A government database is a collection of figures or information which is provided under the authority of a national, sub-national, or local government. These include property cadasters, building department databases, permit registries, and similar sources.

In spite of the authoritative weight of government information, data from this type of source is ranked low for several fields because the data is still mediated, and because government data tends to vary widely depending on the particular field. For example, lot size, ownership information, and tax-related data tends to be highly accurate, but years and measurements may be imprecise.

Governmental authority distinguishes this database from a private database. The source assessment remains field-specific: official provision of a collection does not establish equal precision for every date, measurement, or property detail it contains.