User Safety and Anti-Misuse Policy

Public Court Records • Trust Center

User Safety and Anti-Misuse Policy

Court-record information must be handled carefully. This policy explains prohibited misuse and the site’s safety-first expectations.

Human-reviewedWritten and audited by an editorial team.
Official-source firstCourts, clerks, judiciary portals and PACER where relevant.
Manual checksLinks, addresses, numbers, maps and screenshots reviewed.
Information onlyPractical guide, not legal advice or official record service.

Our safety position

Public court records can support transparency and accountability, but they can also be misused. Our website does not support harassment, stalking, shaming, threats, discrimination, doxxing, impersonation, blackmail, vigilantism or unlawful screening. Court information should be interpreted with context and verified through official sources.

Misuse examples

Harassment

Contacting, threatening or humiliating someone because you found a court record.

Doxxing

Publishing personal details from court records to expose or endanger a person.

Discrimination

Using misunderstood records to deny opportunities outside lawful procedures.

False claims

Saying a person was convicted, liable or guilty when the record does not prove that.

Screening misuse

Using this site for employment, tenant, credit, insurance or licensing decisions.

Bypassing restrictions

Trying to access sealed, juvenile, confidential or restricted records without lawful authority.

Responsible-use checklist

Verify context

Check the official case record, not just snippets or screenshots.

Avoid assumptions

A filing, allegation or charge is not always a final judgment.

Respect privacy

Avoid spreading sensitive personal details unnecessarily.

Use lawful channels

Certified documents and legal questions belong with the court or attorney.

Do not screen

Do not use this website for regulated background or eligibility decisions.

Report concerns

If a page on this site seems to enable misuse or needs stronger safety language, contact the editorial team with the page URL and concern. We review safety reports under our corrections and privacy policies.

Site-wide trust note

publiccourtrecords.org/ is built for educational and informational use. Our guides are written to help users understand court-record systems, official portals, clerk routes, case-number searches, courthouse contact paths, screenshots and public-record limits. We are not a court, clerk, attorney, government agency, consumer reporting agency, background-check company or official record issuer.

When a guide contains links, phone numbers, addresses, maps, screenshots or resource notes, our content process is to manually review those details before publication or update. Court systems still control final access, fees, restrictions, filings, sealed records, certified copies and official case status.