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How To Investigate People
Investigating a person with public records is more reliable when you search record types separately instead of relying on one “people search” result.
Direct answer
What to use for how to investigate people
Official sources are organized by record owner: PACER covers federal court records, while CDC/NCHS explains that vital records such as marriage and divorce are kept by state or local offices rather than a federal identifying-record index. A responsible investigation therefore records each source and its limits.
Steps
Build a public-record investigation in layers
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01
Start with known facts
Names, prior locations and approximate dates create search anchors.
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02
Choose a record type
Court, property, vital record, license or another specific category.
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03
Use the official custodian
Prefer the court, agency, recorder or state system that owns the data.
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04
Cross-check identity
Do not merge records simply because the name matches.
Route
Examples of source-specific evidence
| Question | Possible official source | What it can establish |
|---|---|---|
| Federal court history | PACER | Federal cases/dockets for the searched identity |
| Marriage/divorce event route | State/local vital-record office | Where to request the event record |
| Wisconsin property transfer | Wisconsin DOR RETR search | Property-transfer information in that state system |
Check
Identity-resolution discipline
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✓
Name variants
Record middle names, initials and aliases only when supported.
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✓
Time and place
A matching location/date is stronger than name alone.
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✓
Unique identifiers
Case, parcel, license or record numbers help separate people.
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✓
Negative results
Treat “not found” as source-specific, not proof of absence.
Important
Avoid current-location overclaims
A historical court, property or vital record can connect a person to a past event; it does not by itself prove where the person lives now.
Related Record Guides
Sources
Authoritative next stops
Official federal judiciary source
PACER - Federal Court Records
Use this official source as a next stop for how to investigate people.
United States federal courts
Official federal reference source
CDC/NCHS - Where to Write for Vital Records
Use this official source as a next stop for how to investigate people.
United States
Official state revenue source
Wisconsin Department of Revenue - Real Estate Transfer Return
Use this official source as a next stop for how to investigate people.
Wisconsin