Public Records Databases and How to Use Them

PostedSeptember 16, 2026

UpdatedSeptember 16, 2026

ByEpsteinWiki

What Is a Public Records Database?

A public records database organizes documents or data created, received, or maintained by courts, government agencies, public officials, regulators, and other legally recognized record keepers.

Some databases provide images of original filings. Others provide indexes, summaries, or data extracted from underlying records. The distinction matters. An original deed, complaint, corporate filing, or campaign finance report generally carries more evidentiary value than an aggregator’s summary of that record.

Public records are not necessarily free. PACER charges for many federal court searches and documents. County recorders may charge for official copies. Some state courts require registration or provide only docket summaries online.

Public records are also not automatically accurate. A form may contain a mistake, outdated address, incorrect spelling, or statement supplied by an interested party. The fact that a document is official establishes its source, not the truth of every statement inside it.

Public Records Research Workflow

Define the question before opening a database. Examples include identifying a company’s manager, locating a lawsuit, tracing a property transfer, or confirming an aircraft owner.
Identify the jurisdiction. Court, company, property, marriage, licensing, and campaign records are usually organized by a specific federal, state, county, municipal, or international authority.
Search broad variations first. Try full names, initials, former names, entities, addresses, and associated people.
Narrow by date, location, record type, and identifier.
Open the underlying record. Do not rely only on the search results page.
Read the entire relevant filing, including attachments, amendments, handwritten notes, stamps, and later corrections.
Preserve the original file and record the source information.
Compare the result with at least one independent source when the claim is important.
Separate confirmed facts from interpretations and unresolved questions.
Recheck the database before publication because cases, companies, licenses, and registrations can change.

Epstein Records Databases

Epstein Data

Epstein Data provides searchable access to EFTA records, House Oversight documents, emails, transcripts, photographs, flight records, entity information, and related productions.

How to use it: Search an exact name in quotation marks, then repeat the search without quotation marks and with known spelling variations. Open every relevant document and examine the surrounding pages. Cite the EFTA or House Oversight identifier rather than citing only a search result.

Best use: Finding where a person, company, address, aircraft, account, or phrase appears across the released Epstein records.

Important limitation: Optical character recognition can misread names, dates, handwriting, dollar amounts, and table columns. Always compare extracted text with the scanned page.

United States Department of Justice Epstein Library

The Justice Department Epstein Library is an official source for federal releases relating to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

How to use it: Locate the official release, download the original file, record the production title and date, and compare the official copy with searchable versions hosted elsewhere.

Best use: Confirming that a document came from an official Justice Department release.

Important limitation: Government publication proves that the document was released. It does not prove every allegation contained inside the document.

FBI Vault

The FBI Vault provides Freedom of Information Act releases from FBI files.

How to use it: Download each numbered part, record the FBI file and page numbers, and search locally with optical character recognition. Review redaction codes and repeated pages.

Best use: Locating historical FBI reports, correspondence, administrative records, and previously released investigative material.

Important limitation: A Vault release may be incomplete, heavily redacted, or reorganized for disclosure. Page order and context require careful review.

CourtListener RECAP

CourtListener RECAP provides free access to millions of federal court filings previously downloaded from PACER.

How to use it: Search party names, case numbers, attorneys, judges, courts, and quoted language from a filing. Open the docket before reviewing individual documents so the filing can be placed in procedural context.

Best use: Finding free copies of complaints, motions, exhibits, transcripts, and orders.

Important limitation: RECAP coverage is incomplete. A missing document may still be available through PACER.

Federal Court Databases

PACER

PACER is the official electronic access system for United States federal district, appellate, and bankruptcy courts.

How to use it: Create an account, search the nationwide index, identify the correct court and case number, then open the individual court docket. Download the docket report before downloading documents so you retain filing numbers, dates, descriptions, and case status.

Search fields: Party name, case number, court, date range, case type, attorney, and nature of suit.

