Burkettsville, Ohio Public Records

Inspecting records is free under Ohio's Public Records Act, and an office may charge only the cost of making copies and postage. Clerk of courts case searches are free, a certified Ohio birth or death record costs $21.50 whether or not a record is found, and probate courts sell certified marriage copies for a few dollars.

Ask the Burkettsville police department records section for incident and crash reports if the town has its own force; otherwise the Mercer County Sheriff's Office keeps reports for the area. Crash reports sent to the state can be found on the Ohio Department of Public Safety crash retrieval site, and the official copy comes from the agency that worked the crash.

Cases filed in Mercer County are heard by the Mercer County Court of Common Pleas and the municipal or county court. Ohio has no statewide trial court portal, so the clerk of courts runs its own online case search.

Deeds, mortgages and liens are recorded by the Mercer County Recorder. The Mercer County Auditor sets property values and posts parcel data, and the Mercer County Treasurer mails tax bills and collects payments.

Any Ohio local health department, including the one serving Mercer County, issues certified birth certificates for births anywhere in Ohio, and death certificates come from the local office or the Office of Vital Statistics, $21.50 each. Marriage records are kept by the probate court where the license was issued.

Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation releases criminal history through fingerprint checks, not open name searches. The clerk of courts case search shows criminal cases by name.

Ohio's Public Records Act, R.C. 149.43, requires public records to be made available promptly and copies within a reasonable period of time; it sets no fixed number of days.