Backgroundchecks.com FAQs

An instant criminal search is only as accurate as the state, local or federal agency reporting the data. We have limited control in their update frequency as it is set by and varies by each data source’ this ranges from as frequently as daily to semi-annually. For a source specific update frequency we recommend you explore our interactive coverage map, which lists the update frequency in the source descriptions. With that said, data strength is one of many aspects that sets us apart from our competitors and we go to great lengths to acquire and maintain our data and pride ourselves on typically updating our database with new records within five days of receipt. Moreover, criminal records and subject demographics will vary based on the data source. For instance, some data sources provide full dates of birth while others may only provide year of birth or none at all. Information associated with criminal records also varies such as: plea, disposition, degree of offense, etc… In some cases the data source provides obscure or very few details about the record.

There is no background check that provides a list of places a candidate has worked. However, we can individually verify the workplaces that a candidate lists on their resume.

You should consider background check records a part of candidates or employees’ private files and not share these checks beyond your company’s hiring team, aside from sharing them with the candidates or employees themselves.

Yes, salary is one of the pieces of information that a work history verification check can verify.

No, such search options do not exist.

You may refer to the learning center here.

Yes, as part of a driving record report, we report the license class, which could be CDL.

You may refer to the learning center here.

One of the most common questions about criminal background checks is whether reports will show arrest records. 

The answer depends on the state. Some states have laws prohibiting employers from asking about arrest records or using them for employment-related decisions. Since arrests themselves are not proof of guilt, they are unreliable and often unfair when used as a barrier to employment. 

At backgroundchecks.com, we always exclude arrest history information from our background check reports to protect our customers from compliance issues. To learn whether your state legally allows the use of arrest records for hiring, read our white paper on the matter.

Before you start exploring state-level criminal records, understand that not every state has the same background check laws. If your background check process will span multiple states, such as for a candidate who recently moved from one state to another, you may encounter very different background check rules. Learn more about background check laws by state.

Similar to arrests, dismissed cases are not proof of guilt. However, a dismissed case may appear on a candidate’s background check. An arrest that never led to a criminal charge is one thing, but a criminal charge stays on the person’s record even if the charges are dismissed, or the case ends in a not guilty verdict. 

Just because dismissed charges may show up on a background check doesn’t mean employers need to consider them. In most cases, employers recognize the difference between a formal conviction and a charge that ultimately didn’t go anywhere. To learn more about this subject, read our full post about dismissed cases and background checks.

If a candidate has successfully petitioned to have their criminal records sealed or expunged, those convictions should no longer appear on a background check report. An expunged record is essentially scrubbed from existence, while a sealed record should only be accessible to law enforcement. 

Does your business have candidates whose criminal histories make hiring or providing specific benefits challenging? At backgroundchecks.com, we designed a program called MyClearStart to help employers get information about expungement into the hands of their applicants.

Before you order any searches from us, you’ll need an account with backgroundchecks.com. Under various laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you must prove that you have a permissible purpose to order a background check before you access the content of the reports. This process is easy and 100% online through our platform. If you don’t have an account, don’t worry. It’s fast and easy to set one up. To see what information you need, go here:

Before you order any searches from us, you’ll need an account with backgroundchecks.com. Under various laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you must prove that you have a permissible purpose to order a background check before you access the content of the reports. This process is easy and 100% online through our platform. If you don’t have an account, don’t worry. It’s fast and easy to set one up. To see what information you need, go here:

You may refer to the learning center

No, you do not need a copy, but we do ask for the name of the issuing organization, the license number, license type, state of issuance, date the license or certificate was issue and when it expires.

Yes. We do require all businesses to register for an account before a report can be sent. You can read more about registering for an account here. Once your account has been verified, your instant report will be accessible in your portal.

We incorporate Social Security Numbers into many of our checks—particularly criminal history—so that we can find past names associated with those SSNs. If a candidate has previous legal names, we will note this information and recommend running additional checks on those names.

In most cases, traffic tickets or other driving-related infractions will not be included in criminal background check reports. Most speeding tickets are considered civil infractions rather than misdemeanors or felonies, and civil infractions rarely show up on criminal history checks. 

That’s not to say that employers cannot find traffic citations with a background check. Motor vehicle record checks offer a way to find this information and are common for jobs that involve operating vehicles or heavy machinery. 

Of course, there are driving offenses considered misdemeanors or felonies, including reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol. These convictions will appear on a criminal background report. 

To learn more about what information may appear on a driving history check – from traffic tickets to license classification – visit our driving record background check product page.

You may refer to the pdf here

No, these vary by state and are subject to change without notice. These access charges range from a few dollars to over $20. Before you finalize your order, we will show the exact access fee for that state at that time.

Juvenile records are not part of our coverage. Information on most juvenile offenses is not released and most courts and states do not provide information on people under 17.

No, bank account information is considered private and is not publicly available. However, we do provide reports that may include bankruptcy information which is publicly available and may be viewed as a financial record. For interested customers we can purchase credit reports from a credit bureau.

No, divorces are not reported on any criminal history search.

No, we do not.

We carry out a system-based real time multi-jurisdictional warrant search.

No, we do not provide results on an individual's credit in our criminal reports. Credit history is not publicly available and is considered private information. For interested customers we can purchase credit reports from a credit bureau.

No, social security number information is not usually publicly available. However, date of birth information is commonly found in public records. Many of our criminal record data sources include date of birth in the information they provide.

There is debate about how effective this policy is in making employment more accessible for ex-offenders.

Champions say that it helps to reconfigure the mindset of employers and hiring managers in a powerful way, helping them to see beyond a person’s convictions to their skills and qualifications. According to a study conducted by the Urban Institute, these policies improve callback rates for people with criminal records, which means that they are effective for eliminating the tendency of hiring managers to immediately disqualify any candidate who self-identifies as having a criminal rap sheet.

