Introduction to North Carolina Public Records
Public records are any record collected or created by the government that has been deemed acceptable for public dissemination. According to most laws, any and all information and data within the government - including things like government memos and most emails - are a matter of public record.
North Carolina public records contain most of the information collected by the state, with the obvious personal privacy exceptions, such as:
Medical Records
Social Security Numbers
Credit Card Numbers
Most other information collected by the government is included in North Carolina public records unless it contains some type of information that may be dangerous to include.
Open Records
In addition, North Carolina public records can be used for any purpose. You can collect all of the data you want for any reason. The keeper of the records may not ask you what purpose you need them for, and once you receive the record you are allowed to do anything you want with it. This can be nerve-racking for some because it means that their information can be disseminated at will, but the purpose of North Carolina public records is for government transparency, and there is no way to monitor what the government and limit the information you allow into public record. The two are mutually exclusive.
