Free Gwinnett County Public Records: Search & Uncover Anyone’s Information

Free Gwinnett County Public Records Search
Access Gwinnett County Records: marriage, divorce, warrants, arrests, probation, criminal, court, background checks, and all public records.

Anyone can access Gwinnett County public records to discover more about someone, as these records can be searched online, in person and through background check reports.

Online search tools and resources can help interested individuals look up records involving marriages, divorces, property and court cases. Criminal and prisoner information can also be obtained to learn if a person has ever been arrested, held warrants or is currently on probation.

The Georgia Open Records Act and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) were enacted to ensure citizens can stay informed by giving them the right to view and copy all public records. However, searchers will have greater success if they understand which records are public, how to access them and the custodians that host each.

This resource provides detailed guidance about which agencies provide a particular type of public information in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and the process to obtain a given record from each.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

How To Execute an Arrest Record Search in Gwinnett County Georgia for Free

Citizens can search Gwinnett County arrest records to find out when and where someone was arrested and the charges brought against them. Depending on what you are looking for, you may search with the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office or the local police department that made the arrest.

A search at the county level covers the largest group of people and will provide you with arrest information for anyone incarcerated in the Gwinnett County jail. Searching this way is a great option if you have the person’s name and want to search quickly online.

If you cannot find the individual at the county level, you can contact the local police department. Contacting a local police department is a great option if you know approximately where the individual was arrested. Even if you found information at the county level, you may want to contact the police department for a detailed arrest report.

Below are a searcher’s options for performing an arrest record search in Gwinnett County.

Find Arrestees Booked in the Gwinnett County Jail

Individuals can search for Gwinnett County bookings online.1 The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office provides this online search tool which contains detailed information about people incarcerated in their county jail.

A screenshot showing the list of inmates booked the last 24 hours in the jail that is maintained by the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office; the list displays the inmates' full names, booking status, number, date, age upon booking, bond amount, charges and more.
Source: Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office1

To search their jail records online, you can enter the subject’s name and date range for when they were booked. A searcher also has the option to look for current, released or all inmates. If looking for released inmates, you also can set a date range for when they were released.

After an individual searches, they can view their booking date, inmate number, and current status (e.g., released or in jail). Details about the person include their sex, age and address. For current inmates, you can also view their assigned cell and a link to their visitation schedule.

There is also a separate section to view the charge(s) brought against someone, including the criminal statute and court case number. Additional bond and warrant information is also available in this section.

For any questions on inmate information, you can contact the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office by phone at 770-619-6500. You can also go to the below address:

Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office
2900 University Pkwy.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043

Note: The Gwinnett County Jail is located at the same address. For specific records questions, call the jail at 770-619-6539.

The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office also provides its own sex offenders search tool.4 You can use this search tool to find registered sex offenders by their address (home and work), name, compliance status and more.

A screenshot showing a list of sample results from the search done through the Sex Offender Registry that is made available by the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office showing the offenders' mugshots, names, addresses, city, zip code, and hyperlinks routing to a page with more details about the individual.
Source: Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office4

Once you search, you can find someone’s mugshot, name and current address. You can then click on their name to get detailed descriptive information and data on the offenses that led to them registering as sex offenders.

The Gwinnett County Department of Corrections (DOC) maintains a Correctional Complex for state and county inmates who have already been sentenced. Individuals housed here have been convicted and are now sentenced to full-time incarceration or the Work Release and Work Alternative Programs.

You can contact the Gwinnett County DOC by phone at 678-407-6000 or the below address:

Gwinnett County Department of Corrections
750 Hi-Hope Rd.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043

Review Arrest Details via Police Departments Within Gwinnett County Georgia

If you cannot find the information at the county level or need more details, contact the arresting agency for a police report or related information. This information may assist you in looking up information at the county level or other reasons, such as for submitting a legal or insurance claim.

A large portion of the county is under the jurisdiction of the Gwinnett Police Department.2 For information on requesting a police report, you can call them at 770-513-5000. Police reports are available approximately four business days after the incident occurred.

