Record Type Guides
Start with the record type that matches what you need. Each guide explains how that category of record is created, where it is maintained, and how to find it.
Public Record Search
An overview of how public records work and where to start depending on what you need.
Criminal Record Search
How criminal records are created at the county and state level and where they are accessible.
Arrest Record Search
How arrest records and booking entries are recorded and why coverage varies by county.
Court Record Search
How case filings move through court systems and where dockets are published.
Marriage Record Search
How marriage licenses are recorded at the county level and where to find them by state.
Divorce Record Search
How divorce filings are maintained in court systems and how to access them by jurisdiction.
Death Record Search
How death records are filed, what is publicly available, and where to find official sources.
How to Find Probate Records
Probate records are public but held county by county. Learn how to identify the right jurisdiction before contacting a courthouse.
How to Find Property Records
Property records are public in all 50 states. How to search county assessor and recorder databases by owner name or address.
Warrant Search
How to check for active warrants and where warrant records appear in public databases.
Military Record Search
What military service records are available to the public and how to request them.
Mugshot Lookup
How booking photos are published and why availability varies widely by county.
Find Someone in Jail
Federal, state, and county jails are three separate systems. This guide explains how each works and the fastest path to finding someone in custody.
People Search Guides
These guides explain how to narrow a search depending on what information you have — name only, name and city, relatives, or other identity clues.
Find Someone by First and Last Name
How to narrow results when you have a full name but need location or age clues to find the right match.
Find Someone by Name and City
How a city clue changes the search sequence and reduces noise significantly.
Find Someone With Just a Name
What to do when a name is the only clue and how to build context from limited information.
Confirm Someone's Identity
How to cross-reference city, age, and address history to confirm you have the right person.
Find Someone's Relatives
How relative connections appear in public records and how to use them as identity anchors.
Identify Someone Online
How to trace identity clues from online profiles back to verifiable public record sources.
Look Someone Up Online
How to start broad, layer identity clues, and move into the right record sources efficiently.
Find Someone's Middle Name
How a middle name or initial helps separate similar matches and confirm the correct person.
Find Public Records About a Person
How to choose the right record category and move from a broad search into specific sources.
Research Guides
These guides explain how to find specific types of information about a person — address history, phone numbers, employment, property, and more — and how public records fit into each search.
How to Find Information About Someone
Where to start, how to layer identity clues, and which record type fits the question you are trying to answer.
How to Find Someone's Address
How address history appears in public records and aggregator databases, and how to use it as a search anchor.
How to Find Property Records
County assessor and recorder databases are publicly searchable by owner name. The tax mailing address is often the most current contact source for property owners.
How to Find Probate Records
Probate records are public but held county by county. A people-search report is the right first step to identify which courthouse to contact.
How to Find a Will
A will is only a public record once filed with a probate court. Learn how to locate a filed will and what to do when the estate bypassed probate.
How to Find Adoption Records
More than half of states now allow adult adoptees to access their original birth certificate. Covers state access laws, registries, and DNA as an alternative path.
How to Find Someone's Phone Number
Why cell numbers require a different approach than landlines and how aggregators surface contact information.
How to Find Someone's Email Address
What sources help for professional email versus personal email, and where public records fall short.
How to Find Out Where Someone Works
How aggregators, licensing records, and business filings each surface employment information differently.
How to Find Someone's Social Media
How to use public records to establish identity anchors before searching social platforms.
How to Check Someone's Background
How to move from broad identity context into the specific record category that matches the question.
Research Someone Before Meeting
How to verify identity clues and surface public-record context before an in-person meeting.
How to Research a Person Online
A step-by-step approach to online research that moves from broad context into targeted record sources.
How to Find a Lost Friend
Social media finds the findable. Public records find everyone else — address history, phone numbers, and relatives that don't depend on an active online presence.
Find Biological Family After a DNA Match
DNA services identify the connection but don't provide a current address. How to use a name from a DNA match to find contact information through public records.
Search by State
Each state guide covers how court systems, public records laws, and county record offices are organized — with links to county-level guides where available. View all state guides → · Browse by county →
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does public records data come from?
Public records are generated and maintained by government entities at the county, state, and federal level. Court filings, arrest logs, property transfers, and death records all become part of the public record. People-search services aggregate this legally available information from those official sources.
Why do search results vary so much by county?
Records in the United States are primarily maintained at the county level. Counties differ significantly in how much they digitize, how far back records go online, and what they make accessible without a formal records request. A county with a modern court portal may have decades of filings online. A smaller county may require an in-person visit for the same information. The state and county guides on this site explain these differences for each jurisdiction.
What records are most useful when searching for a specific person?
It depends on what you are trying to confirm. Court records are often the most reliable for establishing location history. Arrest records and criminal records are useful when the goal is a broader public-safety picture. For identity confirmation, address history and relative connections are usually the fastest starting points.
Can I use these searches for jobs, housing, or insurance decisions?
No. The services discussed on this site are not consumer reporting agencies and the information they provide is not a consumer report. They should not be used for employment, tenant screening, insurance underwriting, credit, or any other purpose regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.