That finding is significant, given the fact that–per the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)–a criminal background can reduce a person’s likelihood of a callback or employment offer by almost 50 percent.

However, critics of this legislation argue that it merely delays the moment in hiring when an employer would disqualify a candidate for a relevant criminal conviction, wasting both the candidate’s and hiring manager’s time. The Urban Institute study also found that banning the box has “reduced the likelihood that employers call back or hire young black and Latino men.”

There are several reasons why 0 records might be found in a database search. You entered incorrect information like a misspelled first or last name and/or the incorrect date of birth. You entered a hyphenated name, middle initial in the first name box, a suffix such as JR, SR II, III, IV at the end of the last name or a special character in the first or last name box. The search was conducted by name and date of birth; but available public records do not associate this name and/or date of birth with the record. The subject searched is a minor and we do not search juvenile records. You entered a hyphenated name. Our database does not provide results for hyphenated names, therefore, you must enter the last name with a space rather than a hyphen (-) or you may use the last part of the hyphenated name for the best results. Do not add any generations such as Jr. Sr. II or III. You entered two first names. We are referring to names like Bobbie Sue, Amy Lynn and Billie Joe - please do not use them. Use only the first part of the two-part name as any extension of the name will be reported. Example, if you are searching Amy Lynn - Just use Amy and if there is a match with Amy Lynn it will come back. You entered a nickname. Court records use the subject's full legal name, not nicknames. You entered a middle name as a first name. Court records use the subject's first name, not a middle name that the subject goes by. The record you might have expected to find is not within the agreed available covered jurisdictions. backgroundcheck.com, like all criminal record database search companies, offers limited criminal record coverage, and most likely the known record is not within our coverage acknowledged in our terms and conditions. The fact is, not all county, or municipal courts nationally will share their information with third party companies or do not have the records indexed in a searchable format. For an upfront understanding of our state and county coverage, visit our interactive coverage map. The record you might have expected to find is expunged or sealed by court order.

Our US OneSEARCH database currently contains over 650 million criminal records derived from a comprehensive list of sources.

We'd love to talk to you to answer your questions!. Contact our sales team.

We collect publicly available information from hundreds of data sources which include county courts, state administrative Office of the courts, state departments of corrections and many more. We have limited control in their update frequency as it is set by and varies by each data source. However, data strength is one of many aspects that sets us apart from our competitors and we go to great lengths to acquire and maintain our data. We are continually evaluating our processes to ensure timely and quality results.

An employment verification check is mostly meant to check the validity of the work history information a candidate provides on their resume. It’s not uncommon for job applicants to embellish their work history to make it look more impressive to a prospective employer. That might mean tweaking a job title, changing a start or end date, or listing job responsibilities outside the scope of the position. Employment verification checks involve contacting previous employers—usually HR staff—and verifying the accuracy of these key information points.

On the subject of employment history checks, one common question is what employers can or cannot say about a previous employee. If you are an employer, you may be wondering what you can ask a former employer about a job candidate or what you are allowed to say if an employer contacts you about a past employee. 

Contrary to popular belief, no federal law restricts what employers can disclose about past employees. For instance, if the candidate you are screening was fired from a previous job, the employer can share that detail and explain the reasoning behind the decision.

However, just because there is no federal law on the subject doesn’t mean employers are always open to discussing anything and everything about their ex-employees. Most employers tread carefully here for fear of defamation lawsuits. 

As a result, employers don’t typically want to comment too much on things that might be deemed subjective – such as the character or work ethic of past employees. Especially if the employer doesn’t have anything nice to say about their ex-worker, they don’t want to put themselves in a situation where they could feasibly be taken to court for slandering that person. 

So, instead of asking questions that focus on an employer’s opinions about a past employee, most employment verification checks focus on objective and easily verifiable details. These details include verifiable employment dates, job titles, duties or responsibilities, and salary information.

Anybody wanting to promote the program can simply link to www.myclearstart.com. Upon request, we also provide a sample set of promotional banners and the MyClearStart logo that you can use on your site. You are free to share this promotional material with others who wish to promote the program. For more information, contact MyClearStart by email

In most cases, job seekers have a list of 2-3 professional references that they submit alongside their resume, cover letter, and job application. These references, theoretically, are people who are willing to speak favorably about the job seeker’s skills, abilities, work habits, and more. However, since job seekers ask references to speak on their behalf, reference checks can touch upon subjective topics that work history verifications usually cannot, including personality, character, and work ethic. 

Read on to find out how we can check your candidate's references.

All employers that wish to use background checks to guide employment decisions should review the FCRA in detail and seek guidance on FCRA compliance from their attorneys.

This query is one of the most frequently asked questions about banning the box from both employers and job seekers. Especially as the campaign started picking up steam a few years ago, professionals often mistakenly interpreted it as a ban of all criminal checks for hiring purposes.

In truth, these laws do not typically forbid employers from running checks on their applicants. However, some box-banning legislation does require a delay in obtaining a criminal check until after the first job interview or after making a conditional employment offer.

Some of these laws also restrict how an employer can use the information obtained in a check, require employers to give additional notices to applicants, or delay the hiring process by granting candidates the right to appeal employer decisions based on criminal history information.

None of these limitations states that employers can't disqualify applicants based on past convictions. A conditional offer of employment can be withdrawn. Some ban the box laws (including the Hawaii prototype law) do limit withdrawals to situations in which check findings indicate that an applicant has a criminal conviction history that directly affects their ability to perform the job in question.

For instance, an employer could fairly disqualify a candidate with multiple DUI or DWI convictions from consideration for a truck driver position, because those convictions speak directly to that person’s safety and responsibility behind the wheel. On the other hand, those same convictions have a very minor relationship to an office job and wouldn’t necessarily be legal grounds for an employer withdrawing a conditional hiring offer.

Ban the box laws encourage employers to consider criminal histories on a case-by-case basis rather than rejecting all applicants who check a crime records box on a job application or report specific types of criminal history. They function not to bar employers from considering conviction history when making hiring decisions but rather to bring nuance to those considerations.

