The Freedom of Information act has mandated the local government of each state, including the state of Missouri, to allow their local residents access to their personal documents. Since then, the public records Missouri generates for its people are made open and accessible by the public whenever they need it. Birth and death certificate, marriage and divorce licenses and criminal records are few of the documents that the people can request.
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.
All of the public documents of Missouri contain the personal information of the involved individual. The information that can be found would depend on the type of document it is. A marriage license would not contain information about the death of an individual since such information can only be found on a death certificate. Likewise, marriage records would not have details about the divorce of a couple because it only contains information about the marriage itself. Criminal records on the other hand, have details about the crimes and offenses that an individual has committed.
Although, these documents are public files that the residents of Missouri can request anytime, access to it is limited only to the involved individuals and their immediate family. The information that can be found on a public document is also limited only to the basic details about the event or incident. Sensitive information is kept private only to the people involved. A good example would be the reason for the divorce of a couple. It is not visible on a public record since it is one of the sensitive information that may affect the privacy of the couple. In criminal records, the names of the witnesses as well the investigator who handled the case are kept confidential to protect their security.
There are guidelines that should be followed in getting a copy of any of the public documents in Missouri. One has to pay corresponding fees in order to get the needed document. Records of birth, death, marriage and separation from 1909 up to the present are the only documents that the state can release to the people. One can get copies of those documents at the Vital Statistics office or the county where such event was registered. The criminal records of Missouri have to be requested at the Department of Public Safety. A request form has to be submitted with the basic information of the record being requested. This can somehow help speed up the process. One can also send a mail request to the appropriate offices.
Online retrieval of government public records in the state of Missouri is now allowed. This made the retrieval process easier and fast. A lot of websites now offer to search for the records for you. One has the option to do the search for free or to pay for the search. The cost would be higher than doing the search at the office but people prefer this because of convenience.
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