Dig Deeper to Find More Information with Public Records

When thinking about public records, most people will likely think of vital records, such as birth certificates, or perhaps of court records. However, under the Freedom of Information Act and other laws, many more government documents are publicly available than simply vital records. The Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act of 1974, and the Electronic Freedom of Information Act are three laws that are crucial to understanding what government-kept information is publicly available and how your private information is protected.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was passed in 1966 and forms the basis of public records laws in the United States. This law essentially ensures that all government records are made available to the public, with some important exceptions. By allowing access to government documents by the public, this law is intended to encourage accountability of the government.

According to the FOIA, any record must be disclosed to the public unless it falls under one of nine exceptions. This means that anyone may submit a request for any information from a (federal) government agency, and the agency must disclose the information unless it can be shown that such information would fall under one of the exceptions. These exceptions include matters of national security and foreign policy, internal agency practices, confidential trade secrets, documents of personal privacy such as personnel and medical files, and law enforcement documents that would prevent a fair trial if disclosed, among a few others.

Thus, under the FOIA, a huge amount of information comes within the reach of the public. Simply by making a request, many documents can be obtained, whether for research or for other purposes. It is important to note, however, that the FOIA only applies to federal agencies, meaning that state and local agencies as well as Congress and the courts are regulated by different laws. However, most states have public records laws that are very similar to FOIA, so that often times state documents are also available simply by requesting them.

The Privacy Act of 1974, which amended the FOIA, is also an important part of current public records laws, and it is important to understanding how your information is protected. Government agencies maintain many documents that contain personally identifiable information, such as birth records, death records, marriage records, and more. The Privacy Act was added to keep this information both accurate and secure.

Specifically, the Privacy Act grants each individual the right to see his or her own record and to amend it if it is inaccurate or incomplete. The Privacy Act also protects this information from being seen by others without the consent of the individual to whom it pertains, with certain exceptions such as for law enforcement purposes or for statistical purposes.  In this way, the Privacy Act ensures that each individual's personal information is kept private and accurate.

The Electronic Freedom of Information Act (E-FOIA) further amended the FOIA in 1996. This was an important act because, although it did not change what documents were available to the public, it made these documents more easily accessible. E-FOIA requires government agencies to make certain types of records electronically available and provide electronic reading rooms for public access to these records.

With the FOIA, Privacy Act, and E-FOIA, a large amount of government records have been made available to the public, while still providing protection of personal information. All that needs to be done is to dig a bit deeper to access this huge repository of information.