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Voter, Court, and Public Record Lookups

4 min read Apr 11, 2026

Overview

Public records are government-maintained datasets that are legally accessible and often searchable by name. They include electoral rolls, court records, company filings, land registries, and professional licensing databases. These sources provide verified, authoritative data that carries significantly more evidential weight than social media or commercial aggregator results.

Coverage and accessibility vary by country. The UK and US have particularly deep publicly accessible record sets. Many European countries restrict electoral and court data under data protection law.

Electoral Roll and Voter Registration

Electoral registers contain name, address, and sometimes date of birth for registered voters. In the UK, the edited electoral register is legally available for purchase and is used by credit reference agencies and commercial data brokers. Direct access is available through local councils.

For US voter registration records, availability varies by state. Many states publish voter rolls that include name, address, party affiliation, and voting history. Search by state:

  • VoterRecords.com aggregates US state voter data into a searchable interface

  • Individual state election board websites often provide direct downloads or search portals

  • Some states require a formal records request under state public records law

Court Records

Court records are among the most information-rich public sources available. Civil and criminal proceedings generate filings that contain full names, addresses, dates of birth, employer details, and financial information that subjects would not voluntarily disclose.

US federal court records are searchable through PACER:

┌──(kali㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ curl -s -u $PACER_USERNAME:$PACER_PASSWORD "https://pcl.uscourts.gov/pcl/pages/search/findParty.jsf" --data "lastName=Smith&firstName=John&courtType=all"

PACER charges per page accessed. Use CourtListener as a free alternative for federal cases — it mirrors a significant portion of PACER content and is fully searchable:

┌──(kali㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ curl -s "https://www.courtlistener.com/api/rest/v3/search/?q=%22John+Smith%22&type=p&format=json" -H "Authorization: Token $COURTLISTENER_API_KEY" | jq '.results[].name_full'

For UK court records, the Companies Court and High Court publish judgments through the British and Irish Legal Information Institute at bailii.org. Search by party name for civil judgments, insolvency proceedings, and company disqualifications.

Company Registries

Company filings name directors, shareholders, and registered addresses. When a subject is a company director or shareholder, their full name, date of birth, and residential address are submitted to the registry as part of incorporation and annual filing requirements.

UK Companies House is fully free and searchable by person name:

┌──(kali㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ curl -s "https://api.company-information.service.gov.uk/search/officers?q=John+Smith" -u $COMPANIES_HOUSE_API_KEY: | jq '.items[] | {name: .title, dob: .date_of_birth, address: .address}' 
{
  "name": "SMITH, John David",
  "dob": {"month": 6, "year": 1985},
  "address": {"locality": "London", "postal_code": "EC1A 1BB"}
}

US SEC EDGAR contains filings for publicly traded companies and names executives, directors, and significant shareholders with full names and sometimes addresses. Search by individual name:

┌──(kali㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ curl -s "https://efts.sec.gov/LATEST/search-index?q=%22John+Smith%22&dateRange=custom&startdt=2020-01-01&forms=DEF+14A" | jq '.hits.hits[]._source.file_date,.hits.hits[]._source.entity_name'

Land Registry and Property Records

Property ownership records connect names to physical addresses and are particularly useful for confirming residence or identifying asset holdings.

UK Land Registry title register searches confirm ownership by name or address:

┌──(kali㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ curl -s "https://api.os.uk/search/names/v1/find?query=John+Smith&maxresults=10" -H "key: $ORDNANCE_SURVEY_API_KEY"

US property records are managed at county level. Sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, and county assessor portals aggregate ownership data and are searchable by name or address. Many counties publish full ownership databases as downloadable datasets.

Professional Licensing Databases

Doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, and many other professions require registration with a regulatory body. These registers are public, searchable by name, and contain full name, registration number, employer, and sometimes address.

  • UK: General Medical Council, Solicitors Regulation Authority, FCA Register

  • US: State medical boards, state bar associations, FINRA BrokerCheck, SEC IAPD

  • EU: Each member state maintains profession-specific registers, many accessible through the EU Single Market portal

A name confirmed against a professional register provides date of birth, employer, and regulatory history in a single authoritative source.

References