You can run common criminal background searches on yourself and review results online in minutes. The best criminal background check sites for individuals can help you learn more about people in your life, like potential roommates or neighbors, or provide a preview of your own public records. Since these types of checks generally aren’t compliant with the FCRA, they shouldn’t be used for employment purposes. Find out about a candidate’s criminal history with a comprehensive, easy-to-read report of their publicly available and legally reportable criminal records directly from the courts. A background screening or background check is a deep dive into the history of a candidate. The background check uses third-party resources to look into public records, law background check enforcement, credit bureaus, academic records and previous work history.
This starts with salary transparency, accurate job descriptions, conducting fair interviews, committing to diversity, equity, and inclusion, conducting proper background checks, and more. Using a background screening service can simplify the hiring process for both you and your candidates. To help ensure legal compliance, you can partner with a qualified, FCRA-compliant provider like Checkr. Second, if the employer thinks it might not hire or retain you because of something in the report, it must give you a copy of the report and a “notice of rights” that tells you how to contact the company that made the report.
- It seems to fall under the listing for Intelius, which at least has an “A+” rating and accreditation.
- If the employer decides not to hire a candidate or promote an employee based on the results of a background check, you must follow the adverse action process.
- And, over the years, the cost of using BeenVerified has gone up by about 50% You’ll now pay $36.89 for a one-month membership or $71.94 for a three-month plan, and each month gives you up to 100 reports.
- They may involve a criminal history check, credit check (if the role is finance-related), driving record check (if the position involves driving), and employment or education verification.
There are many services that pull from a wide range of databases, including criminal records, court documents, and public records. The more sources they check, the more accurate and thorough the report will be, and it goes much further than what you’ll get with a basic Google search. When making personnel decisions — including hiring, retention, promotion, and reassignment — employers sometimes want to consider the backgrounds of applicants and employees.
How do background checks work?
A criminal background check is an investigation into a candidate’s criminal history. Employers often include this type of background check in their pre-employment screening process to help select candidates who are eligible and qualified for the position they want to fill. While criminal background checks can help employers make informed hiring decisions, they must be conducted in a way that complies with local, state, and federal hiring laws. Checkr is one of the best criminal background check services, offering multiple screening options, including comprehensive criminal searches and continuous monitoring within the US as well as international searches.
This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. We can accept check, cash, money order, credit/debit card (with an additional $1.00 plus a 2.5% processing fee), or an invoice letter from an authorized agency. To do so, GoodHire reviewed FBI Crime Data – property, violent, and society crime – and ranked each place by its rate of offenses per 1,000 people for each of the three offense types. GoodHire then assigned a total rank that weighted crimes against persons and crimes against property at 40% and crimes against society at 20%. Whichever payment plan you choose, it’s going to renew automatically until you cancel, which can be done either through your dashboard or through TruthFinder’s toll-free number. Just be aware that they only have hours from Monday through Friday, 7A-4P Pacific if you’re hoping to go the phone route.
- We’ve built the most advanced background check toolset in the industry to make hiring faster, easier, more accurate, and lower risk–get started today.
- Our most recent search didn’t take as long as we’ve experienced in the past, but it was still a head-scratcher to see that “2 matches found” notification…with just one matching person.
- In October 2024, First Advantage acquired Sterling Check, another popular background check service.
Lower your compliance risk
Some employers also will try to find out about your background by hiring someone to do a “background report” on you. Since 2001, SentryLink has provided background checks and employment screening for companies and consumers around the country. More than ever, business owners must trust employees with the keys to the kingdom.
However, employers may choose to search multiple states and counties based on where the candidate has lived, or, if a nationwide search reveals potential criminal history in more than one state. If you’re an individual looking to search for information about another person, Instant Checkmate may be considered as one of the best websites for criminal background checks. Originally created in 2010 to help people engaged in online dating feel more comfortable meeting up in person, Instant Checkmate is an automated, consumer-facing service that provides access to public records data on a subscription basis. In business since 2006, Spokeo is a background check website that aggregates data from various online and offline sources, including social media, public records, and directories, to provide information about individuals. You can use Spokeo to find contact details, addresses, and background information on people.
They also offer an international criminal background check service for companies with global reach. With clients that include large gig employers and fast-growing companies in high-turnover industries, Checkr stands out as the best FCRA-compliant criminal background check service provider. Checkr offers fast, accurate background checks, with 89% of criminal checks, including county searches, completing within one hour. Available screenings include national, federal, state, and county criminal record checks, as well as continuous criminal record screening. Searches are available in 200+ countries, including GDPR-compliant international background checks.
Easy-to-read reports and automated workflows streamline the background screening process, so you can hire quickly and confidently. Our pre-bundled criminal background check packages for employers can be customized with add-ons for more comprehensive criminal history coverage or to add additional screenings, such as driving records or drug testing. A patchwork of state, county, and city laws move the criminal history inquiry until later in the hiring process. These laws may apply based on both the employers’ and candidates’ locations. Further, some local laws may also have specific requirements for the adverse action process.
In operation since 1999, the company’s database contains billions of records from the last 40+ years. Whether you want to find out who owns a number that keeps calling you, find a friend or family member, or run a background check on your latest match on Bumble, PeopleFinders has got your back. In this role, she produces educational resources for employers on a broad range of screening topics, including background check compliance and best practices. She also writes about Checkr’s company and product news to keep customers updated and informed. HireRight offers tailored features for companies in specific industries such as transportation, education, and financial services, as well as small businesses.
Employers use pre-employment background checks to help make more informed hiring decisions, mitigate risk to their business, and protect their organization against liability. A background check or background screening is the process of examining public and private sources to collect information about a person. Background checks may be used by employers, landlords, or volunteer organizations. Searches criminal records databases in a specific state to identify felony and misdemeanor convictions, along with charge type, disposition, and sentencing information.
Be informed about your public records and empowered to make decisions before working with others. If that applies here, please check the box stating that the individual has no legal middle name. Please DO NOT choose this option unless your applicant truly has no middle name. The middle name should be the one the applicant was born with, not their maiden name.
It took just a minute or two for us to be given a list of 14 possible matches on first and last name alone. We were scrolling through the possible matches when we got a pop-up offering access to all 14 reports for just $2.95, plus 7 days of unlimited search access to over 5 billion public records. An employer may ask you for all sorts of background information, especially during the hiring process. For example, some employers may ask about your employment history, your education, your criminal record, your financial history, your medical history, or your use of online social media.
Searches a foreign country’s criminal records for candidates with international backgrounds who are working in the U.S. Each of 223 countries has its own application checklist detailing required information, forms and turnaround times. Searches state level criminal records from sources including State Judicial Court System, State Police, State Department of Law Enforcement, Administrative Office of the Courts for infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies. Since some states don’t include complete county history, county-specific searches are recommended to ensure thorough results.