How far back a criminal background check goes depends on the state. No federal law regulates the lookback period for criminal history checks. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) does have rules limiting the “adverse information” a credit bureau can report about a consumer. 

However, that part of the FCRA only applies to credit history checks. There is no corresponding rule for criminal history checks. 

Instead, most states decide on this matter on their own. Most commonly, criminal background checks are allowed to look back seven years.

This varies by state but will go back at least 3 years.

For many checks, it takes less than 3 minutes to place an order. You can get most criminal checks in about 2 minutes if you already have an account with us. Some checks take more than 2 minutes. Here's more on this.

The typical turnaround time to return a county criminal report ranges from 1 to 3 business days. In some instances, it may take longer.

You may refer to the learning center

There are several reasons why 0 records might be found. You entered incorrect information like a misspelled first or last name and/or the incorrect date of birth. You entered a hyphenated name, middle initial in the first name box, a suffix such as JR, SR II, III, IV at the end of the last name or a special character in the first or last name box. The search was conducted by name and date of birth; but available public records do not associate this name and/or date of birth with the record. The subject searched is a minor and we do not search juvenile records. You entered a hyphenated name. Our database does not provide results for hyphenated names, therefore, you must enter the last name with a space rather than a hyphen (-) or you may use the last part of the hyphenated name for the best results. Do not add any generations such as Jr. Sr. II or III. You entered two first names. We are referring to names like Bobbie Sue, Amy Lynn and Billie Joe - please do not use them. Use only the first part of the two-part name as any extension of the name will be reported. Example, if you are searching Amy Lynn - Just use Amy and if there is a match with Amy Lynn it will come back. You entered a nickname. Court records use the subject's full legal name, not nicknames. You entered a middle name as a first name. Court records use the subject's first name, not a middle name that the subject goes by.

MyClearStart currently supports the free eligibility test in the following states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington. For other states click here.

Both searches are instant in our database, but Instant Criminal+ Local County also includes the option to search in a criminal database of a local jurisdiction where the subject has lived most recently. We recommend Instant Criminal+ Local County because it’s more thorough than Instant Criminal+.

Both searches are instant in our database, but Instant Criminal+ Local County also includes the option to search in a criminal database of a local jurisdiction where the subject has lived most recently. Instant Criminal+ All Counties will allow you to search more criminal databases, typically 1-3 different jurisdictions. We recommend Instant Criminal+ All Counties because it will confirm more local results with the county criminal courts than Instant Criminal+ Local County.

Because California, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota and Indiana currently require us and other consumer reporting agencies to verify criminal matches found during our instant database search directly with the source before reporting them, we are prevented from providing criminal records instantly in these four states. Is a verified search still an instant search? Yes and no. A criminal record search using our US OneVERIFY search option, will still return clear results back instantly, but when we discover criminal records that are a possible match, the system automatically changes the status to ‘in progress’ while our quality assurance department verifies each hit with the respective source. Depending on the number of hits and the response time from each search this can take a few days. Our average turnaround time for a verified search that initially has hits, is 1-3 business days.

No one is notified that you have ordered a report on yourself.

Yes, the program is free to use for background screening firms and their customers. We will not charge any costs to you to participate in or promote the program.

The ins and outs of social security number driven name and address history The US OneTRACE check is the fastest, easiest and most cost effective way to retrieve the best possible address history for a subject, aside from asking the subject for the information and relying on their comprehensive listing of their past address history. Employers frequently desire to order county criminal record searches in all counties where the subject lived in the past seven years. If you want to make that selection based on an independent listing of addresses, the US OneTRACE is your best option. The US OneTRACE check is included as part of our US AliasSEARCH or US AliasVERIFY instant criminal database searches. Additional benefits of providing a social security number as part of an instant criminal database search: When you provide a full name including first, middle and last name, and the social security number (SSN), we report the state and the approximate date of issuance of the SSN for Social Security Numbers issued prior to the Social Security Administration's (SSA) randomization initiative started in June 25, 2011 and we run the SSN through the SSA Death Master Index and alert you if the SSN belong to a deceased person. This allows you to better identify and prevent identity fraud.

Court records are generally public records. Even if your case is dismissed, deferred or discharged, your offense is still publicly available. Which means your prospective employer, landlord or school may discover the court case.

If your organization is in healthcare, transportation, or construction / manufacturing, you may be more interested in an industry-specific package.

Yes, please visit our disputes page for this answer.

These legislative requirements are part of a broader “Fair Chance” employment movement.

Proponents of this kind of hiring argue that discriminating against job candidates based on the slightest trace of crime records forces offenders to keep paying for offenses even after they have served out their sentences and paid their dues to society. Some employment advocates claim that offering more gainful employment opportunities for ex-offenders can reduce recidivism and prevent crime.

Sometimes, Fair Chance laws include banning the box elements. Other times, they focus on different factors, such as encouraging employers to consider past criminal misdeeds on a case-by-case basis rather than with a blanket policy that denies all candidates ever convicted of criminal activity.

Sometimes, these hiring laws don’t concern criminal information at all. For example, some localities have ordinances in place limiting employers’ ability to conduct credit history checks on their candidates.

Not all Fair Chance laws apply to hiring. As banning the box has grown more common, it has also developed momentum in housing. Some jurisdictions are limiting landlords in their ability to disqualify housing candidates based on criminal history.

Banning the box has also gained a foothold in higher education, with colleges and universities becoming more interested in fairly admitting students with criminal backgrounds.

While the box-banning campaign and the Fair Chance movement are often treated as synonyms, ban the box is just one piece of a broader movement.

