Searching For California Public Records Available Online

For the public’s information, CA Public Records Search are the public’s property and as such, it is the right of every individual to access the reports. Under the CPRA or the California Public Records Act, public records are any writings (such as but not limited to – handwritten, typed, photocopied, e-mailed and recordings) that any government agencies has in their possession and concerning the public. The CPRA was enacted to ensure that employees of the State, the local agencies and other government entities are held accountable. All records are open to the public during the working hours of the government office where the request is to be made.
Under Sec. 6252 (e) of the CPRA, records that are accessible by the public are records that (a) are made by the government for the public business and (b) were placed in the Office of the Governor on or after Jan. 6, 1975. Records are available from different State agencies including the State’s Bureau, offices, departments, local municipalities, counties, and agencies authorized by the government. 
Restricted access is placed on records that contain the following data – (a) records with personal or privacy issues, (b) records of on-going court cases, (c) tax information/collection of local taxes (d) library circulation report, (e) banking rules and regulations that require confidentiality and (f) information pertaining to homeland security. This also includes all information concerning the State’s employees. 
To get a copy of the reports, one can check out the website of the agency that one wants to obtain a report from. Each agency has their own set of guidelines and forms as well as fees. Some agencies can accommodate phone-in requests, however, in certain cases, submitting a form with the request is easier as one can receive the information within 10 days after the request was made. In certain cases, walk-ins are also much faster as the documents are available for the public during the operation hours of the agency. Fees are also cheaper when one requests copies personally. The state allows the agencies to set fees and other statutory fees to cover the expense, which can include photocopy services. 
There maybe times when the office concerned would require more time to retrieve the information. The State gives the offices fourteen days to accommodate the request although in certain cases, the office responsible would give the person requesting the report a period that would exceed the 14 days set by the law. These instances would include having to retrieve the information from a remote office, the volume of the request(s) being made, whether the request needs approval from other agencies and the retrieval would require using different methods such as coding in computers to be able to retrieve the data.
Government public records are important as these contain valuable information. Death records, birth and marriage records are some of the necessary reports that one might need. To access the records without having to go to the State agencies, one can check out sites that do offer record searches for free or for a minimal amount. Information is readily available and for those who need the information fast, this is the easiest way to do so.