Best use: Obtaining the most current federal docket and authoritative copies of filed documents.

Important limitation: Fees can apply. Sealed documents, restricted filings, grand jury material, and some older records are unavailable.

PACER Case Locator

The PACER Case Locator is a nationwide index of federal cases.

How to use it: Search a surname, company, trust, or law firm across all federal courts. Narrow the results by court, date, and case type. Use the returned court and case number to open the complete docket in PACER.

Best use: Finding an unknown federal case location.

Important limitation: Similar names can produce false matches. Confirm identity through addresses, attorneys, filing dates, and allegations.

CourtListener Opinions

CourtListener provides free court opinions and legal research tools.

How to use it: Search a party name, judge, citation, legal issue, or quoted sentence. Use cited cases and docket links to move from an opinion to the underlying litigation.

Best use: Finding judicial findings, appellate decisions, precedent, and references to related cases.

Important limitation: An opinion may discuss only one issue in a larger case. Read the docket and later appellate history.

United States Supreme Court Dockets

The Supreme Court docket search provides petitions, briefs, orders, responses, and case status.

How to use it: Search by docket number or party name. Review the questions presented, lower court history, filings, and final disposition.

Best use: Tracking Supreme Court petitions and appeals such as requests for review of federal appellate decisions.

Important limitation: A petition appearing on the docket does not mean the Court accepted the case or agreed with the petitioner’s claims.

National Archives Court Records

The National Archives court records guide helps locate older federal records transferred from active courts.

How to use it: Identify the court, case number, approximate date, and Federal Records Center. Follow the ordering instructions or contact the relevant archive.

Best use: Obtaining older files that are not digitized in PACER.

Important limitation: Many records require manual retrieval, copying fees, or an onsite visit.

State and Local Court Databases

Every state operates its own court structure. Some states provide a single statewide search. Others divide access among appellate courts, trial courts, counties, clerks, and subscription systems.

How to use them: Begin with the official state judiciary website. Search the party name and variations, then identify the county, case number, and court division. If documents are not available online, contact the clerk and request the docket or specific filings.

Common record types include:

Civil complaints and answers
Criminal informations and indictments
Motions and orders
Probate and estate proceedings
Family court dockets
Appeals
Judgments and liens
Administrative appeals

Important limitation: Online coverage can differ by county and year. A statewide name search may omit sealed, expunged, archived, or locally maintained records.

Florida Courts

The Florida Courts website provides links to appellate courts, opinions, rules, forms, and local clerk systems.

How to use it: Determine whether the case belongs in a county court, circuit court, district court of appeal, or the Florida Supreme Court. Use the relevant clerk’s system for trial filings.

Palm Beach County Clerk

The Palm Beach County Clerk maintains court and official records central to many Epstein related cases.

How to use it: Search civil and criminal records by party or case number. Search official records separately for deeds, mortgages, liens, and recorded documents.

Important limitation: Protected survivor information, sealed filings, and older images may not be publicly available.

New York State Courts

New York State Unified Court System services provide case searches for different court levels and case types.

How to use it: Select the correct search system, including WebCivil Supreme, WebCriminal, appellate case search, or eCourts. Search names and index numbers.

Important limitation: New York court databases are divided by case type and court. One search does not cover every record.

Government Records and Archives

FOIA.gov

FOIA.gov provides agency contacts, request guidance, annual data, and federal Freedom of Information Act resources.

How to use it: Identify which agency likely created or controls the record. Write a request describing the record type, people, offices, date range, and known identifiers. Ask for electronic delivery and request a fee waiver when justified.

Best use: Requesting unreleased federal agency records.

Important limitation: FOIA does not require agencies to answer questions, create new records, or release exempt information.

National Archives Catalog

The National Archives Catalog indexes federal records, photographs, maps, audiovisual material, and agency collections.

How to use it: Search names, agencies, subjects, dates, locations, and record group numbers. Read the full archival description even when the records are not digitized.

