Criminal background checks are the backbone of candidate screenings. Understand your candidate’s criminal history with fast and reliable data.
Criminal background checks for employment search national and local records to identify any reportable criminal records associated with your candidates.
A criminal background check gives you a more complete picture of your candidate before you hire.
Protect your brand’s reputation and reassure customers and employees of workplace safety.
Depending on your industry, certain criminal offenses may make a candidate ineligible for a role.
Checkr’s intuitive dashboard makes it easy to order checks and review results. Depending on the searches you order, a criminal background check may reveal:
Generally, felonies are more serious crimes and carry more severe penalties and long-term consequences.
Typically lower level offenses punishable by shorter jail time, fines, probation or community service.
Depending on the jurisdiction, petty offenses may or may not show up on a criminal history check.
“Checkr is the only company that we know of that’s able to meet our demand for accuracy and prompt reporting.”
Kathy Zapp, Chief Risk OfficerBacked by our expert research team, Checkr’s advanced background check platform searches thousands of databases, law enforcement sources, and registries for a comprehensive report. Checkr provides holistic and in-depth employment criminal background checks so you can grow your business with safety and security in mind.
Identify which county records should be reviewed with this powerful primary search that queries over 900 million public records.
Search county records from any state for the most complete documentation of criminal history. Most criminal prosecutions happen in municipal or county courts.
Search the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) for federal felony and misdemeanor convictions at the district level in federal courts.
Search state criminal record databases. This screening is dispatched in tandem with the County Criminal Record Check to ensure full coverage and case information.
Search a comprehensive network of domestic and international government watchlists for industry bans, such as healthcare and finance, and criminal history.
Search registries from all 50 states, Washington DC, and US territories. Reports will include the offender’s date of registration and current status.
An SSN trace searches public and proprietary records to identify potential address history and aliases. Used to determine which counties and other databases should be searched for additional public records.
Search any other name an individual might use (or have used) in addition to their current legal name, such as nicknames and maiden names.
Fraud Abuse Control Information System (FACIS) screens for sanctions/adverse information in sensitive fields such as healthcare. Checkr offers two levels of checks for federal and state compliance.
Remove knowledge gaps by running ongoing criminal record checks in the background and get notified of reportable changes within your active workforce. Learn more
Start running criminal record checks with Checkr.
Frequently asked questions
Criminal background checks are an important part of many pre-employment background screenings. Employers may use criminal background checks to help mitigate risk, protect themselves from liability, and make more informed hiring decisions. In certain industries or sensitive positions, pre-employment criminal background checks may be required by law for public safety.
A criminal record (or criminal history) is a record of contact an individual has had with the criminal justice system. A criminal history is generally public record and can be found by searching the records of federal, state, and county courts or law enforcement agencies.
Having a criminal history doesn’t necessarily mean a person was convicted of a crime. Arrests that didn’t lead to prosecution; charges of which an individual was acquitted (found innocent); and charges that were dismissed may all appear on a criminal record.
Criminal background checks search a variety of court records to report a candidate’s criminal history. The specific records searched will vary based on the job for which you’re hiring, federal and local laws and industry regulations regarding criminal background checks, and your company’s background screening policies.
A criminal background check might include any or all of the following:
The results of a criminal background check are based on the type of court being searched, applicable laws in the state or jurisdiction of the candidate, and whether the information is being reported by a consumer reporting agency (CRA) or sources are searched by the employer.
When using criminal background checks in hiring, employers and CRAs must comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). There may also be state and local laws governing what information from a criminal history record can be reported to a CRA and legally considered for hiring decisions by an employer. For example, some states do not allow reporting of felonies more than seven years old. Other states do not allow reporting of misdemeanors or infractions after other time frames, like three or five years. There may also be laws regarding whether non-convictions can be reported in a background check.
In general, a criminal record will show information including:
A federal criminal record may reveal violations of federal criminal law, such as federal tax evasion, mail fraud, embezzlement, and identity theft.
The record may also show the disposition of the case, which can include:
A criminal record check may also report:
Criminal record checks usually don’t report juvenile offenses. Juvenile records can be sealed or expunged when the individual turns 18 and in some jurisdictions, this happens automatically.
An alias is any other name an individual might use (or have used) in addition to their current legal name. Candidates may have records under different aliases, such as nicknames, maiden names, hyphenated names, suffixes, shortened names, or legally changed names.
Aliases are an integral part of a person’s identity records and play a critical role in returning comprehensive results, because:
Including aliases in your background screening process can provide a more complete picture of an individual’s history—helping you find up to 27% more records. When added to your package, Checkr can use aliases for all criminal record searches, county civil searches, global watchlist searches, and sex offender registry searches.
Court records, which contain the bulk of criminal histories, are open to the public, so employers may be able to search the records themselves. However, different sources store records in different ways. Checking a candidate’s criminal history might mean simply searching a database, but could also involve a time-consuming trip to a distant courthouse. Searching for criminal history records can be especially complex when you’re hiring large groups of employees at once, or many employees from different locations. The method in which criminal records are stored and the laws governing their use vary by state and even from one local jurisdiction to another.
To save time, help ensure legal compliance, and gather the most accurate criminal history information, employers may prefer to have an FCRA-compliant CRA conduct their criminal background screenings. Experienced CRAs, like Checkr, comply with federal and local reporting laws and help employers follow EEOC guidance regarding criminal records checks. Checkr monitors the increasing number of state and local ban-the-box and fair hiring laws regulating how employers can use criminal records in hiring decisions. Plus, Checkr’s professional relationships with courts can speed criminal background checks even when court records aren’t digitized.