Home-based court researcher jobs are not something I hear about as much as I did back when I started working at home in 2007. It’s still around, however. When someone on my Facebook Page asked for more information on the possibility, I decided it was time to brush up on what’s out there.
What Is a Court Researcher?
A court researcher is usually an independent contractor hired to pull requested legal documents in their local area. Many researchers are assigned two or three counties depending on size and workload.
While some U.S. counties offer documents online, most researchers need to visit their local courthouse – at least occasionally – to get the requested public record. This is one of those jobs where you might be working from home, but you are not always working at home.
The things you might research may be a land deed, marriage license, judgment or foreclosure documents to collect names, addresses, last known employers and case numbers. The information is then entered into a spreadsheet, usually on your laptop while still at the courthouse, and emailed to the contracting company.
No experience is usually necessary. Pay is typically per document collected and the workload can vary substantially depending on county size. Most companies state small counties may only have one hour per month available while a large county may be able to keep someone busy full-time. As can be expected, you need to have reliable transportation, business hour availability, a laptop and child care if you have young children.
- More at-home research jobs: 11 Awesome Online Research Jobs: Get Paid for Being a Know-It-All
Who Hires Court Researchers?
- Jellybean Services is one of the most well-known and respected in this industry. They pay once per month.
- Accurate Background Check
- Background Profiles – Not currently hiring, but check back often
- Deed Collector – Currently hiring in CT, IN, KY, MI, OH, SC, VA.
- Information Technologies is seeking data collectors nationwide.
- Sunlark Research
- Tax Sale Lists – This company’s researchers are obtaining tax sale information. They hire people to cover specific regions and the work appears to be seasonal (tax sales occur at specified times of the year.) It sounds as though this work is primarily done by phone, newspaper and online. Estimated territory hours can range from 120 to 350 per year so don’t expect this one to be full-time.
- CastleBranch
- IT-BOSS
- First National Acceptance Company is a division of First National Bank of America. They prefer those with previous courthouse or courthouse research experience.
- Omni Data Retrieval is a nationwide network of researchers.
- Sentinel Data Retrieval is looking for background researchers.
- Wolfgang Research collects document information to be sold as leads to companies in the insurance, debt consolidation, tax relief industries, etc.
You may also be able to find more court researcher jobs on FlexJobs, the #1 source for researched, legit remote gigs.
Other At-Home Legal Jobs
If you don’t want to leave your home to go to a courthouse, you can still get your at-home legal fix by being a court transcript proofreader from home. Or consider becoming an at-home paralegal, another research-heavy job that might be right up your alley.