The FCRA regulates consumer reporting agencies so that they conduct their business in fair, impartial, and respectful ways, particularly regarding consumer privacy. As a job seeker, the FCRA protects you throughout the pre-employment background check process. No employer can launch an investigation of your background without first disclosing their intention to do so and obtaining your express written consent. In addition, employers cannot disqualify you from job consideration based on background check findings without first notifying you and giving you a chance to dispute those findings

Public records is information that has been filed or recorded by local, state, federal, or other government agencies, such as corporate and property records. Public records include vital records, immigration records, real estate records, driving records, criminal records, voter registration, etc. Most essential public records are maintained by the government and many are accessible to the public. Availability is determined by federal, state, and local regulations.

Criminal history searches are just one part of a thorough pre-employment background check process. In addition to looking at criminal records, most employers take time to verify the information their candidates provide on resumes and job applications. 

Lies, half-truths, or embellishments are unfortunately common in today’s job market. Because a criminal background check doesn’t reveal anything about a person’s past employment or education. It ultimately isn’t an effective tool to help employers flag lies about work history or college degrees. 

These details must instead be checked using verification checks. There are a few different types of verifications available from backgroundchecks.com, including employment history, education, professional licensing or certification, and reference checks.

Each state charges different fees. If you take the free eligibility test, all fees will be shown prior to you making any commitment.

Similar to employment history, education history is a resume detail that employers may want to verify about their candidates. Education verification can be crucial for pre-hiring due diligence, especially in academia or in jobs requiring specific degrees or credentials. You can check our product page for education history checks to learn more about how they work and why they are important in the background check process.

As a last resort we can contact the subject of your search and ask them provide us with a copy of their W-2 for the period of their employment and use that to verify the key aspects of their employment history.

As a last resort we can contact the subject of your search and ask them provide us with a copy of their W-2 for the period of their employment and use that to verify the key aspects of their employment history.

You may refer to the learning center here.

Staying compliant with the FCRA requires employers to follow a federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to the letter. This law includes specific requirements regarding how employers use background checks for employment purposes. Specific sections of the FCRA cover nuanced guidelines for background check disclosure and authorization and what employers must do if they wish to disqualify a candidate from job consideration based on background check findings. Employers should establish written background screening policies that incorporate FCRA requirements.

FCRA stands for “Fair Credit Reporting Act.” It is a federal law enacted in 1971 that regulates the consumer reporting agency industry and protects consumer privacy. All credit reporting bureaus are subject to the FCRA, including all background check companies.

You can register a new account online now. Registration takes minutes. Then you can get your first instant report about 2 minutes later.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.

These laws vary significantly from one state or local jurisdiction to the next. While your business is statistically likely to be in a part of the country where such a law exists (NELP says that three-quarters of the U.S. population now “lives in a jurisdiction that has banned to box”), that doesn’t mean that your company is obligated to do anything right now.

Of the 36 states that ban in the box, only 14 of them extend their requirements to private entities (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington).

20 areas–including Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and the District of Columbia–extend their protections to private jobs. Otherwise, most of these laws currently apply only to public employers.

You should take the time to research the legislative requirements in your state, county, and city or town. If a relevant law or ordinance is on the books, review the language of the law closely to determine whether it applies to your company. If you need help deciphering the law, our terminology page can help.

If the law does apply to your company, you will need to take the steps to comply–whether that means removing questions about criminal backgrounds from your applications, delaying your criminal checks until later in hiring, or something else.

Your business can also opt to abolish the box of its own accord. Some organizations have taken this step to signal that they are welcoming to individuals who have made mistakes in the past and are trying to rebuild their lives. Banning the box before you are legally required to do so can also put you ahead of the curve for compliance if your state or local jurisdiction does decide to end the box.

First, we’ll ask if you have an account. If you don’t have one, we’ll show you how to set one up. Here’s what to expect when you place order: You click on a button to start your automated process. You enter the information about the person whose background you’re checking. We call this person the subject of your search. You’ll need your subject’s First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, and Social Security Number (SSN). We’ll run a fast check of the subject’s SSN and verify their prior addresses. If you’re ordering the Instant Criminal+ Local County or Instant Criminal+ All Counties package, we’ll recommend county court criminal searches in and near the counties where the subject has lived. We’ll recommend other optional searches and checks that may be of interest. Before you place your order, you can upgrade to these added searches. We’ll show you the total of running the check.

When most people think of a background check, they think of a simple criminal history check. In truth, though, most background checks entail much more than that. 

Defined simply, a background check is the tool employers use to vet their candidates as thoroughly as possible. This process involves looking at criminal records, but it can also entail education and employment history, civil records, professional references, etc. A good background check shows a wide variety of information. Note that background checks can take several days to process, so planning and knowing what information you want to check is essential for ensuring a timely service.

Why is each of these types of information important? In the case of a criminal history check, learning about a person’s background may be vital to keeping your company, your employees, and your customers safe. Employment and education verifications help ensure that applicants have the skills and experience necessary to perform the job at hand. Some background checks can even verify whether applicants are truthful about their identity – and whether they are wanted internationally. 

Call these processes what you will: background screenings, background checks or pre-employment screenings. Regardless of the name, these tools are always there to help protect your company from the risk of a bad hire. Those risks can include bad press, negligent hiring lawsuits, and other liabilities. Most employers believe detailed background checks are worth the cost of admission to minimize these risks.

One important thing to note here is the importance of identifying information for background checks. Most criminal records are filed by name, which can be a stumbling block given how many people share common names. Knowing other details about a candidate – such as their birthdate, Social Security Number, or where they live – is vital to help make sure records belong to your applicant. These extra pieces of identifying information can also help background check providers pull records associated with a candidate’s aliases or prior names, including maiden names.

In some states, employers must notify a job candidate when they receive a background check that may lead them to withhold a job offer.

The first step to understanding the implications of this law is to define what the law is. The “box” in the phrase refers to the question on job applications that asks applicants whether they have ever been convicted of a crime. Typically, candidates are asked to check yes or no to answer this question, hence the “box.”

Applications with this question require job seekers to self-identify as criminal offenders from the start of the job application process. A ban the box law is a legislative action that requires employers to remove this question–as well as any other criminal history questions–from applications.

