Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential. For example, in California, when a couple fills out a marriage license application, they have the option of checking the box as to whether the marriage is "confidential" (Record will be closed, and not opened to public once recorded) or "public" (record will become public record once recorded). Basically, if the marriage record is public, a copy of the record can be ordered from the county in which the marriage occurred.
Read more about Public Records: History, Contents of Public Records, Access To Public Records
Famous quotes containing the words public and/or records:
“Kirsten: So you’re the new public relations man.
Joe: Yeah.
Kirsten: What happened to Eddie?
Joe: Eddie quit.
Kirsten: I liked him. Why’d he quit?
Joe: Well, a little matter of personal integrity. Eddie didn’t feel that getting dates for potentates was part of public relations.
Kirsten: But isn’t it?
Joe: Well, there’s a name for it but it’s not “public relations.””
—J.P. (James Pinckney)
“Better the rudest work that tells a story or records a fact, than the richest without meaning.”
—John Ruskin (1819–1900)