You can also go in person to any of their precincts to request a police report. All headquarters are open for you to visit them Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Here is the contact information for other municipal police departments from some of the larger cities in Gwinnett County, Georgia:

Police Department Address Phone Number
Lawrenceville Police Department 300 Jackson St.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046
770-962-4173
Duluth Police Department 3276 Buford Hwy.
Duluth, Georgia 30096
770-476-4151
Sugar Hill Public Safety Department 5039 West Broad St.
Sugar Hill, Georgia 30518
770-932-2532
Suwanee Police Department 373 Buford Hwy.
Suwanee, Georgia 30024
770-904-7614
Snellville Police Department 2315 Wisteria Dr.
Snellville, Georgia 30078
770-985-3555
Norcross Police Department 65 Lawrenceville St.
Norcross, Georgia 30071
678-421-2005
Auburn Police Department 1361 Fourth Ave.
Auburn, Georgia 30011
770-513-8657
Loganville Police Department 605 Tom Brewer Rd.
Loganville, Georgia 30052
770-466-8087
Braselton Police Department 5040 Hwy 53
Braselton, Georgia 30517
706-654-3915 (ext. 1101)

Note: Certain city police departments listed above (Auburn, Loganville and Braselton) are part of multiple counties.

How To Obtain Free Gwinnett County Georgia Criminal Records

Interested parties can gain detailed access to someone’s criminal history by searching Gwinnett County public records. Criminal records are a great tool for seeing what resulted from a subject being charged with a crime.

Gwinnett County criminal records will show you everything from arrest information to whether they were found guilty. In addition, if an individual was found guilty of a crime, you can see what sentence they received (e.g., probation, incarceration, fine). A criminal record also lets you look at a case granularly and see details of how the matter was handled by looking through the docket entries and other sections.

Searchers seeking a free criminal record check may want to get general information or an answer to a specific question, such as whether someone has an arrest warrant.

The below sections will detail how to access an individual’s criminal record and perform specific searches for warrant and probation information.

Locate Criminal Records in Gwinnett County Georgia via the Clerk’s Online Case Search

Anyone can perform a free public records search for criminal records in Gwinnett County using their online case search tool.3 You must first register for a free account to search using their online portal. Once you do that, you are ready to perform your search.

The first search option asks if you want to look for cases or hearings. You will want to select “cases” to look up an individual’s complete criminal record. From there, you can search by several options, including party name, case number, attorney name and several other options.

These options can be stacked to narrow down your search results.

Before performing your search, include the case category as one of your criteria. Once you choose “case category,” click “select,” and you will be given several options to select. Select criminal and click “done.”

Next, you will want to select a third search criteria for case location. Once you click “select,” you can choose Gwinnett County or any particular courthouse.

After you have done this, you can click “search” to view your results. The summary results will include the case caption and court along with the case type (e.g., misdemeanor or felony). You can also view the assigned judge and the date the case was filed.

Once you click on the case record, you can get additional information. The criminal record provides information separated into separate categories. Here is what each section can help you find.

Charges: Here, you can view the date of the offense, specific charge and statute number. In addition, you can get information on how the case was decided.

Parties: This section provides information on the parties to the case, any nicknames or aliases, and the attorney on record.

Hearings: Get information on upcoming and past court dates, including the hearing type and results.

Events: This section lists every case event from the initial warrant or arrest to the final disposition and sentencing of a convicted criminal.

How To Find Criminal Records by Searching In Person with the Gwinnett County Courts

If you are looking for an alternative to online searches, you can also search for Gwinnett County judicial records at the courthouse. When searching for criminal records at the courthouse, you may have access to more information than the limited data provided online.

Separate Gwinnett County courts handle different types of criminal matters. It is important to understand how Gwinnett County courts handle criminal matters before performing a search in person.

