By Ben Jen
Strictly on definition, public records are free, yes. After all, they are any documented information about people or things maintained by government agencies or public offices that are for public viewing. However, it's only free in the sense of being free-of-charge for its retrieval by the public. The cost of gathering and making it available is definitely not cost-free on the government or any other outfit by which they are delivered.Public records consist possibly of all particulars and identifiers pertaining to a specific individual or thing. More often than not, only specific records are of concern for a given instance and the different categories range widely from criminal to missing people to property to business and so forth. The amount of public records available out there is just humongous simply because there is demand for them. No wonder that their access is offered all over the shop, so to speak.
There are many so-called free sources of public records. Some are free-of-charge, some are partly so and many are just teasers and lures. Generally, those that are available from government offices are indeed free-of-charge. Some will require an administrative fee but they are typically very nominal. There are also many websites that offer them but they are not entirely straightforward. The catch at directory sites are usually something like links being free but access is chargeable. At many commercial databases, searches are free but download or reports are not. In any case, teaser or lure information is a common tactic and when hits are made, fees will be called.There's no free lunch in this world. Even those public records accessible from the government offices without a direct fee have been afforded on government budget ultimately paid for by taxpayers. On top of that, they are usually raw and scattered, requiring cost in other forms like effort and time. Then those tricky freebies, forget it! The time and effort in negotiating them are costs in themselves, albeit not money-wise.
The wisdom is you get what you pay for. If you didn't pay, chances are you won't get anything worthwhile. Go with a reputable professional provider. If they charge money, they must be worth their salt. If recommendation is needed, check out the review sites on the net. They are generally spot-on and yes, they take their cut in referral commission. They are not free.For more on Free Public Records and other related information, please visit http://gov-record.org
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Jen
http://EzineArticles.com/?Free-Public-Records,-Forget-It&id=970462
