Posted by Linda Juenger on 2/22/10 2:44pm
Msg #323789

County Court House charges to search

I went to our county court house to record a deed I notarized last week. First time I was asked to do this. Not a problem.

While I was there, I asked if I could see my notary page of past deeds online for our county. Yes, I can but there is a $5.95 charge per search. Yikes.
How many others out there pay for this public information service? Just wondering.

Reply by Shoshana/AZ on 2/22/10 2:47pm
Msg #323791

It's free in AZ. n/m

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 2/22/10 3:22pm
Msg #323797

Free to search in CA...

it's if you want to print anything that they start charging you.

I just go in to our local county clerk's office, and they have two computer terminals right at the door where we can sit and search. We don't even have to check in or ask or anything. At the main LA county clerk's office, there's an entire room just for this... but when I've gone there, same thing.... just walked in, sat down and off I went. I don't really need to get copies of these things. I just keep my notebook with me.

Reply by Pat/IL on 2/22/10 4:14pm
Msg #323803

Linda, I'm not sure which county you are referring to, but it may be that the search price is for the county employee to do the search for you. As far as I know, all of the Illinois Recorders' offices have public terminals (or maybe books only in the super duper podunk counties) available at no charge. In most that I know of, you can view an image of your documents, but you have to pay to get copies.

Reply by BrendaTx on 2/22/10 4:16pm
Msg #323806

Free to search myself.

I used to contract for companies doing this...$5.00-15.00 a name. I could make $100 easy at my lunch hour. And that was back in the 90's. Ah...the days before the internet! It was great.

Reply by John Schenk on 2/22/10 6:17pm
Msg #323824

Re: Free to search myself.

Yep, doesn't cost anything here either. In fact they have 4 computer stations for folks to go and do their own searching in the county clerk's office here. Of course whatever you want to print out they will charge you for that, but you can search all you want.

JJ

Reply by BrendaTx on 2/22/10 7:01pm
Msg #323829

I miss those days when they needed

people like me to go prowl the courthouse and check criminal records. It was good money made on my lunch hour...back in the day.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 2/22/10 7:14pm
Msg #323832

It is free for me also at the court house. They charge for

"Online" searching at home.

Reply by John Schenk on 2/22/10 7:27pm
Msg #323838

Re: I miss those days when they needed

Well, PublicData is not always that up-to-date, so I still go to the courthouse, or at least make a call to counties in which a Defendant may have been convicted in.

Tried like heck to serve a defendant lately, only to find him in the local pokey, which is where I served him. PublicData only shows final convictions, when they get around to updating their site. It's a great tool, don't get me wrong, but definitely doesn't replace making a few phone calls to the courthouse or the sheriff's office

JJ

Reply by MistarellaFL on 2/22/10 8:17pm
Msg #323852

I'm still doing courthouse searches

It's free to search in my counties, but $1/page/printing.

Reply by PAW on 2/22/10 7:34pm
Msg #323841

Most counties in Florida allow free "unofficial" searches via the internet. Online, verifiable, "official" document searches often have a print and/or download fee, usually by subscription to the search service. Subscriptions are $120/yr for 5 users. This allows document print/download for $2.00 each document instead of the $3.50 to $5.00 fee.

Reply by John Schenk on 2/22/10 7:36pm
Msg #323843

Said the WENT to the county courthouse, PAW. Maybe she went to the county courthouse SITE?

JJ

Reply by PAW on 2/22/10 7:45pm
Msg #323847

Either way, in person or not, it's the same. The terminals available have intranet connections that end up with the same search features for those public records that are on-line, which is 99% of them. Going to the county courthouse nowadays, in many counties in Florida, isn't beneficial since the state has been digitizing the public records for a few years now. Some online records go back 50 years or more. No more opening boxes and blowing the dust of the manila expandable folders.

Reply by John Schenk on 2/22/10 8:19pm
Msg #323853

We're not quite so automated here. We still have to go to the courthouse, or call a friend there in the clerks office, to get that stuff. Not searcheable online here, but is at the courthouse on the terminals they have.

