Reporting & Public Records

Nonprofit organizations that have been granted federal income tax exemptions are regulated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and must file annual financial reports with that agency. In addition, many states regulate charities and require similar annual financial statements. Many of these records are available online. IRS Form 990s Nonprofit organizations that have been granted…

People arrested or charged with state crimes in California who can’t post bail usually are kept in a county jail facility while their cases are pending. People charged with federal offenses often are also housed in a county jail facility while their cases are pending (the federal government contracts with county jails for this). People…

Immigration and Naturalization/Citizenship Immigration and naturalization/citizenship records are kept by: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services However, only historical records are available, mainly for genealogical research purposes. At the USCIS home page click on the History and Genealogy link for details on requesting those records. The National Archive also has searchable online databases of some historical immigration records.…

Candidates for public office on a federal, state and local level all must file campaign finance statements. The statements detail who has given money to their campaigns, and what they spent that money on. Similar statements also are required for campaign committees supporting or opposing ballot initiatives on a state and local level (there are…

State government agencies require licenses for people in dozens of different kinds of professions, everything from private investigators and nurses to accountants and contractors. Many companies also are required to be licensed, such as nursing homes and child care facilities. Other professionals are licensed by professional organizations, such as attorneys who members of a state…

Records on births, deaths, marriages and divorces are kept on both the state and the county level. These are collectively known as “vital records.” State and county offices have alphabetical name indexes for each of the different types of vital records. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps a list of agencies in…

Police and other law enforcement agencies investigating crimes compile a number of different records in criminal cases. These include: arrest and incident reports (which are usually difficult to obtain) logs of arrests and responses to incidents by police (which usually are open to the public) search warrants and coroner’s office reports (which also usually are…

Property owners who do certain kinds of construction on a property that are regulated by city codes, such as electrical or plumbing work, have to obtain and file permits with a city department. Cities also inspect properties for compliance with a city’s building codes, often in response to complaints filed by neighbors or other citizens…