6 Best Criminal Background Check Services in 2023
If you verify someone’s criminal history check, you may reduce your risk of interacting with fraudsters and careless types. A check of an individual’s criminal history may provide you with all of the information you want about that person, allowing you to choose whether or not you want to spend further time with that person.
You’re in luck since using criminal background check services has never been simpler. There are many great online resources for doing a fast and painless criminal background check, including TruthFinder, Intelius, and Instant Checkmate.
>> Run a Criminal Background Check With TruthFinder <<
Best Criminal Background Check Services
- TruthFinder – Best Overall Criminal Background Check Service
- Intelius – Best for Quick Results
- Instant Checkmate – Best for Extensive Criminal Records Database
- US Search – Best for Ease-of-Use
- PeopleFinders – Best for Reverse Phone Number Lookup
- Spokeo – Best for Affordability
These services do not comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This restricts their usage to non-commercial purposes, such as vetting potential employees or tenants.
>> Run a Criminal Background Check With TruthFinder <<
What Is a Criminal Background Check?
The term “criminal background check” refers to an exhaustive search of local, state, and federal databases for information on an individual. Anyone’s name, number, or address may be used to access their public record and learn more about them.
A criminal history check may reveal a wide range of information, including biographical details, past employment, and education, probable ties to the subject, past addresses, criminal and court records, sex offender data, social profiles, and even property.
You may have a chance of finding this data if you search public records manually, but it’s a long shot. If you utilize a firm that does criminal background checks, you have a greater chance of discovering reliable background information on the individual you are researching.
Criminal background check services employ the identification information you supply to search through their databases, which include billions of federal and state criminal records, in order to discover the information that’s relevant to the query. The information is then compiled into an understandable and shareable background check report.
In a typical report on a criminal background check, you could find:
- Financial assets
- Criminal and arrest records
- Social media profiles
- Weapons permits
- Photographs
- Liens
- Age and date of birth
- Educational background
- Civil court records
- Aliases
- A full name
- Professional licenses
- Bankruptcies
- Employment history
Background checks on potential employees are often conducted after a conditional offer of employment has been made but prior to the individual actually starting work. Criminal background checks are conducted by employers to verify the candidate’s claims on their application and during the interview.
There are a variety of reasons why businesses undertake background checks, but the numbers demonstrate that almost all businesses do at least one.
When polled in 2018, 95 percent of businesses reported using some kind of employment background screening, according to the Professional Background Screening Association (formerly called the National Association of Background Screeners). The same research also reveals that background checks happen often throughout an employee’s tenure with the organization.
>> Run a Criminal Background Check With TruthFinder <<
What Shows up on a Criminal Background Check
The results of a criminal background check might include details on any charges, trials, or convictions that the subject may have faced. The most common reason for doing such a search is to determine whether or not an applicant has a criminal history.
Convictions are the most important factor for employers to consider since they provide evidence of guilt, but an arrest history or a case that’s still ongoing does not.
Accusations and arrests that haven’t yet been resolved will also show up on criminal background checks. Due to the lack of evidence of guilt in the absence of a judgment and conviction, employers are sometimes urged not to place as much weight on these results as convictions in criminal background checks.
It’s important to bear in mind that certain jurisdictions have rules that prohibit or severely limit how employers may use arrest histories when making hiring decisions, even if those records were expunged.
Background checks do not include arrests that did not result in a conviction in our criminal history checks since the typical employer does not understand how arrest record rules differ from state to state. By excluding this data, we ensure that our client companies are not unwittingly breaking any laws in any of the states in which they operate.
Specific details that will be included on criminal background check reports include:
- Accused person or defendant.
- The alleged wrongdoing for which the defendant was arrested. The degree to which the crime falls within the category of a misdemeanor or felony is also included.
- The filing, or the manner in which the charges were first filed, as well as any related case numbers.
- The decision made by the court about the accusations.
- Whatever punishment was decided upon, such as prison time or monetary penalties.
- What happened with the case or what was the outcome of any negotiation.
Criminal convictions that have been erased or sealed should never appear on a background check. Since many people who have convictions for acts that are no longer illegal have been unable to expunge their convictions, advocates for criminal justice reform have made efforts in recent years to eliminate some of the hurdles to expungement.
A subject’s criminal background report should no longer include information on their records if they have been successfully petitioned by the court to have them sealed or erased. It’s important to note that each state has somewhat different expungement regulations.
State laws also differ in regards to how far back in time criminal history checks may go. Information concerning convictions older than seven years is prohibited from disclosure by background check businesses in the states of California, Kansas, New Hampshire, Maryland, Montana, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington.
This legislation is even more stringent in Hawaii, with a seven-year cap on felony convictions and a five-year cap on misdemeanor convictions. For criminal background checks, there’s no statute of limitations in several states.
>> Run a Criminal Background Check With TruthFinder <<
How Long Do Criminal Background Checks Take?
It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to acquire the results of a criminal history check when using a reputable provider like TruthFinder or Intelius. This is due to the fact that these services are geared on providing instantaneous gratification as opposed to making you wait for days to see results.
It may take a lot longer if you want to do a criminal background check personally or via a consumer reporting organization or the government.
Although the majority of criminal background checks may be completed and returned within 3 to 5 days, most can take longer. There’s a typical processing time of 30 days for an FBI background check, for instance. While it’s possible to expedite certain federal background checks, it’s still recommended to account for the 30-day wait time for the entire review.
