Do's and Dont's

Do’s and Dont’s – Permitted and Prohibited Uses

Public Information Services was founded with the mission of making it safe and easy for people to find and learn the truth about each other. However, Public Information Services is not a consumer reporting agency as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"), and the information in the databases has not been collected in whole or in part for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports, as defined in the FCRA. YOU SHALL NOT USE OUR SERVICES AS A FACTOR IN (1) ESTABLISHING AN INDIVIDUAL'S ELIGIBILITY FOR PERSONAL CREDIT OR INSURANCE OR ASSESSING RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EXISTING CONSUMER CREDIT OBLIGATIONS, (2) EVALUATING AN INDIVIDUAL FOR EMPLOYMENT, PROMOTION, REASSIGNMENT OR RETENTION (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO EMPLOYMENT OF HOUSEHOLD WORKERS SUCH AS BABYSITTERS, CLEANING PERSONNEL, NANNIES, CONTRACTORS, AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS), OR (3) ANY OTHER PERSONAL BUSINESS TRANSACTION WITH ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LEASING AN APARTMENT).

You are restricted from using Public Information Services for the following:

Employment Screening

You may not use Public Information Services when evaluating a person for employment, reassignment, promotion, or retention.

Hiring of Household Workers

Including, but not limited to, nannies and domestic workers.

Tenant Screening

Including, but not limited to, leasing a residential or commercial space.

Educational Qualification

Including, but not limited to, a person’s qualifications for an educational program or scholarship

Credit or Insurance

Accessing the risk of existing credit obligations of an individual or determining eligibility for issuing credit or insurance.

Business Transactions Initiated by an Individual Customer

Reviewing a personal customer account to determine whether the person continues to meet the terms of the account.

Using Public Information Services in these ways described above violates both our Terms of Use and the law, and can lead to possible criminal penalties. We take this very seriously (as should you), and reserve the right to terminate your membership and/or report violators to law enforcement agencies. Here are some Do's and Dont’s.

Do

  • Find long-lost family members.
  • Reconnect with an old love.
  • Check up on your kid’s new coach.
  • See if your neighbor has a criminal history.
  • Review public records from most US courts.
  • Check yourself out. It’s fun and it may surprise you.
  • Scope out your online date.
  • Find someone’s current address.

Don’t

  • Be a stalker. It’s creepy and against the law.
  • Steal someone’s identity. That’s illegal.
  • Choose whether to hire a new nanny for your kids.
  • Evaluate someone for a job, credit or insurance.
  • Look up celebrity contact information.
  • Screen a new tenant.
  • Spy on your significant other.
  • Contact people against their wishes.

Search Public Information Services’ nationwide public records and receive a comprehensive consumer background report from just a name.