Are accessible records really free to access by anyone?

Public records are accessible records unless some specific restrictions apply. Anyone interested in viewing public records is usually granted full access to these records. In some of the cases a formal request must be submitted at the agency maintaining the records you need to access.

Yet certain types of public records are not accessible records. For example juvenile records are not freely accessible to people. Adoption records can only be accessed by their owners or the parents of the owner and there may be even more state restrictions. Some public records are sealed and not available to anyone until they are unsealed by the court. Knowing if any access restrictions apply to the public records you need to obtain can greatly help your search.

How to obtain accessible records?

Public records with restricted accessibility can be viewed by filing requests at the court. You will need to have a good reason why you need the information in these records so that the court can consider granting you access to the records.

There are public records that can be obtained only after you get an authorization by their owners - many military records fall into this category. There are also many accessible records that can be viewed by anyone who in interested. These records can be obtained by the respective government agencies or via the internet. Such accessible records are also completely free to access.