Public Record Search

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The public record search feature lets your residents find information on their own. They do not need a login to use it. Residents can look up Community Development records linked to a specific parcel. They can also filter by building, suite, or lot. You can choose which types of records to include. These may be permits, complaints, violations, licenses, or projects.

How to Turn on the Public Record Search

You will need to turn on the Public Record Search feature in your organization settings.

  1. Sign in to your site

  2. Go to Admin Tools, and then click on Organization Settings The Admin Tools menu is open with Organizational Settings selected in the left panel.

  3. Navigate to Other Settings Other Settings is highlighted under Organizational Settings. Admin Tools and Organizational Settings are expanded in the left menu.

  4. At the bottom of Other Settings, check the box Enable Public Record Search The Enable Public Records Search checkbox is outlined in red and unchecked in the settings menu.

  5. After turning on the feature, more checkboxes will appear on the screen. These are based on the record types included in your subscription. For example, if you do not have the Licenses module, you will not see a checkbox for licenses. When you select a record type checkbox, it controls which tables appear on the parcel detail page. Checked boxes under Enable Public Records Search allow complaints, violations, licenses, and projects to show in the public portal.

  6. Click the Save Settings Button at the bottom of the page The Save Settings button is centered and highlighted at the bottom.

Using the Public Record Search

Once you have the public record search on, a new navigation item will appear in your portal's header. The Citizen Portal’s top bar shows a new Public Records Search menu item next to Login and Register.

Once a user clicks on the Public Records Search, a search bar will appear that will allow a user to search by location or parcel number. A user does not have to have an exact match to get results. All parcels or locations that contain the search term will show in the results. The Search Public Records by Location section includes a search bar for location or parcel number, Search and Clear buttons, and a results table with headers: Parcel Number, Location, City, and Zip.

The user can access the parcel record by clicking View Details A search for 'any' shows results with parcel numbers, locations, and View Details links in the results table.

At the top of the search results page, you will see general information. Below that are filters that appear based on the data available. Filters for buildings, suites, and lots will only show if those items exist. For example, if a parcel has no lots, the lot filter will not appear. When a filter is clicked, all tables on the page will update to show only the records that match that filter.

The public record results page displays parcel info (number, address, location) at the top, with filter options for buildings, suites, lots, and empty sections for Permits, Complaints, and Violations.

Viewing Permits

If permit records are on, a permit table will appear. All permits that match the parcel and any filters will show. The user may optionally get more information about a permit by clicking View Details. This will show additional information. Any personal information will be hidden.

The Viewing Permits section shows a table with permit details, but no data is currently displayed. A note explains records will appear if available, with View Details links for more info.

Viewing Complaints

If complaint records are on, a complaint table will appear. All complaints that match the parcel and any filters will show. The complaint table will not show contractor, vehicle, or person complaints. This is for parcel complaints only. The Viewing Complaints section shows a table with one noise-related code enforcement complaint. Columns include complaint details, and a View Details link provides more info.

Note

You can hide certain complaints from public view. To do this, select check this box if the complaint is visible ONLY by admin in the complaint record.

A yellow note explains complaints can be hidden using the Visibility checkbox. Below, a form shows a complaint with status set to 01 Pending Inspection, an entry date of Jan 8, 2025, and a red-outlined admin-only Visibility checkbox.

While viewing the complaint table, the user can choose to get more information. They can do this by clicking View Details. This will show extra details about the complaint. Any personal information will be hidden.The complaint details screen shows violation info, location, dates, status as Pending, and a description field. Personal information is hidden.

Viewing Violations

If violation records are on, a violation table will appear. All violations that match the parcel and any filters will show. The user may choose to get more information about a violation by clicking View Details. This will show additional information. Any personal information will be hidden.

The Viewing Violations section lists violations with details and Pending status. View Details links are available. Personal information is hidden.

Additionally, violations will show a list of all codes linked to the violation.

The violation details page shows Violation 24-0085 with related info and status, followed by listed code sections and titles.

Viewing Licenses

If project records are on, a license table will appear. All projects that match the parcel and any filters will show. The user may choose to get more information about a project by clicking View Details. This will show additional information. Any personal information will be hidden.

The Licenses section lists license records with details, status, and View Details links for each.

Viewing Projects

If project records are on, a license table will appear. All projects that match the parcel and any filters will show. The user may choose to get more information about a project by clicking View Details. This will show additional information. Any personal information will be hidden.The Projects section lists projects with details, statuses, and View Details links for each entry.

The project detail page will also list any related projects and meetings.

The project detail page shows project info, parcel details, status, key dates, related projects, and associated meetings with their status and time.