More public record information is kept about you online and it is available to more people than ever before. This information is also used by more people, more often and affects you more than ever. You should have a basic understanding of Publicly Available Information. The first step is to define the terms and describe the various types of publicly available information.
Public Records
A public record is a record of an incident or action filed or recorded with a government agency for the purpose of notifying others – the “public” – about the matter. For example, the deed to your house recorded at the county recorder’s office is a public record – it is a legal requirement that you record with the county recorder. Anyone requiring details about your property may review or copy the documents. You want this information to be public to notify people that you are the legal owner and to protect your public interest in the property. This is also why it is important to be sure that the information is correct and up-to-date.
While public records, including criminal public records, are filed, recorded and stored by government agencies initially, it is important to note that much of this information is subsequently obtained by private companies and used to assemble various background and criminal history reports. These instant background check reports are bought by others and can affect your ability to get a job, loan-or date.
Public Information
This is information you furnish to facilitate public and private communication. An example of this would be your telephone number listing in the phone book.
Restricted Information
Some information is not available unless the requester has prior approval or the requestor qualifies based on the intended use of the record content. A good example of restricted information is your driving record or motor vehicle report. These reports are stored at an agency in every state, typically the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Literally millions of these records are reported every year to hundreds of thousands of different entities, namely insurers (for purposes of underwriting) and employers (for purposes of employment screening). And yet these records are certainly not “public records” and there are significant federal and state penalties for unauthorized access to these records.
Personal Information
“Personal Information” in this context has typically been defined as any information a person might consider private and confidential in nature such as Social Security Number, Date of Birth or address. That’s somewhat broad, and the key factor of whether information is “personal information” has come to hinge on the issue of whether the information identifies an individual. For example, Federal Law (under the Driver Privacy Protection Act) defines personal information as:
“…information that identifies an individual, including an individual’s photograph, social security number, driver identification number, name, address (but not the 5-digit zip code), telephone number, and medical or disability information, but does not include information on vehicular accidents, driving violations, and driver’s status.”
And even then, not all “personal information” is equally personal. A subset of personal information is “highly restricted personal information” and this information is defined as:
“…an individual’s photograph or image, social security number, medical or disability information.”
In general, most personal information will remain private to a limited extent unless it is disclosed to some outside entity that could make it public. Personal information may be found in public records, public information, and restricted information.
Conclusion
Public Records, Public Information and Restricted Information are often confused and blended together by the general public. Moreover, it should be noted that information may move from one category to another. For example, access to Driving Records has not always been nearly so restricted. In 1989, a deranged “fan” in California obtained the driving record of an actress, obtained the address from the record, went to the address and murdered the actress. This led to much greater restrictions on driving records.
But many people are still irritated to find “personal information,” even “highly restricted personal information” in public records and information. While much of this information is given willingly, it is still a good idea to check what public record information about you is available to the general public, should someone choose to run an instant background check or criminal records search about you.