Best use: Finding historical government collections and identifying which archive controls them.

GovInfo

GovInfo provides authenticated federal publications.

How to use it: Search hearings, committee reports, statutes, bills, the Congressional Record, court opinions, presidential documents, and agency publications.

Best use: Citing official government publications and historical legislative material.

Congress.gov

Congress.gov provides legislation, votes, nominations, committee reports, member information, and hearing records.

How to use it: Search a bill number, name, phrase, committee, sponsor, or date. Review actions, amendments, text versions, votes, and related documents.

Federal Register

The Federal Register publishes rules, notices, agency meetings, proposed actions, and regulatory documents.

How to use it: Search an agency, organization, person, program, or exact phrase. Filter by date and document type.

Government Accountability Office

The Government Accountability Office publishes audits, investigations, legal decisions, bid protest decisions, and reports on agency performance.

How to use it: Search an agency, contractor, program, policy, or report number. Follow citations to statutes, contracts, and earlier audits.

Inspectors General

The Council of the Inspectors General directory links to federal inspector general offices.

How to use it: Identify the inspector general responsible for an agency, then search that office for audits, investigative summaries, management alerts, and semiannual reports.

CIA Reading Room

The CIA Freedom of Information Act Reading Room contains declassified and previously released intelligence records.

How to use it: Search names, organizations, countries, subjects, document numbers, and date ranges. Download the original scan and record the release information.

Important limitation: Declassified intelligence can contain unverified reporting, source claims, assessments, or foreign propaganda. Classification history does not guarantee factual accuracy.

Corporate and Business Databases

SEC EDGAR

SEC EDGAR provides filings from public companies, investment funds, executives, and regulated issuers.

How to use it: Search the company or person’s name. Review annual reports, quarterly reports, current reports, beneficial ownership filings, registration statements, proxy statements, and exhibits.

Useful forms:

Form	Common use
10 K	Annual business, ownership, risk, and financial information
10 Q	Quarterly financial and operational information
8 K	Significant events and agreements
DEF 14A	Executive pay, directors, shareholders, and voting matters
Forms 3, 4, and 5	Insider ownership and transactions
Schedule 13D or 13G	Large beneficial ownership positions
Form ADV	Investment adviser information

Important limitation: EDGAR primarily covers regulated securities activity. A private company may have little or no EDGAR presence.

State Secretary of State Registries

Each state maintains its own corporation and limited liability company registry.

How to use it: Search the exact entity name and partial variations. Review formation dates, status, registered agents, managers, officers, addresses, amendments, mergers, and dissolution records.

Best use: Confirming that an entity existed and identifying its formal filings.

Important limitation: Registered agents and filing addresses may be service providers. They are not automatically beneficial owners or operating locations.

Delaware Division of Corporations

The Delaware Division of Corporations provides basic entity searches.

How to use it: Search the entity name to confirm file number, formation, and status. Order additional filings when necessary.

Important limitation: Delaware public results usually reveal less ownership information than many researchers expect.

Florida Division of Corporations

Sunbiz provides Florida corporate, limited liability company, partnership, fictitious name, and officer information.

How to use it: Search names, officers, registered agents, addresses, and document numbers. Open annual reports and document images.

New York Corporation Search

The New York Corporation and Business Entity Database provides entity status and filing information.

How to use it: Search exact and partial names. Review entity type, formation date, jurisdiction, service address, and status.

OpenCorporates

OpenCorporates aggregates corporate records from many jurisdictions.

How to use it: Search companies, officers, addresses, and related entities. Use the result to identify the official registry and company number, then verify the information with the government source.

Important limitation: Aggregated data can be incomplete, delayed, or incorrectly matched.

Companies House

Companies House provides United Kingdom company records.

How to use it: Search company names, officers, and addresses. Review filing history, accounts, confirmation statements, charges, directors, and persons with significant control.

GLEIF Legal Entity Identifier Search

The GLEIF search provides Legal Entity Identifier data.

