Iowa is in the Midwestern part of the United States. The name is derived from the native tribe named Ioway. After the completion of the Louisiana purchase, Iowa’s residents begun the foundation of being the food capital of the world. The state entered the union on December 28, 1846 as the 29th state. Agriculture gave way to Iowa’s newer economy of manufacturing, processing, financial, insurance, biotech, and green energy materials. Iowa is ranked 30th most populated state with slightly over 3 million residents and 23rd largest state with 55,875 square miles. There are 99 counties covering the state of Iowa and over 900 cities.
City, county and state agencies perform many tasks to serve the citizens of Iowa. Providing records and giving residents free access to government public information is one of an agency’s many responsibilities. Any record deemed public information can be obtained by any one without stating a reason. These laws were initially enacted to create a transparent state government. Any member of the public can request transcripts of meetings held between officials, plans, contracts, distributions and numerous other government internal information. This Iowa law also extends to agencies that are used on a regular basis to request recorded documents for personal and business needs.
Iowa residents and businesses pre screen individuals by conducting a background check for multiple reasons. Criminal history recorded in Iowa are available from the Iowa Department of Public Safety, division of criminal investigation. The state’s central repository for criminal history provides arrests and convictions occurring within Iowa. A background search can be expanded by searching the Iowa department of transportation and obtaining driving records, history of traffic violations and suspensions. Iowa’s court case information system provides records of divorces, judgments, civil trials and criminal cases. Current cases on docket can be searched instantly. Other records from the state clerks and recorders offices can help with completing a more comprehensive background check.
Locating assets in Iowa can be challenging when not familiar with which resources to access. Financial information such as cash accounts and investments are protected under the privacy laws. Assets such as property ownership can be obtained from the county assessor’s offices where you can view land value, size of the real estate, occupancy and owners names. The Iowa secretary of state maintains an online search database of corporations and businesses filed with the state showing status, authorization, names and addresses. View a list of assets such as professional licenses, vehicles, bankruptcies and more on public record center asset search directory.
PublicRecordCenter shows you where to begin your search with good quality resources, descriptions and tools to familiarize you with Iowa’s agencies. People locator searches can reveal current and past residences outside the state of Iowa where you may need to extend your search. This and many other tools such as instant search of databases offered throughout the state can be freely used with a site that specializes in looking for Iowa public records.