I luckily have friends in virtually every office at the courthouse here so it's pretty easy for me, and at no cost for me. They email it to me for free, where other folks go look it up (which is free) but charge them to print it. I get charged too, if they print it at the courthouse...that's a county mandated charge, but I get a few little favors by getting stuff emailed to me sometimes. One girl in the county clerks office I have known for almost 35 years, and others I've known for about 20 years. Not a lot of turnover there.

JJ

Reply by John Schenk on 2/22/10 7:34pm
Msg #323842

I can't imagine how they charge for this. No Freedom Of Information Act request is required, as these are simply public records in every state of this great nation. The mafia may have taken over in Illinois, but I believe that legislation is still there that you can search public records at your county courthouse for FREE yourself. LOL

Maybe there are public terminals to search and if you want a clerk to search for you it will cost you a fee? The latter doesn't really seem right either, but maybe something is in effect there that made that chargeable?

Unless the record is sealed, you should be able to look at it at your county courthouse in pretty much every state of the union.

JMO

JJ

Reply by MikeC/NY on 2/22/10 7:54pm
Msg #323849

Search is free here in this part of NY...

... as long as you do it yourself. There are public computer terminals in my county that anyone can use for searching. Most of the property records here are still on microfilm, so you find the liber and page # of what you're looking for, bring it to a clerk, and he or she retrieves the microfilm for you. The microfilm readers have printers attached - the printers have coin slots, you just dump a few quarters in if you want to print a page or two.

I think there may be a charge if you want the clerk to do the search for you. However, most of these public employees tend to be a bit on the surly side - like they're doing you a favor by even talking to you - so when I'm there I try to minimize face time with them as much as possible. I don't understand the attitude, but it is what it is...

Reply by Linda Juenger on 2/22/10 8:14pm
Msg #323851

Guys, Guys Read again: They are not charging me to

search at the court house. I can sit there all day, every day and search till my hearts content at NO cost to me. Your right, they are public records.

What I am wanting to do is search ONLINE - AT HOME. They charge $5.95 PER SEARCH online.

And, John, yes the mafia is alive and well in IL in just about every aspect of government. The county I live in is so corrupt, its horrible. We've got the Democratic machine alive and well in St. Clair County, IL.

Reply by John Schenk on 2/22/10 8:24pm
Msg #323855

Re: Guys, Guys Read again: They are not charging me to

Folks were just responding to your post, Darlin:

"I WENT to our county court house to record a deed I notarized last week. First time I was asked to do this. Not a problem.

While I WAS THERE, I asked if I could see my notary page of past deeds online for our county. Yes, I can but there is a $5.95 charge per search. Yikes."

NOW we know it was ONLINE-AT HOME, and that's different. Glad you clarified that, Linda! Everything is BEAUTIFUL!


JJ

Reply by Linda Juenger on 2/22/10 9:20pm
Msg #323861

Re: Guys, Guys Read again: They are not charging me to

While I WAS THERE, I asked if I could see my notary page of past deeds online for our county. Yes, I can but there is a $5.95 charge per search. Yikes."


Keyword here is: online

I should have phrased this a little better: I knew what I meant, can't you read my mind. lol
Men sheesh hehe

Reply by Pat/IL on 2/23/10 1:09am
Msg #323873

Re: Guys, Guys Read again: They are not charging me to

Linda, it's a good thing that they're charging for online searches. It's bad enough that they're practicaly giving away the records to 'title plants' in such places as India, where your records are not protected by the same privacy laws as they are here in the United States.

If St. Clair County were also giving away access online, any #@*&^%! with an unpure motive would have instant access to some of your most revealing information, including the ability to copy your signature.

This is not the intent of the public record. The intent is to give notice of your claim to your property, and to others' claims to your property. Anyone with an interest in your property should be willing to pay the $5.95 or whatever, or pay somebody to collect the specific (key word, specific) information, or travel to the courthouse their own damn selves.

But to allow random access electronically does not advance the purpose of the public record. It only advances nogoodnickness and makes big trouble for moose and squirrel.