These laws seek to prevent employment discrimination against individuals with crime records. The idea is that an employer gets a chance to form an initial impression of each applicant’s character, skillset, and overall job fitness before learning that he or she has a criminal past.

With no criminal history questions on the job application, and with checks often delayed until late in hiring, an ex-offender will theoretically have a better chance of being “the best person for the job.”

Most banning the box legislation also places other restrictions and requirements on employers. For instance, some states prohibit employers from inquiring about arrests, dismissed charges, sealed records, or history in a diversion program.

Some of these laws restrict employers from inquiring about criminal history until after the first interview or after they make a conditional offer of employment. Some jurisdictions require employers to consider other factors, such as time-related restrictions or whether the criminal history is job-related.

The time it takes to fulfill a criminal search at the state court varies wildly, from one business day to several weeks. Before finalizing the order, you can view a typical turnaround time for each direct court search in our shopping cart. By default a statewide search covers 7 years of criminal record history, but customers can select from a variety of different time spans (such as 10, 20 or 30 years) when they submit their search, provided state law does not restrict such time spans. Do take into account that while our goal is to update our instant database with new counties and new county records regularly, it is possible that a traditional on-premise court house search would provide more up-to-date information and could, for example, show that a criminal record with a pending case status in our instant data base has been recently dismissed.

Each jurisdiction is different so take the free eligibility test to find out.

You should contact the agency listed on the report details section of the report and take no further action.

A civil history background check is an entirely different matter than a criminal background check. Where criminal cases are brought to court by the state, civil cases are brought instead by the alleged victim. For instance, if someone sues their neighbor over a property damage claim, that case becomes part of the civil court history for both the plaintiff and the defendant. A civil background check would therefore turn up information about that case.

Note that there are two types of civil history background checks: county and federal. To understand what shows on these different civil history records, read our blog post on the matter.

The fee is $12.75 for a search of one county. Sometimes county courts charge added fees. Their fees range from a few dollars to a current high of $95 in New York. Before you enter your order, we tell you how much your search will cost – including all local fees.

The EEOC is a federal organization that regulates the reporting of employment-related data. Learn more about EEOC.

All of our county criminal searches include convictions for felonies and misdemeanors within the jurisdiction of the county court. All of our criminal searches go back at least seven years. When you place your order, you can choose to extend the search to go back 10, 20, or 30 years. You can extend the search unless laws in the state limit searches to seven years.

Yes. During your automated ordering process, we suggest optional reports and checks you may want to consider. You can add them to your order before you complete it.

As an employer, you could decide to promote the program in consumer notices that the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires, such as pre-adverse and adverse action letters. But you could equally well decide to present MyClearStart on your site’s career section and application forms or even develop call scripts or email templates for HR staff to use in response to applicant inquiries.

Before you place your order, you enter the subject’s full name, address, and social security number (SSN). Our system instantly checks the name and address history of that SSN. From the address history we find, we suggest that you run searches in the counties where the subject has lived. We present these suggestions to you in real time. Then on the order screen, you can choose whether to search in the counties we’ve suggested.

One of the most critical things to understand about banning the box is that it is not just one law. Rather, it is a broader trend made up of hundreds of different laws, ordinances, pieces of pending legislation, and on-the-ground advocacy campaigns. While it is possible that, someday, there could be a nationwide law, the current legislation is a patchwork.

Unfortunately, the current structure of banning the box legislation makes it more challenging for employers to understand their obligations. Some laws are enforced on the state level; others are ordinances that only apply to specific cities or counties. Some laws apply only to public employers; others include companies that do contract work with government departments, while some extend to private companies.

Even when banning the box legislation does apply to private businesses, it sometimes only requires compliance for employers with more than a certain number of employees, leaving smaller businesses to make their own decisions.

The trending nature of the fair employment movement means that laws are constantly changing. New jurisdictions are adopting their own box-banning legislation each year, while jurisdictions that already have laws or ordinances in place sometimes amend and update those laws to include new requirements.

Because of these factors, employers need to be vigilant about keeping up with the latest laws in their local jurisdiction and state. Before establishing a hiring policy or background check protocol, all employers should check relevant laws and ordinances to determine their obligations for compliance.

Failure to comply with these laws can result in fines and other legal consequences. Doing research before drawing up a job application or deciding when to run a check can help employers to avoid these costly lapses in compliance.

To help you, here are a few frequently asked questions about these laws, including the key details that employers should know about this legislative movement.

backgroundchecks.com has the #1 criminal conviction records database in the industry, based on a comparison of the number of sources of conviction data for online criminal conviction databases that make their source list publicly available. Our sources include hundreds of direct sources such as county courts, state administrative office of the courts, state department of corrections and many more. We also use third party data providers which allows us access to billions of records, thus improving the quality and volume of your results.

The federal courthouses do not make their criminal records available to private criminal database operators.

US federal districts handle bankruptcy cases in a separate court. We can carry out a search for any bankruptcy associated with an applicant that is recorded in the specific US District Court that you request. The information returned may include case or file number, date filed, type of bankruptcy (i.e. Chapter 11, Chapter 7, etc.), discharge date, and names listed as petitioners.

To speed up your delivery, we always try to get electronic access to county criminal records. However, some counties offer electronic access to court records, and others don’t. For the courts that limit electronic access, someone must go to the courthouse in person. For such situations, we’ve assembled a nationwide network of experienced criminal record researchers. Our researchers know the local courthouses and court clerks, and they go on site to retrieve court records. In other counties, our researcher can perform the record search on a public terminal at the courthouse. In some counties, researchers must fill out a record search form, then wait for a court clerk to perform the search. That’s why the duration of the search varies.

Because driving record information is not public record information and we retrieve the information directly from the respective state institution.

Because we must get records from county courts who do not all provide electronic access to their court records. Some require an in-person visit to the court house which results in more time.

