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Public Records Online Request

By Claire Dowell


Obtaining Iowa Public Records means you have to head to the state's Office of the Attorney General and submit a request there. Citizens are granted access to the documents because they are part of the public domain, as stated in the Freedom of Information Act. However, not everything that is written on a public document is available for public access. Some are deemed confidential and are kept away from the public in order to maintain the right to privacy of other people. A person can only have full access to a document if he or she owns the document, is the lawyer of the owner, or has the consent from the people who has authority over the documents.

When searching for the documents, make sure that you have the proper request form. Head to the office of the Attorney General and ask which form you are supposed to be filling out or you can download it from their official website. Complete the form with the required details and send it back to the office with a valid ID and a list of your contact information. There are fees that you need to pay for the documents, payable by money order or a certified check. Fees are not subject for a refund regardless of the search results. If you are aware of the exact county and office has the documents you want to request for, you can also conduct your search there.

It takes around two to three weeks to for every search process. If that is too long for you, you can indicate that you want a rush service, but that means you have to pay extra. Be vigilant in checking the information you are providing when making a search. Make sure that they are accurate because that will increase the chances of locating the right file. Include a year, if you know it, to further trim down the search category.

Many people refer to public documents when they want to run a background check on certain people. Employers utilize the documents when choosing their employees because they want to hire not only skilled and talented people but also those who do not have any trouble with the law. Landlords utilize the documents for checking if applying tenants are safe to accept or not. Some even utilize them to check the background of their potential partners, including those who are about to enter marriage.

Another way you can obtain public records is through online service providers. There are a number of them on the Internet but not all of them can be considered as reliable. Remember that not all information that you find on the Internet are necessarily true. Prior to choosing, run a background check on the ones that you are considering of using. Try going over the reviews of past clients and see if the business has a reputation of being a reliable information provider.

There are two types of search tools you can find online where you can do a Records Search: those that require fees for their service and those that offer it for free. The former is capable of compiling an in-depth version of public files. And if you get lucky, it may sometimes include the confidential parts of the files. The latter can do enough research to get you the basic details of the files.




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