Gwinnett County Superior Courts: The Superior Court handles all felony cases in Gwinnett County. Felony cases include crimes that involve incarceration for more than a year, such as arson, armed robbery, manslaughter, drug distribution and murder.

Gwinnett County State Court: The State Court handles misdemeanor criminal cases (shoplifting, harassment, simple assault) and traffic violations.

Gwinnett County Magistrate Court: The magistrate court is responsible for arrest warrants, search warrants, and preliminary hearings for criminal cases.

As you plan to perform your search, you should consider contacting the Gwinnett County Clerk of Courts first. The Gwinnett County Clerk of Courts is responsible for the Superior, State and Magistrate Court. You can call them at 770-822-8100 and ask them the specific process for searching records in person for each of these courts.

The Gwinnett County Clerk of Courts is available from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. If you would like to talk to someone directly, you can go to the below address:

Gwinnett County Courthouse
Clerk of Courts
75 Langley Dr.
Lawrenceville, GA 30046

The above is the address for Gwinnett County Superior and State Court. The Magistrate Court’s Criminal Division can be contacted by phone at 770-619-6720 or in person at the below address:

Gwinnett County Magistrate Court
Criminal Division
2900 University Pkwy.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043

How To Run a Gwinnett County Arrest Warrant Search

If you want to look for Gwinnett County warrants, you can do so by performing a criminal record search with the Clerk’s case search services tool. Perform a criminal record search using this online directory of case records described earlier in this article.

Once you find the individual you seek arrest warrant information about, click on their case caption. To get warrant information, scroll down to the “Events” section. The Events section will list every action that occurred for a particular criminal case.

Here, it will list warrant information, including when and why it was issued.

If you do not find anything, ensure the defendant has no additional criminal records. This search tool provides a comprehensive search of a defendant’s criminal records. Still, you must click on each case to get specific information, such as whether an arrest warrant was issued.

You have two additional options for contacting government agencies that may be able to provide you with arrest warrant information. First, you can contact the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court, as one of their responsibilities is issuing arrest and search warrants. You can contact them by phone at 770-619-6720.

If you would like to speak to someone in person, you can go to the below address:

Gwinnett County Magistrate Court
Criminal Division
2900 University Pkwy.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043

Another option is to contact the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office. They are located at the same address as the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court and can be contacted by phone at 770-619-6500.

How To Determine Who Is on Probation in Gwinnett County Georgia

If you want to find probation information, you can perform a Gwinnett County case search of criminal records with the Clerk’s Case Search Tool. To perform a criminal record search, follow the step-by-step instructions provided earlier in this article for using the Clerk’s online case search tool.

Once you enter your search criteria and have a list of results, select the criminal record of the individual you want to obtain probation information about. From here, you must navigate through the record to find the information you are looking for.

There are three sections you can look at for probation information. First, you can check the “Charges” section to see what the disposition of the case is and whether it contains any sentencing information. After that, you can check the “Hearings” section and look for the sentencing hearing.

Here, you may be able to gather additional information where it lists the results of the hearing.

Finally, you can go to the “Events” section, where every action, including sentencing, is listed here by date. Look for the sentencing event and look for details regarding whether they were sentenced to probation or not.

You can also try contacting the probation office in Gwinnett County. The Lawrenceville Field Office serves the Department of Community Supervision in Gwinnett County. You can contact the probation field office by calling them at 770-339-2222 or going to their office located at the address below:

Department of Community Supervision
Lawrenceville Field Office
410 Oak St.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046

How To Conduct a Gwinnett County Background Check

While you can gather a significant amount of information by performing online and in-person searches, often, there is a need to request a background check in Gwinnett County. When someone inquires about getting a background check, they are typically talking about getting a professional one.

That is because searching public records by yourself, whether using an online database or going to the courthouse, is considered a personal background check. This can be accomplished by following the steps that have already been provided in this article.

However, a professional background check is fundamentally different. First, professional background checks are often a requirement. For instance, Gwinnett County requires a background check for volunteers.

