lexis nexis

By Paul Grabowicz   ·   Updated Sep 28, 2012   ·   Print Print

Public Records Databases

The LexisNexis service has a number of public records databases in addition to its archives of news stories.

The databases available to you depend on the kind of account you have with Lexis Nexis.

Most universities have an "Academic Universe" account, which provides very limited access to LexisNexis' public records databases. News organizations often have accounts that provide access to a much wider range of databases, such as those for searching property records.

To access LexisNexis' public records databases and see which ones are available to you, at the main LexisNexis screen click on the Power Search link at the upper left.

Then click on either the More Sources link below the main search box or the Sources tab in the upper left.

At the new screen, click on the Browse Sources tab on the upper right.

You'll get a screen listing different categories of documents in the Lexis Nexis archives.

Click on the folder below for:

Public Records

 At the new screen you can select one of the topical folders to get a list of specific public records databases you can search.

To get more information on what is in each database, click on the folder with the tiny i to the left of each listing.

To search a database, click on its name.

You'll get a search box into which you can type keywords, such as the name of a person or business, and make other selections to narrow your search, such as selecting a particular state.

Among the public records databases are:

  • Business and Corporation Information - Corporation Filings - summaries of filings with a Secretary of State's Office
  • Business and Corporation Information - Fictitious Business Names - summaries of filings with a state or a county recorder's office
  • Dockets - indexes to civil and criminal court cases in various state and federal courts
  • Judgments and Liens - summaries of filings with a state or a county recorder's office
  • Professional Licenses - summaries of filings with state licensing agencies
  • CA State Campaign Finance Receipts - campaign contributions for state politicians in California (note: to locate this information source, you'll need to click on the Find Sources tab in Lexis Nexis and then enter "CA State Campaign Finance Receipts" in the search box)
  • Federal Campaign Finance Information - campaign statements and financial disclosure statements on federal elected officials (note: to locate this information source, you'll need to click on the Find Sources tab in Lexis Nexis and then enter "Federal Campaign Finance Information" in the search box)

To find out what kind of information is available in these types of databases, browse or search through our other Public Records tutorials.

And if you don't see some of these databases listed on your screen in LexisNexis, that's because the kind of account you have with LexisNexis does not provide access to them.

Filed under: Public Records