websites to help the user learn different types of information about specific companies in the United States. Websites are arranged alphabetically and include bankruptcy data, earnings reports, pending litigation, and license suspensions.
• EDGAR (http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm): The Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission organizes all corporate information that companies are required to submit to the SEC. Records users can access here include quarterly reports, registration forms, and other miscellaneous filings from 1996 to the present. All records on EDGAR are free with no registration required.
• NETROnline (http://www.netronline.com/public_records.htm): This directory links the user with the appropriate website for a particular state or county office, depending on the type of records they require. Its strength is the property assessment records for both business and residential properties.
• Pretrieve (http://www.pretrieve.com): This resource serves as a gateway to services on hundreds of websites that provide public records free of charge. Searches can be conducted by personal name, business name, address, or telephone number. For businesses, it provides financial, legal, trade-related, and research records, many as scanned images of originals. The user can view property records and even satellite imagery of both business and residential properties.
• Public Records Finder (http://www.publicrecordsfinder.com): Both business and personal public records are indexed in this comprehensive database. Nationwide searching is available, broken down by categories including business records, corporate tax forms, legal research resources, and professional licensing information.
• Search Systems (http://www.searchsystems.net): One of the most comprehensive sites for many different types of public records searches, from personal to corporate. It comprises nearly 35,000 databases, including those indexing OSHA claims, foreclosures, corporate reports, and several other business records. Databases are clearly labeled "Free" or "Pay" to avoid wasted time searching records one doesn't wish to pay for. One drawback to this website is the fact that unregistered users have a brief wait (approximately 20 to 30 seconds) for each database to load, during which ads are shown.
• Securities Class Action Clearinghouse (http://securities.stanford.edu): This database organizes all federal class action lawsuits from 1996 to the present. It provides the user with full text reports of all filings and complaints relating to each case. The database is indexed chronologically by file date, alphabetically by company name, and geographically by court of appeals.
• State and Local Government Website Index (http://www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm): Perhaps the most comprehensive online directory to government websites, this index provides the user with links to every department website imaginable for each level of government. The user is brought one step closer to the public records sought by being connected with the appropriate government agency, from statewide offices to the smallest branch of a city or township.

Additional Resources

For the individual or the small business entrepreneur, the local newspaper provides a wealth of public information. Many newspapers, for example, feature weekly real estate transactions for both commercial and residential properties that include purchase price, address, name of seller and buyer, and in the case of commercial properties, their zoning descriptions. Listings of bankruptcies, tax violations, crime reports, and health code violations are also frequently found in the local news. Newspapers are especially useful in locating information on privately held companies and local businesses that are not subject to the same regulation as publicly-traded companies.

M.L. Sankey and P.J. Weber. Public Records Online: The National Guide to Private & Government Online Sources of Public Records, 5th ed. Tempe, AZ: Facts on Demand Press, 2004. Public Records Online is a comprehensive primer for finding and using public records of all types. It discusses private and government resources for accessing public records, and includes state by state chapters on government online sources.

P.J. Weber and M.L. Sankey. The Sourcebook To Public Record Information, 7th ed. Tempe, AZ: BRB Publications Inc., 2005. The Sourcebook has comprehensive national coverage of public records. It includes profiles of thousands of government agencies and institutions with telephone numbers and fax numbers along with state and county maps. The Sourcebook also includes information about copying and certification fees.

Source: ALA @ http://tinyurl.com/f7ds9