Best Public Records Management Software - Page 4

Public records management software helps government agencies archive, manage, and digitize public records, often for the purpose of supporting Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made by citizens; common documents include land records, marriage licenses, birth and death certificates, and legal contracts. Public records management solutions automate workflow to route records requests, regardless of how they were received, to the appropriate parties and handle payment processing. They also ensure the privacy and security of sensitive government information, redacting documents to prevent disclosing confidential details to citizens. Typically, these products provide a front-end public portal to enable searching of public records and collection of citizen requests for said records, and requesters can track their request from intake to completion.

Internally, these solutions offer government agencies similar functionality as enterprise information archiving software. In the United States, federal agencies are mandated to manage all records electronically as of 2020; therefore, public records management systems are now a necessity for many American government entities. They allow agencies to upload and store many of their records electronically, with indexing features for quick retrieval to respond to requests. Public records management software also maintain audit trails for all records to monitor when they are accessed and by whom. Most solutions offer reporting and analytics features to track performance metrics and identify trends in the types of records requests being made.

To qualify for inclusion in the Public Records Management category, a product must:

• Enable request form creation to support multiple types of public records requests
• Facilitate building customized workflow assignments
• Provide communication tools for citizens and government employees
• Store public records electronically or integrate with dedicated document management solutions
• Comply with regulatory programs that protect sensitive government information, such as FedRAMP, CJIS, and HIPAA