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What's
the "same day result" service?
If you place an order before 5:00 PM (PST) for background
checks, people
search, business
search, bankrutpcy
records, we
will send the search report back to you the same day
via email.
How is a
search conducted?
All of our search products access our extensive network
of third party public and private databases. Once you
enter the search criteria, our experts comb through
these databases in search of the person you are seeking.
The more accurate the search criteria you provide, the
higher the likelihood that we will find the individual.
We then provide a report to you with our findings.
What sources
of information does PUBLIC SEARCH use to find the person
I'm seeking?
Information reports come
from many public record filings, databases, public record
vendors, court records, state repository databases,
etc.
What are
public records and publicly available information?
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of databases contains information from three categories: |
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1. Public records are records
maintained by the government, such as court records.
2. Publicly Available
Records are records generally made available to the
public, for example, phone books.
3. Private Records are records, which private companies
create and maintain such as marketing lists. They are
not freely available to the general public.
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How is the information
in these databases collected? |
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In addition to government records, much of the information
in the databases searched is collected through "consumer
transactions." These are transactions such as applying
for a credit card, buying a magazine subscription, etc.
We do not report confidential information included in
these transactions, but do use the information to find
the individual and locate their most current reported
address. We also access information from county courthouses,
state and federal records, and professional licensing
organizations. |
How often are these
records updated? |
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We access various sources, each of which are updated at
frequent but different intervals. Typically, it takes
3 to 6 months for a new address to show in our records
after a person moves. |
Will someone know
if I run a search on him or her? |
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No. Our searches are completely confidential and the person
being searched for will not know a search has been performed
or who has performed it. |
Why should I use
PUBLIC SEARCH to search public records? |
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Although some of the data we provide is publicly available,
to gather it yourself would be expensive and time consuming.
Moreover, while the information may be publicly available,
it is not contained in any one specific location or database.
Thus, you would need to spend many hours searching various
individual databases to find the information that we have
consolidated for you. For example, courthouse records
are publicly available, but only if you request them in
person. Thus it is very inconvenient for you yourself
to seek these out over multiple counties and in different
states. However, PUBLIC SEARCH has a team of agents and
partners to do this for you. |
Which parts of the
country can I search public records through PUBLIC SEARCH? |
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PUBLIC SEARCH gathers
data from various state and private agencies, and our
network extends nationwide. Not all counties and states
report the same information. Please check the availability
of each specific report for more detailed information. |
How do I order
a search? |
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Just click on the product you want, and follow our simple
steps to tell us the information we will need to locate
the individual. |
How do I pay for
my search? |
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PUBLIC SEARCH accepts all major credit cards. You can
also pay by personal check, cashier check, or money order.
We don't store your credit card information. We use the
third party murchant vendor. |
What information
do I need in order to search for someone? |
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You can run a search with as little information as a person's
first name. However, the more information you provide
the greater the likelihood that we find the person you
are seeking. First name, last name, last known address,
state, date of birth, and approximate age are all very
useful and will increase your chances of success. |
Can you do a search
if I only have a woman's maiden name? |
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It will be difficult to locate an individual if they are
no longer using their maiden name, however, it is possible.
Having the exact date of birth, middle initial, or city
and state will increase your likelihood of success. The
uniqueness of their first name is also a factor. Any of
our non-Instant searches, for example, our People Locate
Search and Exhaustive Super Search, would be better for
this type of search. Also, you may try searching for a
known male family member who may have contact with the
individual. |
What type of information
would be useful to put in the "Additional Information"
section? |
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Information that is not required but would be useful to
our search agents include: How sure are you of the spelling
of the name? Is there an alternate spelling of their name?
Would they be using a nickname? How sure are you of the
date of birth? Is the name provided a maiden name? How
many years has it been since your last contact with this
person? What was their place of birth? |
Can you search
for people in other countries? |
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No. PUBLIC SEARCH only conducts searches in the United
States. |
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| What's
the difference between "Statewide" and "County"
criminal search? |
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of these searches involve criminal records, but the source
of information and the focus of each search is very different.