A professional background check is also required by various state and federal laws for other reasons, such as a security clearance or employees working with a vulnerable group of individuals (e.g., children, elderly).

Other examples of when a background check may be requested include adoption, employment, renting property and seeking a firearm’s license.

It’s also important to know what type of professional background check you need. A level 1 background check will be a name-based search, which typically is limited to a city, county or state jurisdiction. You can also get a level 2 background check, which is fingerprint-based and can include criminal records throughout the United States.

If you are looking to have a background check executed locally, you can complete the Gwinnett County Police Department’s Criminal History Request Form.5 They can perform a criminal record search throughout the state of Georgia. This form must be completed in its entirety, signed and notarized.

A screenshot of the Gwinnett County Police Department's Criminal History Request Form that must be completed and notarized to be able to obtain criminal record information from any state or local agency.
Source: Gwinnett County Police Department5

When you complete this form, you will have to list the reason for the request along with any special conditions (e.g., employment with the mentally disabled).

You will also need to provide basic information about yourself, such as your name, contact information, date of birth and physical description. Importantly, you need to provide your social security number, which is mandatory for the Gwinnett County Police Department to perform their search.

This form must be accompanied by a valid government-issued ID (e.g., Driver’s License) and must be brought to the Gwinnett County Police Department (mail-in requests are not accepted). You can bring the criminal history form to the address below:

Gwinnett County Police Department
Business Services – Permits Unit
446 W. Crogan St., Ste. 200
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046

If you want the criminal record information released to a third party, you must provide the individual’s legal name in the “Released To” section. The person picking up the record must provide a government-issued ID that matches the name you listed.

If you have additional questions, you can contact the Gwinnett County Police Department by phone at 678-377-4300. They are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

While criminal history background checks are conducted by local law enforcement, you can get assistance by contacting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations’ Crime Information Center can provide guidance on requesting a criminal background check and obtaining fingerprinting services. If you would like their assistance, you can contact them at 404-244-2639.

Appointments can be scheduled to talk to someone directly for assistance at the below address:

Georgia Crime Information Center
3121 Panthersville Rd.
Decatur, Georgia 30034

How To Perform a Georgia Criminal Record Search Utilizing State & Federal Agencies

You can search beyond Gwinnett County public records to get a more detailed criminal history of a person; searching federal and Georgia public records can significantly expand your search and provide you with information you did not have at the county level.

When searching at the county level, you may have been disappointed not to find the information you were searching for. That could have been just because the offender was arrested or incarcerated in a neighboring county. You also may just want to confirm whether or not an offender has a criminal record outside Gwinnett County.

Whatever the reason, state and federal resources can be a tremendous help if you decide to look up someone’s criminal record. Here are some great state and federal tools for looking up criminal records:

Judicial Council of Georgia E-Access — The Judicial Council of Georgia provides a database to search criminal records in any county in the state.

Georgia Department of Corrections Offender Search — This tool can be used to perform a criminal record search of individuals convicted of crimes and incarcerated in a Georgia prison.

A screenshot of the Offender Search tool of the Georgia Department of Corrections that can be searched by name or by other description.
Source: Georgia Department of Corrections6

State Board of Pardon & Paroles Search — Here, you can perform a narrow search for criminal records information of parolees (individuals released from prison but still under state supervision).

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Sex Offender Registry — The Georgia Bureau of Investigations provides an online search tool for finding registered sex offenders. This tool can be used to specifically search for sexual offenders, sexually dangerous predators and absconders.

A screenshot of the Sex Offender Registry platform maintained by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, showing the mugshots of five wanted absconders and a search tool that can be browsed by providing the following information: offender type, type of offense, first and last name, county, gender, race, and others.
Source: Georgia Bureau of Investigation7

U.S. National Sex Offender Registry — Anyone can use this search tool to find registered sex offenders in any state or territory of the United States by searching a person’s name. You can also perform a general address search where you can view all registered sex offenders within a certain radius.

