National Checks

Nation-wide criminal background checks

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!
While these reports contain many millions of records, a true, accurate nation-wide search cannot be done, as there is no central repository for all federal, state and county level felony and misdemeanor convictions.

Potential 'hits' taken from a large data base require matches on two or more identifiers - most commonly name and date of birth.

Employers are often reluctant to incur the added expense (about $20.00) of a county criminal background check but If one or more possible records are found, then a manual search of county records is the best way to determine the accuracy of the results.

The data bases available, however, does not contain every criminal record in the US, as no such database exists.

Currently more than 3300 separate courts and jurisdictions in the US maintain their own criminal records.

There are two major weaknesses that are inherent in a criminal records database:
1) What is included (and more importantly not included) in these records and 2) Age of the records.

38 states compile and maintain records at a state level - this is the source of these records.

The other states do not yet collect and provide a compilation of records. These databases are generally records of persons with felony convictions who were incarcerated in state prisons.

The vast majority of criminal convictions do not involve state imprisonment. Fines, restitution, probation, or time in a county jail are the most common outcomes - and felons receiving this type of sentence would not necessarily be included in the databases.

Misdemeanor convictions (drunk and disorderly, assault, petty theft for example) are not contained in the vast majority of these records.

These databases are by definition out of date on the day the become available. The refresh rate to the state databases is stated as between 3 - 6 months, but as a practical matter screening services are finding that some records are more than a year out of date.

Reputable providers of pre-employment screening all agree that the best screening is to review individual county felony and misdemeanor records. They often utilize the national databases to cast a wide net, in conjunction with county records searches, but would not suggest that employers rely on these reports alone.