Q- Is there a comprehensive, current national criminal records check available to employers and screening companies?
A- Yes, but only to a limited number of industries and fingerprints are required. The federal government will allow limited access by fingerprint submission only, to the Criminal Justice Information System maintained by the FBI. This access is determined by the individual state legislatures.
Q- Why can some companies charge very little for a statewide or county level criminal records check and others are more costly?
A- The difference is usually a criminal check that utilizes an archived database versus an on-site visit to the local county seat to obtain the latest up to date information. In the case of statewide criminal records checks, the difference is most often an archived database versus direct access to an agency of the state which provides more current information like a State Bureau of Investigation.
Q- Can an archived database be used for pre-employment screening purposes?
A- Yes. However there are some critical points to consider. One- the FCRA has stated that if an archived database returns a hit (criminal record) the background screening investigation company is required to do an on-site check to verify and confirm the information received from the archived database. Two- Archived databases are just that archived! The information contained may not be and often is not current.
Q- What about court fees?
A- The courts set the fees that are required. Only a small percentage of courts require payment of fees. For an up to date list of those courts click on the fee schedule provided by PDR in the Schedule of Prices area of the home page.
Q- If the records searched are public record, why is a waiver from the applicant required?
A- Public records or not, if it is for pre-employment screening purposes, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that a waiver be obtained from all job applicants.
Q- Is there a Federal Wants & Warrants Database?
A- Yes, but unfortunately the Federal Government has now restricted access and it is no longer public record.
Q- Is a social security number critical to a criminal records search?
A- Many misdemeanor criminal records are indexed by the courts using the social security number. If you have it, please provide it! Remember, the better the identifiers, the better the search.
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