A screenshot of the U.S. national sex offender registry public website that can be searched by name and zip code or by address radius.
Source: Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website8

Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) — Individuals convicted of federal crimes are incarcerated in separate prisons.9 To search for individuals (past or present) incarcerated in federal prisons, you can use this online search tool.

A screenshot of the federal inmate locator of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, where interested parties may look up incarcerated individuals from 1982 to the present by providing either the inmate number or name.
Source: Federal Bureau of Prisons9

How To Find Gwinnett County Court Documents & Cases

If you want to search Gwinnett County court records online, you can search several different case types using the case search services tool provided by the Gwinnett County Clerk. This search tool allows you to search civil, domestic, estate and criminal cases. Examples of some of the types of cases you can look up with this tool include:

  • Criminal
  • Estate Filings
  • Appeals Cases
  • Contract Disputes
  • Child Support
  • Divorce
  • Auto Accidents
  • Medical Malpractice

You also have the option to search this public records repository of cases in person. Here are the courts in Georgia and what each of them handles:

  • Gwinnett County Superior Court: Primarily handles felony cases and matters that have been appealed from lower courts.
  • Gwinnett County State Court: Responsible for handling traffic violations, criminal misdemeanors and all civil actions.
  • Gwinnett County Magistrate Court: The magistrate court handles claims of $15,000 or less, preliminary criminal hearings (including warrants), and violations of county ordinances.
  • Gwinnett County Probate Court: This court handles estate matters, guardianships and various vital records (e.g., birth certificates, death certificates and marriage licenses).
  • Gwinnett County Recorder’s Court: The Recorder’s Court handles traffic citations and Gwinnett County code violations (e.g., animal control, zoning, business licenses).

You can call the Gwinnett County Clerk of Court by phone at 770-822-8100 to get more information on how to search court records in person. To search records, you can visit the Superior, State Court or Civil Division of the Magistrate Court at the address below:

Gwinnett County Courthouse
75 Langley Drive
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046

For the Magistrate Court’s criminal division, you can use the below contact information:

Gwinnett County Magistrate Court
Criminal Division
2900 University Pkwy.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043

770-619-6700

How To Obtain or View Gwinnett County Vital Records (Marriage, Divorce, Birth & Death)

Vital records are a great tool to perform genealogy searches, learn more about one’s family roots, find out if someone is married and more. Vital records contain key information about an individual, such as when and where they were born and died, as well as information about any times they were married or divorced.

While these records may be used to learn more about a friend or neighbor, you may have a specific need to get a certified copy of a vital record. That’s because vital records are often used to establish someone’s identity and relationship with a particular person.

For this reason, they can be used to add another person as a family member to a health insurance policy or to establish an individual’s current marital status when applying for a name change with the Social Security Administration. These are just a couple of many examples in which you may need a certified copy of a vital record.

Below are steps on how to search and request for these records and what restrictions there are on requesting certified copies.

Search Gwinnett County Marriage, Divorce & Dissolution of Marriage Records Through the Clerk of Courts

Marriage and divorce records are considered public in Georgia and can be obtained by anyone.

Residents can perform an online search to check if someone is married or divorced using the Clerk of Court’s public index of court records. To search for these types of records, create a free account and then either select marriage licenses or domestic. If you want, you can search for both of these types of records at the same time.

When searching for divorce information, there are three potentially relevant case categories you should select to make sure you do not miss any relevant records. These three categories are Domestic, Domestic Relations and Family.

After you enter your search information, you can find the following information for Gwinnett County marriage and divorce records:

Gwinnett County Marriage Records: Party information, file date and marriage date are available for any marriage records you can locate with this search tool.

Gwinnett County Divorce Records: When looking at a divorce record, you can find details as to when the petition was filed and when the judge issued the divorce decree. You can look at the events section to find this information and any other filing that occurred throughout the case. These particular records can be selected to view a PDF of the actual filing.

There is also an option to order any of the case filings at $0.50 per page.

