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:
“And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“In America, the photographer is not simply the person who records the past, but the one who invents it.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)