How to use it: Search a company name or identifier. Review registered names, addresses, registration authorities, status, and reported parent relationships.

Important limitation: Not every entity has a Legal Entity Identifier, and reported relationships may be limited by accounting rules or disclosure exceptions.

ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database

The ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database contains entities, officers, intermediaries, and addresses drawn from major offshore investigations.

How to use it: Search names, companies, trusts, addresses, jurisdictions, and intermediaries. Open the network view and source description.

Important limitation: Inclusion does not imply illegal conduct. Confirm the identity and underlying transaction before publication.

OCCRP Aleph

OCCRP Aleph provides access to international corporate, legal, sanctions, and investigative datasets.

How to use it: Search names in several alphabets and spelling variations. Filter by dataset and jurisdiction. Save the original source referenced by the result.

Nonprofit and Foundation Databases

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer

Nonprofit Explorer provides searchable Form 990 data and filing images.

How to use it: Search the organization, employer identification number, officer, or location. Review revenue, expenses, officers, compensation, grants, contractors, related entities, and schedules.

Important limitation: Filing years can lag. A grant listed in one year may have been approved, paid, or reported on a different schedule.

IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search

The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search is the official source for exemption status, determination letters, revocations, and available returns.

How to use it: Search by organization name or employer identification number. Confirm legal name, status, and filing history.

Candid GuideStar

Candid provides nonprofit profiles, Form 990 records, program descriptions, officers, and financial information.

How to use it: Search the formal name and employer identification number. Compare profile claims with IRS filings.

State Charity Registries

State attorneys general, consumer protection offices, or agriculture departments often maintain charity registration databases.

How to use them: Search the charity name, fundraiser, officer, or registration number. Review financial reports, solicitation registrations, enforcement actions, and status.

Property and Real Estate Databases

County Property Appraisers and Assessors

Property appraiser and assessor databases provide parcel information, assessed value, ownership names, building details, and tax exemptions.

How to use them: Search the owner, address, parcel number, or company. Record the parcel identifier and use it to locate deeds and mortgages in the recorder’s database.

Important limitation: Assessor information can lag after a sale and may use mailing owners rather than beneficial owners.

County Recorders and Official Records

County recorders, registers of deeds, and clerks maintain deeds, mortgages, liens, satisfactions, easements, judgments, and other recorded instruments.

How to use them: Search both grantor and grantee names. Search company variations, trusts, addresses, parcel numbers, and date ranges. Open the document image and inspect legal descriptions, signatures, witnesses, notaries, and recording stamps.

Best use: Establishing the legal transfer history of a property.

New York City ACRIS

ACRIS provides New York City property records for Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, with separate limitations for Staten Island records.

How to use it: Search parties, parcel identifiers, addresses, document types, and recording dates. Download the cover page and complete document.

Bureau of Land Management General Land Office

The General Land Office Records database provides historical federal land patents and survey records.

How to use it: Search a name, state, county, land description, or accession number.

Planning, Zoning, and Building Permit Portals

Municipal and county portals may contain construction permits, inspections, zoning applications, architectural plans, contractor names, and code enforcement records.

How to use them: Search by address, parcel number, owner, contractor, project number, and date.

Financial and Professional Databases

FINRA BrokerCheck

BrokerCheck provides professional histories for securities brokers and firms.

How to use it: Search a person or firm. Download the complete report and review employment, registrations, examinations, customer disputes, criminal disclosures, regulatory actions, and terminations.

Important limitation: A disclosure is not always a finding. Read its status, disposition, and explanatory material.

Investment Adviser Public Disclosure

The Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database provides Form ADV records for investment advisers.

How to use it: Search the adviser, firm, registration number, or location. Review ownership, private funds, clients, assets, affiliations, offices, and disciplinary disclosures.

FDIC BankFind Suite

BankFind Suite provides information about federally insured banks.

How to use it: Search bank names, certificates, locations, branches, mergers, failures, and historical names.

