Using Pretrieve to Locate Public Records


Few websites are as simple as Pretrieve�and fewer still have as much to offer. In the site�s own words �Pretrieve is a search engine that is specifically geared towards finding public records relevant to a person, business, or address.�

Pretrieve is essentially a portal to thousands of sources for public records. In essence, it is the epitome of one-stop shopping�all done from the convenience of your home computer.

When you visit this public record search engine at pretrieve.com, you will enter a white page with just a couple boxes for data entry. Here, you enter a name, a city and a state. Of these, only name and state are required entry fields. When you enter the required data, you may click on the button reading �find public records� directly beneath. Along the bottom of the page you will find additional resources for businesses as well as more information about the Pretrieve.

Of course, perhaps the best feature Pretrieve has to offer visitors to its site is its pricing�FREE. It does offer businesses the ability to license its software, databases, etc�but for the common researcher in need of locating various types of public records, it is a great aspect of the site. The site also allows for more advanced searches by clicking on �advanced search� or �search tips.� However, by entering just the basic data of name and state you will be linked to a page of choices that may match your query.

When you land at this next page upon clicking the find public records button, you will first see additional places to search for your name in question with Intelius.com or Ussearch.com for state and national search capabilities. You may click on these links to land at their sites or scroll down to see what Pretrieve does with its search fields. Like a file cabinet, you will see folder headings. The first one is open; this is for criminal searches. You may apply you name search then to sex offender searches, state prison inmate searches and federal inmate searches. By choosing one, you will be linked to the appropriate site and dropped off directly at the name that corresponds with your query�simple.

Of course, it may not produce an exact match�the search methodology will produce the name or close matches. This is a useful method to screen prospective hirees for example. Once you finish searching with the criminal tab, click the next folder�court. This tab is automatically connected to the state you chose to input in the beginning. By clicking on the county in question, it will produce possible matches to your name search in the state court system. Upon choosing a country, you are then linked to another array of choices by which to search for your name: country domestic court records, country civil court records (by plaintiff or defendant), country chancery court records, etc�

The financial tab allows researchers to search by personal political contributions, health education assistance loans, presidential campaign contributions and more. The Professional tab offers a bit more. It allows you to input your name for a �Zoominfo� search�more specific to the topic at hand. Then, like the other tabs, it allows you to make your professional people search more specific. You can continue to search for your name by professional history, patent records, FAA records and more. Interestingly, you will not just draw on U.S. records�you may draw matches from Italian universities, Swiss commerce organizations, Brazilian banks, etc�

Finally, the miscellaneous search tab allows you to search for birthdates, aircraft ownership records or the death records index. By entering a couple of known names, you will soon be able to verify the accuracy of the produced information. The ease of navigating this site makes searching for public records easier than at other sites.

Visit Pretrieve.com to see for yourself how easy it makes searching for public records. At one time, you would have had to drive to different locations to locate or try to locate specific public records. Now you can reach them all via the internet�Pretrieve makes internet searching for public records a breeze.