A screenshot of a marriage certificate or application request form provided by the Gwinnett County Probate Court that must be completed when requesting marriage records.
Source: Gwinnett County Probate Court10

Interested individuals can request a copy of a marriage record directly through Gwinnett County’s Probate Court. To do so, you can complete their Marriage Certificate Request Form and either drop it off or mail it (along with the $10.00 fee per certificate) to the below address:

Probate Court
Vital Records Division
75 Langley Dr.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046

The Vital Records Division is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. For any questions, you can contact them by phone at 770-822-8008.

You can also make a request for a marriage record with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They have marriage records available from June 1952 to August 1996 and can be requested for a $10.00 fee.

Another option for both marriage and divorce records is to make a request online through VitalChek. VitalChek is an approved third-party vendor of vital records for the state of Georgia.

Review or Order Birth & Death Certificates in Gwinnett County Georgia via the Probate Court

Unlike some vital records, birth certificates are considered confidential and can only be obtained by a limited group of people. People that are allowed access include the individual listed on the certificate of birth, parents, grandparents, guardian (with legal documentation), spouse, next of kin, adult child or personal representative.

A certificate of death with the cause of death shown has the same restrictions. If you have an interest in a matter that requires a death certificate, you can make a request for one with the cause of death redacted.

To make a request, you can submit either a completed birth certificate or death certificate request form along with the applicable fee and a government-issued picture I.D. The form can be dropped off or mailed to the below address:

Probate Court
Vital Records Division
75 Langley Dr.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046

The cost for either a certified birth or death record is $25.00 plus $5.00 for each additional copy requested. If you have any questions about requesting a birth or death record, you can contact them by phone at 770-822-8008. The Vital Records Division is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.

Anyone who is qualified to request a birth or death record can also do so through the Georgia Department of Public Health. For questions about requesting a record from the Georgia Department of Health, call them at 404-657-2700. You can also visit them in person at one of their Public Health Districts.

Another option to obtain a birth or death certificate is to make an online request through VitalChek, an approved third-party vendor for Georgia vital records.

How To Retrieve Free Gwinnett County Property Records

Many people do not realize that you can search Gwinnett County public records to find detailed property and tax information. Inquirers can search for property records in Gwinnett County by using the Tax Assessor’s Search Tool.11 Property records can be searched by parcel number, owner’s name or address.

A screenshot of the GIS/Property Search tool maintained by the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor's Office showing search results on the left side and a map on the right side of the image.
Source: Gwinnett County Tax Assessor’s Office11

When you perform a search, the results will provide you with summary information for all relevant property records. Click on the owner’s name to access the entire record. There is a variety of information a searcher may want to view.

You can view the value history of the property for the last five years with both an appraised and assessed value. A searcher can also view the transfer history to see when the property has been sold, what parties were involved in the sale, along with the date and sale price.

You can also get specific details of the property, which can be helpful if you are looking into purchasing the home. For instance, you can view the acreage, roof structure, type of heating and interior flooring.

If you have additional questions, you can contact the Tax Assessor’s Office by phone at 770-822-7200 or in person at the address below:

Gwinnett County Tax Assessor
Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center
75 Langley Dr.
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046

Another property record people often want to search for are its taxes. When buying a home, this could be valuable information to determine the approximate property taxes in a neighborhood. Curious individuals may also want to see if a particular property is current on their taxes.

To access this information, you can use the Tax Commissioner’s online search tool.12 You can find property tax information by address, parcel number or owner name. Once you find a property record, you can view the current year’s tax bill with the amount due, paid, and due date.

A screenshot of the property search tool of the Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner's Office showing sample results from the search done displaying information about properties that could help the owner view their taxes.
Source: Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner’s Office12

You can also see if there are any penalty fees or interest that have accrued.

This search tool also provides you with the previous seven years of tax bills.

A screenshot of a sample property account details showing the tax account information and tax bills summary made available by the Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner's Office for payment purposes.
Source: Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner’s Office12

For any additional property tax questions, you can contact them by phone at 770-822-8800 or visit them at the same address as the Tax Assessor’s Office listed above.