National Provider Identifier Registry

The National Provider Identifier Registry identifies health care providers and organizations.

How to use it: Search a provider name, organization, location, taxonomy, or identification number. Use the result to confirm professional identity and practice information.

Important limitation: An active identifier does not prove that a license is active. Confirm status with the relevant state licensing board.

State Professional License Databases

State agencies maintain records for physicians, therapists, nurses, attorneys, engineers, contractors, real estate professionals, and other licensed occupations.

How to use them: Search the full name and license number. Review status, issue date, expiration, specialty, business address, and public discipline.

State Bar Directories

State bar associations and supreme courts provide attorney registration records.

How to use them: Search an attorney’s name and review admission date, current status, law firm, jurisdictions, and public disciplinary history.

Political Money and Influence Databases

Federal Election Commission

The Federal Election Commission database contains federal campaign contributions, committees, candidates, expenditures, and filings.

How to use it: Search a donor name, employer, occupation, city, date range, committee, or amount. Review original filings when a contribution is significant.

Important limitation: Common names, inconsistent employers, joint accounts, refunds, and data entry mistakes can create false matches or misleading totals.

OpenSecrets

OpenSecrets organizes federal campaign finance, lobbying, outside spending, and political industry data.

How to use it: Use summaries to identify patterns, committees, industries, and reporting periods. Verify individual transactions through FEC filings.

Senate Lobbying Disclosure Database

The Lobbying Disclosure Act database contains federal lobbying registrations and reports.

How to use it: Search the client, registrant, lobbyist, issue, filing year, and report type. Review registration amendments and quarterly reports together.

Foreign Agents Registration Act Database

The FARA database contains foreign principal registrations, contracts, informational materials, activity reports, and payment disclosures.

How to use it: Search registrants, foreign principals, individuals, countries, and document types. Download the original filing and exhibits.

Important limitation: Registration establishes a disclosed relationship under FARA. It does not automatically establish espionage or criminal conduct.

Office of Government Ethics

The Office of Government Ethics provides public financial disclosure guidance and records for certain executive branch officials.

How to use it: Search financial disclosures, ethics agreements, divestiture certificates, and agency ethics information.

State Campaign Finance Databases

Every state maintains its own candidate, committee, expenditure, and contribution system.

How to use them: Search donors, candidates, committees, employers, addresses, amounts, and election cycles. Check amendments and refunds.

Government Spending and Contractor Databases

USAspending

USAspending provides federal contract, grant, loan, and assistance data.

How to use it: Search a recipient, parent company, agency, award number, location, program, or date range. Open the award profile and review modifications and subawards.

Important limitation: Agency reporting can be delayed or corrected. Award totals can represent obligations, outlays, potential values, or ceilings that should not be treated as interchangeable.

SAM.gov

SAM.gov provides federal entity registrations, contract opportunities, assistance listings, and exclusions.

How to use it: Search legal business names, unique entity identifiers, former names, addresses, and exclusions.

Federal Procurement Data System

The Federal Procurement Data System provides detailed federal contract information.

How to use it: Search vendor names, agency offices, contract numbers, product codes, dates, and award descriptions.

State and Local Checkbooks

Many state, county, and municipal governments publish searchable expenditure databases.

How to use them: Search companies, law firms, consultants, nonprofits, landlords, and individuals. Record payment dates, agencies, funds, descriptions, and vendor identifiers.

Aviation Databases

FAA Aircraft Registry

The Federal Aviation Administration Aircraft Registry provides registration information for United States aircraft.

How to use it: Search the tail number, manufacturer name, model, serial number, or owner. Compare registration dates, ownership names, addresses, and status.

Best use: Connecting aircraft registrations to holding companies and manufacturer serial numbers.

Important limitation: The registered owner may be a trust, limited liability company, lender, or title company rather than the beneficial user.

FAA Airmen Inquiry

The FAA Airmen Inquiry provides limited public certificate information.

