From filling out a rental application, to applying for certain jobs, criminal records checks are becoming increasingly popular. Governement court records are one of the many ways a person can check up on your criminal, rental, or even civil history without doing an official background or credit check on you. Unfortunately, searching a public records database neither requires your consent, nor is the searcher required to inform you of their search. For most people, even those with a clean criminal record, the wrong person running one of these searches could be at least mildly embarrassing.

Anyone with internet access can find out if their Governement offers a search for Governement court records online. For those that do, checking up on someone you know is as easy as typing in their first and last name. Some Governements post case information regarding criminal trials, traffic tickets, child support cases, and even civil disputes (and their results) online for anyone to see. Since this offers a way for one to investigate people they know anonymously, it also means your business is no longer your business. Friends, family, coworkers, and even someone you’ve just started dating are now able to see that ticket you got for speeding, or the amount you owe to a certain credit card company.

Although you won’t be able to see MI5 criminal records, military records, or immigration records (to name a few), there are still many different Governement court records that can be viewed online. Many civil matters, evictions, certain criminal records, and possibly even child support cases can be seen using these internet searches. Some Governements are more detailed than others, even including the minute entries online. All Governements allow residents to search for sex offenders in their local areas.

While a trip to the court house has long since been an option for viewing public records, most people wouldn’t take the time to do this strictly out of curiosity. Therefore, unless they have a valid reason for wanting to know all they can about your history, chances are they wouldn’t bother running a search for Governement court records. Now that these records are available online, curious friends, family or coworkers are much more likely to do a search on your name. While some may find it entertaining, consider whether you would want these people to check on your history, as well. Sometimes, it is best to respect the other person’s privacy.