Actually, website disclaimers are CYA's for the county's website and its vendors. They make a clear distinction between the online records and official records found on the computer screens and indexes at the courthouse. Disclaimers and TOS for county websites may not apply to the official records accessible at the clerk's office which is controlled by statute rather than a vendors TOS.
County Websites make it clear there are two types of record search provided by the county and while they may look identical, they are not!
Online Records provide indexes and images that while convenient are not official and are not certified by the county as accurate or complete. Online records are intended to provide easy access for the general public. Errors resulting from online search may not be allowed in court as legal defense for abstractors or other professionals.
Official Records are only available at the courthouse and provide indexes and images that are certified by county officials as requited by statute. Errors found in the official records may be submitted as evidence that due-diligence was used in the search and that the error exists in the official records.
Data Missing from County Websites
Abstractors, legal researchers and county officials across the country have reported conflicting results from searches done online and those performed at the courthouse from official records. Here are some examples.
- In Data Goes Missing from County Websites abstractors from across the country identified records that were missing from online sites and could only be found in the official records at the courthouse.
In each of the above cases the missing records could only be found by abstractors who physically visit the courthouse to complete their due-diligence.
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