Free Ohio Public Records

The State of Ohio is located in the Midwestern part of United States of America. The capital and also called the largest city is Columbus. The name originated from the Iroquois word ohi-yo meaning Great River. Ohio is historically known by many as the Buckeye State and Ohioans are also known as Buckeyes. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Ohio was 11,544,951 as of July 1, 2011. The government of Ohio is composed of the executive branch led by the governor, the legislative branch, which comprises the Ohio General Assembly and the judicial branch, which is led by the Supreme Court. The Ohio Public Records are kept by the public office.

In 1953, Ohio Revised Code is currently the name used by the code. The said code consists of all acts that had passed by the Ohio General Assembly and signed by the governor. Back in 1974, the current organization and form of the Ohio Revised Code Title 29 was completely rewritten and issued into law by the General Assembly. It was then continually applied by the law. Ohio Revised Code laws are used as state laws while some villages or cities in Ohio have their own local ordinances to follow with.

The Ohio Department of Commerce policy states that openness and transparency leads to a better informed citizenry, which leads to better and more responsive government. It is strictly stated to the department that they should follow the public records act of Ohio. Public records of the state are available for inspection during regular business hours from Monday to Friday. Each request should be evaluated for an estimated length of time required to gather the records.

Requests for public records are given three business days to process. The charge for paper copies is five cents per page. The charge for downloaded computer files to a compact disc is $1.00 per disc. Mailed documents to the requester will be calculated based on the actual costs of the postage and mailing supplies. There is no charge for e-mailed documents. Email or Electronic mail is simply one format for the creation and storage of a document.

The requester must identify the records or type of record requested with sufficient clarity to allow the assigned department to locate, retrieve and review the requested files. However, if the request is not clearly stated, the records custodian must contact the requester for clarification and should assist the requester in revising the application by informing the requester of the manner in which the department keeps its records. The requester does not need to provide a request in writing or provide proof of identification.

Public Records are pieces of information that can be used as a primary source and are open to the public. There different kinds of public records and these are sex offender registration files, professional and business licenses, consumer protections information, government spending reports, criminal records, real estate appraisal records, court dockets and voter registration. Availing such documents can be made through online search. Various vital documents can be searched online in order to determine the availability of such file prior to requesting for a copy. It will save you time, money and effort in going to offices just to identify if such legal document is available to be requested or not.