Since many courts and agencies do NOT proactively inform the public of expungements, a person may obtain a court order expunging or sealing a record but that order may never be received by the criminal record database companies, who are a source of criminal record information to many of the background screening companies in the US. Consumers that engage with the MyClearStart program and the attorneys from our partner can rest assured that, once the offense has been officially expunged or sealed, the lawyer also works to remove the records from proprietary criminal databases at the nation's largest criminal record database providers that have joined forces in the Expungement Clearinghouse. And for people that already have an expungement, our partner can now offer you an additional service that will expedite the removal or modification of your criminal record. The Expungement Clearinghouse expedites the updating of information provided to over 500 commercial background screening providers in the U.S. by securely sharing data about expunged criminal records with participating member companies. The clearinghouse provides a faster and more coordinated approach for consumers, their attorneys, courts and other sources to efficiently disseminate information about criminal records that have been cleared or updated by the courts to the commercial background screening industry. Having MyClearStart handle your case means that you will have the security and confidence in knowing that you have an experienced and licensed attorney working to make sure your record is cleared by the court to the fullest extent possible as fast as possible and removed from private criminal databases. We have partnered with The Law Firm of Higbee & Associates to offer you this service.

When you order reports, we must certify that you are a business with a permissible purpose to request such data. To check your credentials, we have to order verification information from sources that charge us a fee. Our registration fee pays for those charges.

No, a DUI is not expected to show up. If you specifically want to order a search to uncover possible DUI offenses, we recommend you order a criminal search.

Automatic jurisdiction suggestions highlight specific counties or parishes where your subject might have criminal records. When ordering criminal background checks online, you must supply the individual’s full name, date of birth and Social Security number. In real-time, backgroundchecks.com uses this information to conduct an address history search behind the scenes.

This Social Security trace lists information about places the subject has lived in the past. For example, the trace may furnish seven years of an individual's address history. Our service uses this information to automatically suggest the relevant county courts associated with any of the individual's past addresses.

Such information simplifies targeting your searches to areas where an individual may have criminal records. During the ordering process, our system will also provide additional county recommendations based on areas not fully covered by our criminal history database. Coverage gaps often exist because courts may not always digitize records or make them electronically available. We suggest all the counties where your applicant has lived while also highlighting other areas where you may wish to explore in greater detail due to potential gaps.

You can add up to 25 counties per individual criminal background check order.

How are criminal background checks done? Most felony and misdemeanor records exist at the county court level. These courts may also feed their records into state-level repositories. However, the most up-to-date records are almost always at the local courthouse. Most employers check the courts within their local area as a starting point. However, you could miss essential records if you do not search multiple jurisdictions.

An individual who temporarily lives in another county or state could have a criminal record there. If you only review someone’s current county of residence, you could miss out on reviewing those relevant convictions. A multi-jurisdictional search is one tool to solve this problem. At backgroundchecks.com, our database of more than 650 million records provides a clear snapshot of where an applicant may have other criminal records.

Whether you use this approach or check multiple counties simultaneously, the goal is the same. Find records that don’t exist in your immediate area.

Our auto-suggest tool is a good beginning. Address history searches can help inform you where an applicant most likely has other criminal records. However, you may also wish to add more counties for additional confidence. There are a few ways to decide on different counties, and you might try places such as:

• An individual’s hometown. If you know an applicant originated from another city or state, you might add that town’s county.
• Previous workplaces. You may learn other important information in the process of verifying employment. Check county court records where your applicant worked but did not live.
• Metropolitan areas. If your applicant lives in a metro area county, they may have also moved around other areas within the metro. Check counties throughout the metro for a more thorough result.

With these options and the results our tool auto-suggests, you can access a more comprehensive background check.

Adverse action refers to all negative employment decisions due to background check results. An adverse action may be denying or rescinding a job offer, firing an employee, or rejecting a promotion opportunity. The FCRA requires employers to follow a strict process for communication with the applicant when planning such action. There is a pre-adverse action period, an opportunity for comment, and a final adverse action notice.

Companies that use consumer reports, such as background checks or credit reports, must follow the FCRA's adverse action guidelines. Taking action requires the mandatory sharing of specific paperwork with the applicant. Violating the FCRA provisions can lead to civil fines for each offense.

If you decide to decline an application or employee because of their background check results, you must provide written notice of your intention. This step is called a pre-adverse action letter or notification. It informs the applicant that adverse information in their background may result in the loss of the job opportunity.

Alongside this notice, you must provide a copy of the background report. It is also mandatory to provide the official document called A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to applicants during pre-adverse action.

You must wait a reasonable period for the applicant to respond. Individuals may dispute your findings and provide evidence in support of their claims. Such disputes require a re-investigation by the background check company. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opinion letters state that five business days is the minimum time employers should allow for a response.

If the individual does not dispute the background check within the expected time or an investigation yields no change in the outcome, an employer can formally disqualify the applicant. This step requires a formal adverse action notice and serves as the conclusion of the hiring process for that individual. This notice must include several things by law:

• The contact information for the background check company that provided the information.
• A clear statement that the background check company was not the deciding party in the adverse action—the company cannot provide a reason for the decision.
• A notice of rights informing the individual that they can dispute their background check results.
• A notice that the individual can receive another copy of their background check from the company within 60 days, free of charge.

At backgroundchecks.com, we streamline systems and services for our users wherever possible. Managing compliance with the FCRA and its notification requirements is one area in which we can help. Our email-based pre-adverse and adverse action notices simplify your compliance efforts. Watch our adverse action notification explainer video.

When ordering a background check, you may supply the applicant’s email address. A check box lets you add our notification services to your order should you require them. You are only charged for this service when we send an email.

When reviewing reports, you can indicate whether your organization may take adverse action based on a criminal record. Doing so automatically sends an FCRA-compliant notification to your subject via email. Based on your business needs, it places the report on hold for at least five business days, up to 20 business days.