While it is possible for both products to yield the same
case information on a subject, your chances of finding
information will be greater if you follow these simple
guidelines: If you know or think a subject was tried for
a criminal offense in a particular county, choose county
criminal search. This is where the actual records filed
in that county are hand-checked by a qualified court records
researcher. If you know or think a subject was tried for
a criminal offense in a particular state, but don't know
the county, or if the subject has moved around a state
several times, try a statewide criminal Search. This search
has a much wider geographical focus. Not all counties
are required to report to the state, therefore statewide
information may not be available in states such as CA,
DE, NV, NY, SD and WVJ. In explanation, when a person
is convicted, their trial goes through the county. This
information can either be passed on to the state or left
in the county. Therefore, if you know the county the individual
is convicted, your chances of finding information is greater
than doing a statewide search. |
Can you search
for people from other countries currently living in the
United States? |
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Yes. If they have been living in the US for over a year,
they typically will show up in our network of databases. |
Can you search
for minors or public figures? |
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No. In order to protect the identities and safety of minors
and public figures, PUBLIC SEARCH does not provide searches
for these types of individuals. |
Do your reports
say where someone works? |
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No. No employment information is provided. |
Do your reports
provide credit history? |
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No. We do not provide this information to protect the
individuals from identity theft and to maintain their
privacy. |
Do your reports
provide Date of Birth and Social Security Number information? |
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No. In order to protect individuals from identity theft
and to maintain their privacy, PUBLIC SEARCH does not
provide this information. |
Do your reports
provide phone numbers? |
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Yes. If the phone number is in our network of databases
and, is not an unlisted number, we will provide it. |
Do you provide
financial records, such as bank account information? |
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No. We do not have access to this level of confidential
information. |
Do you guarantee
your results? |
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We will do our best to try to locate the individual you
are seeking. However, we are limited by the amount and
accuracy of the information that you provide. Moreover,
we are accessing records controlled by third parties,
and reporting the results to you. Since it costs us money
every time we perform a search, you are paying for our
service not the results. |
Why did you send
me back a list of names? |
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Sometimes many people match the
information you provided in the search criteria. If that
is the case, we will send you a list of all the matches
so that you can narrow down the search. Please select
the person you think is the individual you are seeking,
and/or provide additional information to refine your search,
and we will complete the search for that individual. |
I wasn't able to
find the person I was seeking. Can I provide more information
to help you search again? |
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Yes. If you are able to provide
us with more information within 14 days of your original
search we will re-run the search using the new information. |
Why is information
I already provided repeated in my report? |
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We provide you the most current
information that our network of public and private databases
provides. If we report back the same information that
you provided to us that means that the address is either
current, that the individual has not been generating any
consumer activity at another address, or that the information
may not yet have been updated in the databases we access
(this typically occurs every 3-6 months). If the individual
had been generating activity at another address, they
would have shown in our information network.
Common reasons why someone
may not be generating consumer activity include: incarceration,
death, and hospitalization. Also the individual could
be homeless, a fugitive, a minor, a temporary resident
in the US, temporarily staying with friends, or they
may have changed their name through marriage, etc.
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Why is there no
phone number? |
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If no phone number is returned
in the report, then the individual either has no telephone
in their name, or their number is unlisted. |
Billing/Customer Service |
I already placed
an order with PUBLIC SEARCH, but I have a question about
my charges. What should I do? |
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Questions can be addressed by
e-mailing customer service.
Please include your email address in your correspondence
if possible. |
What should I do
if I haven't found the person I'm seeking? |
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You should try to verify the information
you provided. For example, are you sure of the spelling
of their name and their date of birth? Also, try to gather
new information. Perhaps a common friend may know their
last known city and state. If you are able to gather new
information or refine your search criteria, depending
on the search you originally ordered, we can either re-run
your search or perform a search upgrade for a reduced
fee. |
I'm not happy with
my results. Can I get a refund? |
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We will do our best to try
to locate the individual you are seeking. However, we
are limited by the amount and accuracy of the information
that you provide. Moreover, we are accessing records controlled
by third parties, and reporting the results to you. Since
it costs us money every time we perform a search, you
are paying for our service not the results.
We value your business
and would like to ensure your satisfaction. If you feel
that we have made an error that we can correct please
contact customer service.
Please include your e-mail address in your correspondence
if possible.
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