Making the Most of Minnesota Public Records

Find information on individuals or property with MN public records

Making the most of Minnesota public records will require you to have a guide or referral. You can conduct Internet searches of many government agencies for free but you will spend a lot of time looking at irrelevant links and websites if you have no idea where to start.

You will first need to obtain some basic information on the individual or property you are seeking Minnesota criminal records on. For example, if you are seeking information on an individual, it will be helpful to know some addresses where that person has previously lived.

There are three general types of public records in Minnesota:

1. MN criminal records that include files on registered sex offenders, past convictions or current information on current inmates in a particular prison. These records can help you investigate individuals such as prospective employees.

2. Non-criminal public records such as Minnesota bankruptcy records, census records, consumer protection information or legislation minutes. You may find these records helpful when researching a product or political candidate.

3. Real estate records like property appraisals, ownership and taxes. These types of records can be useful when buying or selling a home.

 

Find a Minnesota public record from local government agencies

City and county clerks in Minnesota can frequently provide a great deal of current information on an individual when you know their name and address.
Try: The Minnesota Judicial Branch provides contact information for each court in Minnesota and allows you to locate courts by district, zip and county. Minnesota North Star lists links of the websites for the cities in Minnesota alphabetically by city.

Learn more about the laws regarding Minnesota public records

The records that are publicly available vary widely by state. You will want to have at least a general idea of what free Minnesota public records you can expect to find before conducting your search.
Try: Minnesota Lawyers discusses the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and provides links to specific Minnesota FOIA. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has extensive information regarding the disclosure of driver information.

Perform searches of specific databases of Minnesota public records

Many cities and counties in Minnesota maintain a variety of records on individuals and property that are freely available to the general public.
Try: The County Recorder and Registrar of Titles for Hennepin County provides detailed instructions for viewing the public records within its possession. The Auditor/Treasurer’s Office for St. Louis County allows a search of property records by a variety of criteria.

 

• Exhaust your search for free Minnesota court records. Sites that charge a fee may only provide information you could obtain elsewhere for free. Fortunately, libraries frequently subscribe to services that you would normally need to pay a fee to access. You should also bear in mind that many public records are simply not available online.

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