Background checks for prospective workers or existing employees are sometimes delayed depending on how many states the individual has resided in. If you need to assemble data from a large number of states, it may take a long time because of the sheer number of databases you will need to access. Typically, this is the cause of the holdup in doing a background check.
Furthermore, certain kinds of background checks need many sources of information (e.g., criminal background checks and credit checks). If you make many requests during one background check, it might take longer.
>> Run a Criminal Background Check With TruthFinder <<
How to Conduct a Criminal Background Check
A criminal background check may be done in two ways: the hard way and the simple way. Going the manual path, contacting the appropriate governmental agencies in order to get public records, making a request for these documents, and then sifting through those records to locate the information you seek are all components of the difficult approach.
A simple method is to use a person’s search service like TruthFinder to look into their criminal past. A simple name, address, or phone number is all you need to conduct a background check on a person now. Email addresses may be used in conjunction with reverse phone search software to find a person’s contact information.
To do a background check, all you need to do is input the information you already know about a person into the service’s search bar. The procedure might take a few minutes, but the longer it goes on, the more reliable the information you get.
>> Run a Criminal Background Check With TruthFinder <<
How Much Does a Criminal Background Check Cost?
In most cases, the price of a criminal background check will be anything between $10 and $500. The cost of a background check will vary according to its scope. In general, reports that simply include criminal searches are more affordable than those that include verifications of work and education, as well as drug tests.
If you want to choose the best vendor, you need to look at the cost per search or report section in addition to the overall cost of the report.
TruthFinder’s criminal background check service needs users to join up for a subscription before providing any reports. Site users may pay $28 monthly or $46 total for two months of access ($23 each month).
The service also offers a monthly subscription for $4.99 that includes a reverse phone lookup service for one month.
Unless the member cancels before the end of the current membership term, their membership will be automatically renewed at the end of the current membership period. It’s also worth noting that TruthFinder charges an extra $2 for access to the PDF version of the background check.
>> Run a Criminal Background Check With TruthFinder <<
Which Background Check Service Is Best for Criminal Records Search?
After learning how simple it is to use a background check service, we will examine the 3 most popular services in further detail. We’ll quickly go through the basics of each service so that you can see how they differ.
TruthFinder – Best Overall for Criminal Background Check
With regards to checking someone’s criminal history, TruthFinder is among the best. Searches may be conducted quickly and easily using a variety of criteria, including names, phone numbers, and email addresses. Because it has access to one of the largest collections of criminal public record data, it’s able to provide a substantial quantity of reliable information on a person.
When you combine TruthFinder’s criminal background check services with its dark web surveillance technology, you have access to details that aren’t publicly available. TruthFinder costs $28.05 per month or $46 for a two-month plan. Find out why our experts choose TruthFinder above all other background check services by reading our comprehensive review.
>> Run a Criminal Background Check With TruthFinder <<
Intelius – Best for Quick Results
If you need a background check, Intelius is just as good as TruthFinder. With the greatest success rate of any national person’s search service, this one stands out as the finest option. It’s very identical to TruthFinder in function, and its database of over 20 billion public documents provides an unprecedented trove of information on virtually anybody.
Intelius’s $24.86 monthly plan is less expensive than TruthFinder’s $27. If you sign up for the two-month plan, you’ll have to pay $42.25. Overall, the service is quite similar to TruthFinder, excluding the dark web surveillance tool, and hence significantly cheaper. If you’re looking for information about the background check service Intelius, you should read our evaluation.
>> Start Criminal Background Check With Intelius <<
Instant Checkmate – Best for Extensive Criminal Records Database
Instant Checkmate may be the finest option if you need to find out the results of a background check quickly. Because it delivers results in a flash and also provides a mobile app, this provider of background checks is an excellent choice for those who place a premium on convenience. This is a unique feature that you won’t find with any similar service.
Instant Checkmate employs an extensive repository of public documents to provide reliable information on a person’s history. At $34.78 a month, this service is on the costlier end of the spectrum. It doesn’t have a plan for only 2 months, but rather 3 months for $83.47.
Instant Checkmate values your privacy just as much as its speed, so you can rest certain that your personal details are safe with us. To learn more, please refer to our evaluation of Instant Checkmate.
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Criminal Records Check – Frequently Asked Questions
What Fails You on a Background Check?
If a conviction from your history comes up, you may not pass a background check. Also, if the results of the background check don’t match up with what you’ve said about yourself, you could not pass. A negative result on a credit check, a failed drug or alcohol test, or an accident on your driving record might all result in a failed background check.
How Can I Check My Own Background for Free?
TruthFinder makes it simple to do a background check on yourself and see how your criminal record appears to the public. There’s currently no cost-free means of checking one’s own criminal history online. A personal background check may need a manual application to the appropriate governmental authorities.
Bottom Line on Criminal Background Checks
The aforementioned services may be used for any purpose involving a criminal background check, including seeing one’s own information, viewing information on a family member or old acquaintance, and discovering the truth about a possible spouse.
To do a thorough background check, you will need to contact many government agencies and file a public records request with each one. It’s not over yet; you’ll have to pay a charge for each request, for starters. To locate what you need in the paperwork you get, you must still scan it.
The greatest background check services simplify the whole process. If you have the person’s name, mobile number, email address, or physical location, you may use those to initiate a search with a person search service that will quickly provide a detailed criminal history check report.
>> Run a Criminal Background Check With TruthFinder <<