Most of you reading this probably have no clue what is "publicly available" about you to anyone that is interested in doing some simple research. The internet holds unlimited access to what governments consider public records. Governments you ask? Yes, this means not just the United States, but also many records for Mexican and Canadian. As more countries become technologically advanced, more information will be readily available for anyone to research at will.

Currently, within the United States, anyone with internet access and a little information about you can divulge the following information about you:

? Real Estate Ownership

? Traffic Tickets

? Conviction Records

? Criminal Arrest Records

? Arrest Warrants

? Case Indexes

? Civil Court Recordings

? Professional and Business Licenses

? Motor Vehicle Records

? Registered Voter Files

? Court Files

? Property Tax Assessor Files

? Tax Liens and Judgments

? Bankruptcy Files

? And Much More

There was a time where many of these records were trade secrets of private investigators but now they can be easily uncovered through simple online searches. Our government has and continues to convert these public records into digital format for easier accessibility directly and publicly through the internet. The internet is finally allowing public records to be more public so anyone, including you, can uncover information about any person or company.

Personal information isn't always as private as one may think. Generally speaking, your date of birth, social security number, financial, insurance, and medical information is protected by law. Companies and corporations also have similar protection. Unfortunately, research into public records can commonly reveal these items through background checks, court records, divorce records, bankruptcy files and many other sources of readily available information.

Although many people may have privacy concerns, all of these records have been made public for important reasons. For example, detailed background checks are necessary for the security of the general public and business security. You wouldn't want someone watching your child at a local day care that has a warrant out for their arrest or has past criminal records would you? Perhaps you are a proud owner of a limousine business. It could be devastating is it is later revealed that a driver you hired has multiple DUI charges on his or her record.

Just as people do with credit reports, I would recommend that you research yourself. You may be surprised with the information that is available to anyone interested in looking into it. In the past I have seen someone lose their job because they were unaware of a charge on their record and didn't disclose it on his hiring application. Simple mistakes like this can be prevented or corrected before they become a problem.