After the waiting period expires, and without further disputes from the applicant, you can use our platform to indicate that you will proceed with adverse action. Doing so sends an email to notify the applicant.

With this system, achieving and maintaining compliance is far simpler. There is less manual work, no guesswork surrounding waiting periods, and no confusion about the correct language to use in writing. Simplify your FCRA compliance procedures with this feature of our platform today.

This form is a legal requirement. Under the FCRA, background check providers must verify that you are a legitimate business user with a permissible purpose for ordering background checks.

The FCRA Certification page has several sections that need to be understood. The first section is titled Resale Intent. We must collect information about whether you will use the report we provide or sell it to someone else.

The second section is titled End-User Purpose. We must collect information about how you will use the report we deliver. Purposes may include employment-related considerations, trucking jobs, tenant screening or another purpose for which you’ve obtained written consent. Select the purpose most closely related to yours. Additional purposes are available but require extra verification. Contact Client Services for access to grayed-out options.

The final section is the Acknowledgment of your FCRA certifications. This is a legal acknowledgment that you’ve reported the above information fairly and accurately under penalty of law.

A resale intent means that you will not be the individual or business using the background check report we provide. Instead, you will sell it to another party for their purposes. No resale means that you will use the report within your company.

If you won’t be the report’s end user and resell it, you may need to take additional steps. We must collect this information because reselling a report creates additional reporting requirements. For example, you must agree to fulfill all your obligations as a regulated consumer reporting agency under the FCRA during resale.

 

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that governs the creation and use of consumer reports, including credit reports and background checks for employment purposes. The FCRA’s stated purpose is to regulate these reports, establish and enforce standards, and protect individual privacy. The FCRA limits what can appear on reports.

All background check services, including backgroundchecks.com, must comply with the FCRA rules. Employers using these reports for hiring purposes must also comply with FCRA requirements, which include mandatory legal disclosures and obtaining express consent from the applicant.

The Manage Reports inbox is a complete record of the orders placed by your business. This report may include orders from other authorized users in your account, such as HR team members. The inbox provides detailed information by subject name, result, status, date ordered, and more. Here, you can easily see the status of your background check report. From Manage Reports, you can also resolve issues with your reports, such as when an order is marked "needs attention."

If a report status reads needs attention, it means additional action is required from you to complete the reporting process – it may relate to various status conditions. To address the issue and progress the report to the following status condition, click Needs Attention from the Manage Reports inbox for further details.

There are several potential reasons a report may need attention.

For example, you may have ordered an instant criminal database report. There may be occasions when records could match your applicant, but there is uncertainty. You will see the potentially matching records, including name, date of birth, address, and demographic information. Using common sense and your information about the applicant, you must decide whether the record matches.

In other cases, we may not have all the information required to complete the checks you've ordered. We will highlight the missing information and ask you to supply the necessary data. If you have not completed your FCRA certification forms, clicking on needs attention may also prompt you to complete those forms at that time.

At backgroundchecks.com, we provide several ways for employers to navigate the process of ordering screening reports. We offer a range of pre-built packages tailored to meet different needs. However, our Order Products page also provides a Build Your Own Report feature. Here, you can customize the type of screening services you want to purchase. On the Order Products page, you can build a report and order a background check that best suits your needs.

Our packages provide a detailed and more comprehensive insight into an applicant's history. However, not every hiring opportunity or employment purpose may require extensive research. You may want only to conduct a specific verification check or to order a single drug test for an applicant or existing employee. Our Order Products feature lets you purchase and pay for only the reports you need on demand. There's no need to put someone through an entire, more expensive screening process if you only need to check one county court or confirm someone's education.

You can individually add any of the reporting products we offer. Add as many or as few as you prefer to meet your screening requirements. Reports available through the Order Products feature include:

• The US AliasSEARCH, including single and multi-state options to uncover other names used by candidates.
• The US OneTRACE to uncover address history.
• The Offender OneSEARCH to check sex offender registries.
• The National Security OneSEARCH to check federal watchlists.
• Multi-jurisdictional criminal database searches.
• Instant searches, which provide rapid results for criminal records. We also offer verified searches. In a verified search, we make a clear report immediately, but criminal record confirmations lead us to investigate further to confirm that the records match your applicant.
• Direct county courthouse record searches.
• State and federal criminal record search options.
• County and federal civil court search options.
• Drug screening tests.
• Wants and warrants searches.
• Driving record (MVR) reports.
• Financial record searches, such as bankruptcy courts or credit checks.
• Resumé verification services, including employment, education, references, and licenses.

You must complete additional compliance and verification steps to order credit reports or driving record checks at this stage. Afterward, you can order a background check with any or all of the above products.

A Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) is any entity that gathers and shares information about individuals with other companies to determine employment eligibility or obtain housing, credit or insurance. According to the law, a CRA offers these services for money or in a cooperative nonprofit manner.

In short, a CRA is any provider that obtains consumer information and sells it to a third party for legitimate purposes, such as offering a job.

Consumer reporting agencies have many responsibilities under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Chief among these is a requirement for a CRA to determine that any customer ordering a report is doing so for a legally permissible purpose, per the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Disclosing consumer reports to parties without a legal purpose is illegal and carries severe penalties for violating the law. CRAs also have other responsibilities, such as investigating any disputed information. CRAs must furnish accurate information to the best of their knowledge.

As a regulated consumer reporting agency, backgroundchecks.com must confirm the legitimacy of your business and the purpose for ordering background checks. To do so, we require an authentication process, which usually occurs only once during account setup. Credentialing allows us to satisfy our obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and applicable state laws. The process involves due diligence to determine that you have a legitimate, legally permissible purpose for ordering background checks. This process also helps protect you, your employees, and applicants from legal exposure.

During credentialing, we must verify the truth and accuracy of the information provided to us by a customer. In practice, that means confirming that the customer represents a legitimate business in good standing and is currently operational. We also verify that customers use reports for the legally permissible purpose you claim, such as for vetting job applicants.

