Friday, December 27, 2013

Missouri Public Records

By Ben Kingsley


Missouri has become an open state after the Freedom of Information Act was in place. This has made the public records Missouri generates for its people available for request any time that they need such documents. These documents include, but are not limited to: birth, marriage, death, divorce as well as criminal records.

Birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates are among the sources of information when conducting genealogy research. These documents can also prove one's identity especially when dealing with transactions in the government. Each document has its own purpose. Claiming the insurance of the decease would require a death certificate, while verifying the marital status of an individual can be checked from a marriage or divorce license. The criminal records are the primary source when conducting a background check. This is usually done by business owners to make sure that the people who work for tem have a clean criminal history.

The public documents that the state of Missouri issues to its people would contain the personal information of the one involved. The document has unique information that is related to the type of file it is. Death records would have information about when and where the person died while a marriage certificate would have information about the date and the place where a couple got married. One can find all of the crimes that an individual has committed on a criminal record.

Public records can only be released to the person himself or their relatives. Only the basic information can be obtained on the document. Details that may be sensitive and can affect the individual involved are kept away from public access. In a divorce record, one cannot find the reason why the separation was filed. In criminal records, the names of the witnesses are also hidden from the public to protect and secure them.

The retrieval of each document would follow certain guidelines. Fees have to be paid but it depends on the type of document being requested. Family related files are only released if the date it was registered is not earlier than 1909. The Vital Records Section of Missouri and the county clerk office are offices where family related files can be requested. The office of the Department of Public safety is the one responsible for managing the criminal records of the state. Application forms have to be filled out by the requesting individual and it can help if the basic information about the record being requested is provided. Mail requests can ales be made in order to get a copy of any of the public document that Missouri provides.

The state of Missouri now allows the retrieval of government public records through the Internet. A lot of websites even offer to search for the records on your behalf. There are sites that do it for free while others offer it for a reasonable charge. It may be a little expensive than doing it on your own directly at the office but it is faster and convenient.




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