How to use it: Search a pilot or airman’s name and location, then compare certificate information with employment and flight records.

Important limitation: Privacy protections and name ambiguity limit what can be established.

NTSB CAROL

The National Transportation Safety Board CAROL database provides accident and investigation records.

How to use it: Search tail numbers, aircraft models, operators, locations, dates, and event numbers. Review factual reports, probable cause findings, and attached records.

Customs and Border Records

Customs records may appear in court exhibits, congressional productions, Freedom of Information Act releases, and the Epstein flight index rather than in one complete public portal.

How to use them: Compare aircraft registration, date, departure, arrival, crew, passengers, and source document. Separate an advance passenger record from proof that a flight was completed.

Maritime Databases

United States Coast Guard PSIX

The Coast Guard Port State Information Exchange provides vessel identification, inspection, casualty, and enforcement information.

How to use it: Search vessel names, official numbers, International Maritime Organization numbers, callsigns, owners, and flags.

National Vessel Documentation Center

The National Vessel Documentation Center provides information concerning federally documented vessels and record requests.

How to use it: Use the vessel name or official number to request ownership and documentation information.

Important limitation: State registered boats and small tenders may not appear in federal documentation records.

International Public Records Databases

International research requires country specific registries, languages, date formats, company identifiers, and privacy laws.

Useful starting points include:

Database	Records	How to use it
Companies House	United Kingdom companies and officers	Search names, addresses, filings, charges, and significant controllers
European e Justice Business Registers	European Union company registry gateway	Select the jurisdiction and search the official national registry
GLEIF	International Legal Entity Identifiers	Search formal entity names and parent relationships
ICIJ Offshore Leaks	Offshore entities and intermediaries	Search names, entities, addresses, and jurisdictions, then verify identity
OCCRP Aleph	International corporate and investigative datasets	Search variations and open the underlying source record
OpenSanctions	Sanctions and politically exposed person datasets	Use as a lead and verify through the issuing government authority
United States Treasury Sanctions Search	United States sanctions records	Search names, aliases, entities, programs, and identification information

Inclusion in a corporate, offshore, politically exposed person, or sanctions related database must be described precisely. It does not automatically establish a crime.

How to Search Names Correctly

Names are among the least reliable public record identifiers. Researchers should search:

Full legal name
Middle name and middle initial
First initial with surname
Former surnames
Married names
Nicknames
Alternate transliterations
Reversed name order
Company and trust names
Known addresses
Registered agents
Employers
Associates
License, file, parcel, aircraft, vessel, or company numbers

When the name is common, build an identity table:

Field	Evidence to compare
Full name	Filings, licenses, court captions, and signatures
Date or age	Birth records where lawfully available, biographies, and professional history
Location	Addresses, employment, property, and court jurisdiction
Occupation	Licenses, company filings, biographies, and employment records
Associates	Officers, attorneys, family, business partners, and known contacts
Time period	Whether the person could have occupied the documented role on that date

Do not merge records merely because two people share a name.

How to Preserve a Public Record

For each important record, save:

The original PDF, image, spreadsheet, or data export
The complete docket or results context
The database name
The issuing agency or court
The search date
The search terms
The permanent URL
The document or filing number
The date of the record
The jurisdiction
A screenshot of the results context when useful
Notes explaining what the record establishes and what it does not

Do not rename a file in a way that destroys its original identifier. If a descriptive filename is needed, retain the original identifier within the new name or accompanying research log.