Citizens’ Rights & Responsibilities Regarding Gwinnett County Public Records

Information is powerful, and it’s important that we know how to ethically and responsibly use whatever documents we find when we check public records. Public records in Gwinnett County can be used for personal or professional reasons, and determining one’s use will also dictate the types of responsibilities that are involved.

Personal use has the least restrictions when it comes to using public records. So, if you are just performing a search to learn more about someone, for whatever reason, you just need to steer clear of using any information to commit a criminal act. While this may seem like common sense advice, certain criminal charges such as harassment and stalking have been committed with the improper use of public records.

There are also benefits to the personal use of public records. The primary one is that you can search records for any legal purpose without requesting the person’s consent. You can search any of the available public records mentioned throughout this article, and no one needs to know.

If you are searching for records and you cannot find a way to access the information, you can submit a FOIA request. Government agencies are required to provide a response to any FOIA request and release the requested public records documents. If there is information that is exempt under state or federal law, the government agency will first redact that information.

Professional use requires more thoughtfulness before conducting a search. For instance, you can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for failing to receive a subject’s written consent to be searched. You can also be reported to the FTC if you decided to take adverse action against someone (e.g., denied rental or loan application) but did not provide them with the required notices.

Also, be aware that you cannot use public records to discriminate against a person. This could be in the form of protected-class discrimination or because of their criminal or arrest record. If you do, the person discriminated against may choose to file an online claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).13

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides another layer of protection for individuals who are having their consumer information reviewed.14 The FCRA provides individuals with the right to know what is in their file. The FCRA also provides several protections, such as prohibiting consumer reporting agencies from using outdated information and allowing individuals to challenge any data they believe to be incomplete or inaccurate.

Make sure you have a clear understanding of both your rights and responsibilities before beginning your search. Then, you can confidently search and use Gwinnett County public records.


References

1Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office. (2023). Jail View. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <http://www.gwinnettcountysheriff.com/smartwebclient/>

2Gwinnett Police Department. (n.d.). Police Reports. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/web/gwinnett/Departments/Police/PoliceReports>

3Gwinnett County Courts. (2023). Case Search. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://www.gwinnettcourts.com/casesearch/>

4Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office. (2023). Sex Offender Registry. Search Results. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://www.icrimewatch.net/results.php?AgencyID=54503&SubmitAllSearch=1&excludeIncarcerated=0&page=1>

5Gwinnett County Police Department. (2015, November 20). Criminal History Request Form. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/static/departments/police/pdf/Criminal_History_Request_Form.pdf>

6Georgia Department of Corrections. (n.d.). Find an Offender. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://services.gdc.ga.gov/GDC/OffenderQuery/jsp/OffQryForm.jsp?Institution=>

7Georgia Bureau of Investigation. (2023). Sex Offender Registry. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://state.sor.gbi.ga.gov/sort_public/SearchOffender.aspx>

8U.S. Department of Justice. (n.d.). Perform a New Search. Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://www.nsopw.gov/en/Search/Results>

9Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). (n.d.). Find an Inmate. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/>

10Gwinnett County Probate Court. (2015, October 9). Marriage Certificate/Application Request Form. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://www.gwinnettcourts.com/documents/Vital%20Records/Marriage%20Certificate%20And%20Application%20Request%20Form.pdf>

11Gwinnett County Tax Assessor’s Office. (n.d.). Property GIS Search. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://gwinnettassessor.manatron.com/IWantTo/PropertyGISSearch.aspx>

12Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner’s Office. (n.d.). View/Pay Your Taxes. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://gwinnetttaxcommissioner.publicaccessnow.com/viewpayyourtaxes.aspx>

13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://www.eeoc.gov/how-file-charge-employment-discrimination>

14Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). (n.d.). A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from <https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/articles/pdf/pdf-0096-fair-credit-reporting-act.pdf>