Lawrence County Auditor Jason Stephens has responded to inquiries his office has received in the past few weeks regarding companies offering various “pay-for-information” real estate record retrieval services.

“There is no need for a property owner to pay for any sort of record retrieval,” Stephens said. “This information is free and available to the public at no cost.”

Stephens said his office has received calls and e-mails about solicitations claiming to offer “property profiles” and other records about parcels of property. “Most of the information these businesses are charging for is available for free on our website,” Stephens said.

“If residents are considering paying for one of these services, I urge them to call our office at 740-533-4310 and they will find out that we can more than likely provide the information for free.”

Residents can search for data on any property in Lawrence County at www.lawrencecountyauditor.org.

Residents can do a property search on any of the more than 55,000 parcels of property in Lawrence County.

For more information about the auditor’s office, various tax reduction opportunities, or other information please visit www.lawrencecountyauditor.org or call 740-533-4310.