Evidence Strength by Record Type

Record type	What it can establish	What it may not establish
Court order	What the judge ordered or found	Every disputed fact in the case
Complaint	What a party alleged	That the allegation was proven
Deposition	What the witness said under oath	That the testimony was accurate
Corporate filing	What was reported to the registry	Beneficial control or daily operations
Deed	Recorded legal property transfer	Who actually occupied or controlled the property
Assessor entry	Tax parcel information	Complete ownership history
Campaign filing	Reported political transaction	Motive or illegal coordination
Professional license	Licensing status and public discipline	Every place the person worked
Aircraft registration	Registered aircraft owner	Beneficial user or every passenger
Vessel registration	Recorded vessel information	Every movement or person aboard
Government contract record	Reported award or payment	Complete performance or final profit
FOIA release	Record released by an agency	Truth of every statement within it

Common Public Records Mistakes

Mistaking a name match for an identity match

A common name can connect an unrelated person to a case, company, donation, property, or license. Confirm identity before publication.

Treating an aggregator as the original source

OpenCorporates, OpenSecrets, ICIJ, OCCRP, and similar projects are valuable discovery tools. Important claims should link back to the registry, filing, or document when possible.

Treating allegations as findings

A complaint, police report, intake form, or witness statement records an allegation. The article must state its procedural and evidentiary status.

Ignoring amendments

Corporate, campaign, lobbying, and court filings can be corrected. Review amendments, later orders, updated annual reports, refunds, and final dispositions.

Counting duplicate records as separate events

The same filing can appear in multiple databases or productions. Compare dates, numbers, language, and page images before counting it twice.

Assuming absence proves nonexistence

A missing result may reflect poor indexing, spelling differences, older paper records, privacy restrictions, sealing, or the wrong jurisdiction.

Publishing unnecessary personal data

Addresses, telephone numbers, account information, family details, and survivor identities should be redacted unless the specific detail is necessary, lawful, and in the public interest.

Fact Check

Claim	Assessment	Explanation
Public records are always free	False	PACER, county copies, archives, and certification services may charge fees
A government document is automatically true	False	Official records can contain allegations, errors, disputed statements, or unverified reporting
A court complaint proves misconduct	False	It records allegations made by a party
A dismissal means the allegations were false	False	Cases can be dismissed for procedural, jurisdictional, settlement, or evidentiary reasons
An active company is operating normally	Not established	Registry status does not prove current operations or financial condition
A registered agent owns the company	Usually false	A registered agent may only accept legal service
The person listed on a deed lived at the property	Not necessarily	Owners can be companies, trusts, investors, or absentee owners
A campaign donation proves a personal relationship	False	It establishes a reported transaction, not motive or intimacy
An aircraft owner flew on every flight	False	Registration does not identify passengers
Inclusion in an offshore database proves illegality	False	Offshore structures can be lawful, and identity must be confirmed
No database result means no record exists	False	Coverage, spelling, jurisdiction, digitization, and access restrictions create gaps
Public information can always be republished without harm	False	Ethical, privacy, safety, and legal considerations still apply

Survivor Centered Research Standards

Public records research should strengthen accountability without exposing survivors or unrelated private people.

Researchers should remove unnecessary addresses, contact information, medical details, account numbers, signatures, and identifying information concerning survivors. A detail should not be published merely because it appears on a public docket.

Survivor testimony should be described accurately and in context. Public records can corroborate dates, locations, companies, travel, employment, or property ownership. They should not be used to demand impossible documentary proof for every traumatic experience.

When a record concerns an allegation, the article should identify the speaker, source, date, procedural status, response, and limitations. When a court made a finding, the article should identify the court, judge, date, and exact nature of the finding.

Questions Researchers Should Ask

Which government office or court created the record?
Is this the original record or an aggregator’s summary?
Is the record current, amended, superseded, or archived?
Does the name match the correct person?
What jurisdiction controls the record?
What dates does the database cover?
Are images available, or only index data?
Does the record contain allegations, testimony, administrative information, or judicial findings?
Are attachments or exhibits missing?
Does another database contain a duplicate?
Has the record been corrected or challenged?
What does the record establish directly?
What remains an inference?
What information should be redacted before publication?
Is there a survivor safety concern?
Is there a more authoritative source available?
Has the record been preserved with its identifier and context?
What additional record would confirm or disprove the working theory?

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