Purchasing Resources for Ohio Public Records

Making the Most of Ohio Public Records

Find information on individuals or property with OH public records
By Emmet McMahan

Making the most of Ohio 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 information on. For example, if you are seeking Ohio criminal records 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 Ohio:

1. OH 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 perform an Ohio background check on prospective employees.

2. Ohio vital records such as 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 Ohio court records from local government agencies

City and county clerks in Ohio can frequently provide a great deal of current information on an individual when you know their name and address.
Try: 

The Ohio Government website lists links to all of the courts in Ohio under the Judicial Branch link. exploreohio has the official website of each city in Ohio and also provides a search function for the website.

Learn more about the laws regarding Ohio public records

The records that are publicly available vary widely by state. You will want to have at least a general idea of what information you can expect to find before conducting your search.
Try: 

The Ohio Attorney General provides the current Sunshine Laws for Ohio in addition to other documents related to public records. The Ohio Department of Public Safety allows the public to obtain driving records.

Perform searches of specific databases of Ohio public records

Many cities and counties in Ohio maintain a variety of records on individuals and property that are freely available to the general public.
Try: 

Montgomery County gives a detail description of the procedures for obtaining public records. Wayne County provides public records for the common pleas court and municipal courts within its jurisdiction.

• Exhaust free sources of information before you consider paying for Ohio marriage 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.