JohnDoe

WHO IS JOHN DOE - and where to get the paper on him

John Doe. . .

was born, or married, or died – www.vitalchek.com (~$15)

had previous addresses, relatives, associates - www.accurint.com (~$5)

was involved in a lawsuit, bankruptcy, divorce, probate, criminal or traffic violations – local and county courts on site; federal court index via PACER at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/

has a home phone – reverse directory; who else is there? – www.anywho.com/rl.html

is deceased – Social Security Death Index, address and SSN card application – ancestry.com and rootsweb.com

lives in a neighborhood – see an aerial photo – www.mapquest.com

holds a professional license – many state records - www.searchsystems.net

attended college – college confirms dates, degree

school classmates http://www.classmates.com (reg.req.)

bought, sold or owns real estate – county assessor, recorder

runs a Web site - www.netsol.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois

drives – state agency

flies - FAA

votes – county agency

owns a gun – state or county licensing

works for the government

salary, employ dates, jobs – agency

military (uniformed or civilian) www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records/standard_form_180.html
Media fax form to (314)538-2530. Media may call with SSN to (314) 538-2050 to confirm whether record exists.

military unit and buddy finder http://www.military.com/Military/Locator/New/Splash/?loc=L2 (reg.req.)

federal disciplinary appeals – www.mspb.gov

federal office seeker – www.fec.gov and www.opensecrets.org

works for a private company

charity or nonprofit – www.guidestar.com

business licenses – city, county or state

corporate charter documents – secretary of state

officer or major owner of publicly owned company - http://people.edgar-online.com/people/

workplace injury claims – state agency

conducts medical or scientific research – Medline – www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

invented something – http://patents.uspto.gov -- patent search

holds a copyright – http://www.copyright.gov/records/

Reporter's Desktop

John Doe updated June 7, 2005
Duff Wilson, The New York Times
Tips & feedback welcomed: dwilson@nytimes.com