From time to time, customers may need to participate in a re-credentialing process to verify that the account details have not changed since the initial credentialing. If you make changes to your account, re-credentialing may also be necessary.

Credentialing takes place during the account creation process at backgroundchecks.com. During the initial setup, there may be a one-time account creation fee. We always indicate this fee as part of your order total. We use these fees to help offset credentialing costs and provide a more cost-effective service to our customers.

During validation, we will need your name, contact information, and the organization’s name. You will also need to agree to our terms and conditions. We also require new clients to provide a blank copy of their FCRA-compliant authorization and disclosure forms. You will use these documents to obtain an applicant’s consent and notify them of your intent to request their consumer report. You may need to upload these documents to our website.

You can begin reviewing reports upon the completion of the credentialing process.

Each business faces differing levels of need during the hiring process. A complete package may not always be necessary to satisfy requirements in your organization. Sometimes, you only wish to order a single product on demand, such as setting up a drug check to re-test an employee. Re-screening is an everyday use case. In other cases, the exact combination of products you wish to use may not align with any of our pre-built packages. In that case, the Order Products feature lets you customize your report.

At backgroundchecks.com, customers have several options for approaching screening. We show you the pre-configured background check packages loaded into your account by default. You can also set up applicant self-entry. However, you may also choose to use the "Order Products" page, which allows you to order a custom background check. Rather than offering preset packages, the Order Products feature lets you customize your own package with as many or as few specific screening products as you require.

There are several product categories you can choose from when developing a package.

Multi-jurisdictional database searches 

Our extensive proprietary databases provide options for rapid results from hundreds of millions of records. You may select:

• US AliasVerify: to determine if a subject has criminal records under another name
• US OneVERIFY: a type of verified criminal background check (see below)
• Offender OneSEARCH: for polling sex offender registries
• National Security OneSEARCH: for checking names against more than 100 national and international security and sanctions lists
• Single and multi-state options

You may opt to use an instant or verified search in this category. In a verified search, clear results report back instantly, but we investigate any criminal record positives further. This practice ensures we can determine whether there is any additional or updated information relating to the record in our database. We encourage verification, but you may opt out when you understand the potential drawbacks.

Supplemental direct court searches 

You may wish to add courthouse searches for additional information and subject details. Remember that criminal and civil courts are separate. Someone who violated civil law or faced lawsuits will not have records in criminal court; this requires a different search. Supplemental products include:

• County court records
• Statewide court records
• Federal criminal court records
• County or federal civil court records

Additional reports 

You may order these reports independently or as part of a package combined with previous selections. These products include: 

• The US OneTRACE: a name and address history search using Social Security numbers.
• Drug Screening: Set up a multi-panel drug test to support drug-free workplace policies and compliance.
• Driving Record (requires additional verification): Obtain motor vehicle records to comply with Department of Transportation regulations.
• Nationwide Wants and Warrants: Learn if law enforcement currently has active warrants for an individual.
• Financial records, including credit and bankruptcy reports: to assess financial responsibility.
• License or certification checks: to verify professional credentials.
• Additional products for verifying employment and education history

After selecting the products you wish to add to your custom background checks, you can enter the subject's information and place your order.

 

 

 

The applicant can respond if you issue a pre-adverse action letter based on inaccurate information. They may advise that you have the incorrect person or information. If they do, the law requires you to contact your screening agency to conduct an investigation. You can then rely on the results of that investigation to change your decision or confirm it.

However, you risk violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) if you take final adverse action based on the wrong information or do not follow up with your screening agency. The applicant could sue your business for contravening the FCRA. This disregard could result in hundreds or thousands of dollars of fines alongside the costs of going to court and hiring attorneys.

You may receive multiple matches when using some of our reporting tools, such as the instant criminal database search. There may be more than one record based on information similar to the data you provided on your subject, which triggers the criminal record selection stage. It is up to you to select which records to add to your final criminal history report.

Records may seem related to the same individual for several reasons. The name on two records may match the name of your subject. If the date of birth also matches, there is a likelihood that the records relate to the same person. However, it is still possible for two people to share the same name and birth date. In these situations, you must confirm which records relate to your subject.

You cannot take adverse action based on records you are not sure relate to the subject. If you doubt the record is associated with your subject, do not add it to your report or use it.

Use common sense when selecting records related to your subject. Examine the information we provide on the record selection screen, which can include:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Demographic information, such as height, weight, and race
• Photographs
• Address information

Use all the information available about an individual from their application and interview materials to check for matches. For example, an individual with the same name and birthday but incorrect demographic information likely indicates a coincidental but unrelated record.

Adding a new user to your account is straightforward. The first user you set up with your account is always an Administrator—only users with this role may create other users. You may also designate other users as Administrators when needed.

To add a new user, 

1. Log in to backgroundchecks.com 
2. Select the "My Account" tab. 
3. Under the "My Account" pane on the following screen, click on the folder marked "Users." 
4. Click "Add new user" to begin the process.
5. Provide the new user's name, contact information, and role.

All new users must go through the same account credentialing process as during setup, such as declaring the purpose of the background check and affirming their use as prescribed by law.

Hiring is an ongoing process in many companies. Even in small businesses, more than one person may hire and onboard new staff. Limited resources or high-volume hiring seasons can create a substantial workload for one person.

With an account at backgroundchecks.com, you can add others in your business who engage with the hiring workflow. These users can then order background check reports or access and review completed reports as needed. Multiple users create opportunities for an accelerated background check process and improved transparency between key stakeholders.

You may add one or several additional users to your account, depending on your needs. Some of those who may benefit from having access include:

• The business owner or senior management
• Heads of department
• Hiring managers
• Teams tasked with recruitment and interviewing
• Human Resources managers, team leads, or HR general staff

You may add as many users as necessary and define specific privilege levels. For example, an HR team member may access and review background check reports, but new orders may be reserved for a hiring manager.