Bankruptcy Records and PACER for Private Investigators and Detectives

Can anyone tell me if bankruptcy records and Chapter 7 filings are public record? You can view federal filings online at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov You will have to register to use the service. It is free to register but you will have to wait while your password is snail-mailed to you. Once you have it you will have access to just about every Federal Court record and document. The cost to purchase the records is .08 per page as of January 1, 2005. You will be billed on a quarterly basis for balances over $10.00 and will have the option to pay online by credit card. Balances under $10.00 are deferred until your account balance exceeds this amount. This is the only way I know of to review federal cases. When I have gone to the federal court in the past I have always been referred to the online Pacer Service Center. Pacer is good however there are a few courts that are not on the system, and others that only go so far back. Also, you can just call the districts VCIS number (toll free usually) if you don't have a pacer account, and search by SS#. VCIS is Voice Case Information System. Usually the actual case file is held about 6 months after the case is closed and then sent to the Federal Repository. You have to make an appointment to go view the file. Many of the documents can be printed off of PACER, but if you need to rummage the file you'll have to go find it first.